Statement of Faith

God—We believe that there is only one true God, whose essential nature is that of a living, personal Spirit. Therefore, they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. He is infinitely perfect in all of His attributes. He is the creator and sustainer of all things and He exists in a Trinity or in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet there is not three, but one God (John 4:24; Gen. 1:1; John 1:1; John 16:7).

 

Jesus Christ—We believe that Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity and is the only begotten eternal Son of God, who became flesh to reveal God to man, to fulfil prophecy, and to become the Savior of the lost world. In becoming man, Jesus did not cease in any way to be God, so He is fully God and fully man inseparably united in one person forever. Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the Virgin Mary; lived a sinless life; died on the cross as the substitutionary, all-sufficient, atoning sacrifice for all of the sins of all men of all time; was buried; bodily rose from the dead; physically ascended into heaven in His glorified, resurrected body; is seated at the right hand of the Father performing His ministry of intercession; will return in the air to claim His bride, the church; and will come again to earth in bodily form, personally and visibly, to conclude human history and consummate God’s eternal plan by executing judgment and ushering in His Millennial Kingdom reign to be followed by the eternal state (John 1:1,14,18; John 3:16; Luke 1:30-35; Phil. 2:5-8; Col. 2:3,9; Mark 10:45; Acts 2:22-24; John 1:29; Rom. 3:25-26; Heb. 10:5-14; 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 3:18; John 20:20; Phil. 3:20-21; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1; Acts 1:11; Heb. 9:28; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; 2 Thes. 2:7; Matt. 24:44; Rev. 19:11-21; Rev. 21-22).

 

The Holy Spirit—We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, the third Person of the Trinity. We believe that He was sent from the Father by the Son to convict the world, to regenerate and indwell those who trust in Christ, to baptize them into the Body of Christ, to seal them for the final day of redemption, to guide them into truth, to fill them for a life of holiness and victory and to empower them for witness and service. The Holy Spirit fills (directs and controls) those believers who are yielded to Him, enables believers to bear fruit, and empowers believers to live a life free from sin’s dominion. We also believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers for the purpose of edifying the church in accordance with the teachings of scripture (1 Cor. 13:8, 1 Cor. 14:22; John 16:7-8; 1 Cor. 6:19, 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14, Eph. 4:30; Gal. 5:16-17, Gal. 22-23; Rom. 8:5-13; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Rom. 12:3-8).

 

Scripture—We believe that the Bible, consisting of the 66 books, divided into two divisions—the Old Testament (39 books) and New Testament (27 books), is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God. God has supernaturally preserved the Bible, and it is the sole and final authority for faith and life, providing encouragement, guidance, comfort and instruction for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

 

The Church—We believe that the church is the body of Christ of which Jesus is the Head and whose members are those who have truly received Christ by faith. The local church is a tangible expression of the body of Christ in a particular location. Since all members of the body of Christ are united in Christ by the same Spirit, they should live in love, harmony and unity, being intent on the same purpose and accepting those sectarian or denominational practices which are based on a sincere interpretation of the Bible, which do not relate to substantive doctrinal matters, and which do not in practice cause disunity or hinder the ministry. The purpose of the church is to make Christ known to lost men and to make disciples, and glorify God on earth (Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:20-23, Eph. 4:1-6, Eph. 4:12-16; Matt. 28:18-20; John 17; Col. 1:24-29).

 

The Christian Life-We believe that every Christian should live for Christ and not for himself and should, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, allow Christ to manifest His life through him to God’s glory. By ever increasing obedience to the Word of God, each believer should mature and progressively become more like Jesus. In the power of the Spirit, each believer should live a holy life not fulfil the lusts of the flesh; exercise his spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ; witness for Christ; be personally involved in making disciples to fulfil the great commission; perform good works and bear fruit to the glory of God (Gal. 2:20; 1 Peter 1:15-16, 1 Peter 2:11; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Rom. 6:11-13; Eph. 2:10, Eph. 4:11-12, Eph. 4:22-24; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:18-20; Col. 1:10; John 15:8, 16).

 

Salvation—We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross provides the sole basis for forgiveness of sin and for salvation, which is the free gift of God’s grace. Salvation is affected by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and cannot be secured by man’s works or personal merit. Salvation can only be secured by a person placing their faith in the finished work of Christ. Repent-ance is a turning toward God and away from sin and is a part of but not separate from believing faith. “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” and those who receive Jesus Christ by faith are born again, have their sins forgiven, become children of God, are a new creation in Christ, and “are sealed by the Holy spirit unto the day of redemption” being kept by the power of God. The benefits of this salvation include the forgiveness of sins and a new standing before God, the impartation of new life and all the privileges that accompany a new family relationship with God. (Eph. 1:7:13-14; John 1:12-13, John 3:1-7, John 14-16; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 1:16, Rom. 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-10; Rom. 8:14-17, Rom. 31-39; John 10:27-29, Rom. 14:6; Acts 26:20; 1 Peter 1:3-5).