Mission, Vision, & Beliefs

We believe that the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is God’s inspired and infallible Word, and that it is the supreme standard and final authority for all conduct, faith, and doctrine. All Scripture is a testimony to Jesus Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
(Ps 19:7-10; 119; Rom 15:4; 2 Tim 3:16-17; Heb 4:12; 2 Pet 1:19-21)

We believe that there is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all-powerful and all-knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God the Father
We believe that God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
(Gen 1:1; 2:7; Ex 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11; 20:1; Lev 22:2; Deut 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chr 29:10; Ps 19:1-3; Is 43:3,15; 64:8; Jer 10:10; 17:13; Matt 6:9; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Rom 8:14-15; 1 Cor 8:6; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:6; Col 1:15; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 11:6; 12:9; 1 Pet 1:17; 1 John 5:7).
God the Son
We believe that Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.
(Gen 18:1; Ps 2:7; 110:1; Is 7:14; 53; Matt 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16, 27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6, 19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18, 29; 10:30, 38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20, 28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5, 20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3, 34; 10:4; 1 Cor 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8, 24-28; 2 Cor 5:19-21; 8:9; Gal 4:4-5; Eph 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Phil 2:5-11; Col 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thess 4:14-18; 1 Tim 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Heb 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15, 24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Pet 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Rev 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16).
God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
(Gen 1:2; Jud 14:6; Job 26:13; Ps 51:11; 139:7; Is 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matt 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4, 38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17, 39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Rom 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; 1 Cor 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Gal 4:6; Eph 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thes 5:19; 1 Tim 3:16; 4:1; 2 Tim 1:14; 3:16; Heb 9:8,14; 2 Pet 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Rev 1:10; 22:17).

We believe that human beings are created in the image of God as His supreme work, and as such have infinite worth and dignity; but by willful transgression became sinful and justly under the condemnation and wrath of almighty God. (Gen 1:26-30; 2:7-25; 3:1-24; Jer 17:9; Rom 1:19-32; 3:23; I Cor 1:21-31; Eph 2:1-10).

We believe that the only salvation from sin’s guilt and condemnation is through repentance and faith in the righteousness and atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that this salvation is the free gift of God’s love and grace.
(John 1:12; 3:16; Acts 3:19; 14:6; Rom 3:20-28; 5:1-2; 6:1-23; 8:1-18; 10:9-13; I Cor 6:19-20; 2 Cor 5:1-11; Gal 5:22-25; Eph 2:8-10).

We believe that because the believer is laid hold of and kept by the power of God and not by self-effort, and because salvation grants eternal life, therefore the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity and can never be lost again.
(John 1:12-13; 5:24; 6:44-45; 10:27-29; 15:16; Rom 8:28-30; 11:26-36; Eph 1:3-14).

We believe that a New Testament church is a body of baptized believers committed to the New Testament teachings of Christ, associated for evangelism, worship, fellowship, discipleship, and ministry. Its ordinances are baptism and communion. Its two Biblical offices are pastor and deacon.
(Matt 16:15-19; 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-47; 6:3-6; Eph 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 5:22-32; I Tim 3:1-15).

We believe that baptism is only to be administered upon profession of faith in Christ, by immersion, thereby declaring faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Lord; that the Lord’s Supper (communion) is only for believers, and is in remembrance of the Lord’s death until He comes.
(Matt 3:13-17; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; Rom 6:3-5; I Cor 10:16-21; 11:23-29; Col 2:12).

We believe that, according to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth and that, associated with His return, there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust; the just to be with Him throughout eternity in glory, and the unjust to eternal condemnation in hell.
(Matt 16:24-27; 24:27-44; John 14:1-3; 1 Cor 15:24-58; Phil 3:20-21; 1 Thes 5:14-18; 5:1f; 2 Thes 1:6-10; Heb 9:27-28; 2 Pet 3:3-13; 1 John 3:2).

We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
(Gen 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Ex 20:12; Deut 6:4-9; Jos 24:15; 1 Sam 1:26-28; Ps 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Pro 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6, 15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecc 4:9-12; 9:9; Mal 2:14-16; Matt 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Cor 7:1-16; Eph 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col 3:18-21; 1 Tim 5:8,14; 2 Tim 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7).

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity in accordance with biblical teachings. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that marriage is sanctioned by God and that the term ‘marriage’ has only one meaning given to us through Scripture.We believe that marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a covenant commitment for a lifetime. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, incest, pornography or attempts to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God. We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to church members and to the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in any capacity, all members of the church, and that all who serve as volunteers should abide by and agree to this statement on Marriage and Sexuality and conduct themselves accordingly.
(Gen 1:26-28; 2:18-25; 3:1-20; Lev 18:1-30; Deut 6:1-25; Jos 24:1-28; Ps 51:1-6; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Pro 5:1-23; 6:20-35; 12:4; 14:1-2; 18:22; 24:3-4; 31:10-31; 4:9-12; 9:9; Mal 2:14-16; Matt 5:27-32; 19:3-9; Luke 5:29-32; John 13:34-35; Acts 2:38-41; Rom 1:18-32; 10:9-13; 1 Cor 6:9-20; 13:1-13; 5:17-21; Gal 5:13-26; Eph 5:1-33; Titus 2:1-15; Heb 13:1-4).