What We Believe
- The Bible: We believe the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is authoritative in all matters of faith and practice and reveals God’s redemptive work for the salvation of men, culminating in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- God: We believe there is only one God, sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, who is infinite, perfect, eternal and unchangeable in His nature, existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things for His own glory.
- Humanity: We believe God created Adam and Eve in His image, and that they sinned when tempted by Satan. By our union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s mercy and work in Jesus can humanity be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
- Jesus Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is the eternal Son of God, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. Jesus rose from the dead according to the Scriptures and is now at the right hand of God interceding for His people. Jesus is the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins, where His atoning death and resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
- The Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, convicts the world of sin and judgment, glorifies Christ by applying His saving work to His people and seals believers for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit indwells believers, enables intimacy with God, teaches and guides them in new life, and empowers supernatural living and ministry.
- Salvation: We believe that God commands everyone to believe the gospel and turn to Jesus in repentance, personally receiving Him as Lord and Savior. This salvation is given based on His grace, and not on human merit or foreseen faith. Upon salvation, people are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, become the children of God and heirs of eternal life.
- The Church: The church is composed of all people who, through saving faith in Christ, are united together into His body. The church finds her visible expression in local congregations where the Bible is preached and the sacraments and discipline are faithfully administered. This church is to go and make disciples of all nations.
- Christ’s return: We believe that Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive His people to Himself. God will raise the dead and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and the believer to eternal joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth. This imminent return compels us to godly living, urgency in mission, and sacrificial service.