BELIEFS

God the Son

- God the Son is Jesus Christ who has eternally existed. Jesus came to earth to be born of a virgin and lived a sinless life. As the only human to live without sin, He accomplished what all men fail to do, perfectly fulfilling the will of the Father. As a perfect sacrifice, He laid down His life and took the penalty for sin when He died on the cross, paying the debt for all mankind. Through His death and resurrection, salvation is offered to all men of all times. Existing as fully God and fully man, Jesus resides over His Kingdom and will physically return one day to establish it. (Isa. 53, John 1:1-18, 2 Cor. 5:19-21, Heb. 1:1-3)

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

- The Holy Spirit brings illumination and understanding, exalts Christ, convicts of sin, and affects regeneration. At the moment of salvation, every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the family of God and is empowered by the Spirit to serve God's Kingdom. He seals every believer until the day of redemption, establishing eternal security. (Acts 1:8, 1 Cor. 2:10-14, Eph. 1:13-14, 2 Pet 1:21)

MAN

- We believe that God created man in His own image and through disobedience man fell into sin. Man is a sinner by natureand by choice. Because of man's total depravity, sin separates him from a relationship with God. All are in a terrible position of being unable to reach God by their own works or good deeds. As a result of sin, every human needs a Savior. (Gen. 3, Rom. 3,1 Cor. 15:19-22)

SALVATION

- We believe salvation comes by the grace of God through faith. God is sovereign over all and salvation is by grace alone; it is a free gift. No one can be good enough to merit their own redemption, but God's love is shown through Jesus' work and salvation is offered freely. When God calls sinners to repentance, His elect respond by repenting of sin and placing complete trust in Jesus. The sinner is made a new creation and justified in God's sight. The believer begins to experience sanctification and is given eternal life. (John 3:3-21, Acts 2:21, Acts 16:30-31, Titus 2:11-14)

The Church

- We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ, carrying out the work of our King on the earth. The local church is a self-governing body of baptized believers under the authority of God and His Word. The local church observes the two ordinances of Christ: baptism and communion. The local church is on mission with God, meeting to worship Him and grow in grace together. They go into the world to carry out Jesus' command to make disciples. The Church seeks to expand God's family through evangelism and serve all people by showing the love of God. Churches should seek to cooperate with other churches, denominations, and networks as a unified Body, working together for the sake of the Gospel. (Matt. 16:15-19, Acts 2:41-42, 1 Cor. 12, Eph. 3:21)

Last Things

- We believe in the return of Jesus Christ. We believe the just will have part in the resurrection of life and enjoy eternal fellowship with God; the ungodly will come forth unto the resurrection of damnation. After judgment, the ungodly will abide in conscious existence in the torments of eternal hell. (1 Thes. 4:14-18, 2 Thes. 2, Rev. 20:1-22:13)