Our Beliefs
THE SCRIPTURES
We believe in the authority and sufficiency of the Holy Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, as originally written; that it was verbally and plenarily inspired and is the product of Spirit-controlled men, and therefore is infallible and inerrant in all matters of which it speaks.
We believe the Bible to be the true center of all Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct; creed and opinions shall be tried.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21
GOD THE FATHER
We believe God, the Father, is a spirit infinite, eternal and unchangeable in all of His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He is the Creator, Sustainer and Ruler of the universe, Giver of all life in sovereign authority over all His created beings, the Keeper over the nation Israel and the Father and Disciplinarian of His chosen in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 139:7-10; Isaiah 46:9; Romans 11:33; Revelation 19:6
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary as no other man was ever nor can be born of a woman. He is very God of very God, being "God manifest in the flesh." He lived a life of absolute sinlessness and in His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins, dying not as a martyr, but as a voluntary substitute in the sinner's place. He rose bodily from the dead on the third day and ascended into heaven where He now sits at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest, interceding and preparing a place for us.
Matthew 1:18-25, 28:6; John 1:1, 14:3, 20:27; Acts 15:16; 1 Corinthians 15:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8; Hebrews 7:25, 8:6, 12:2; 1 Peter 2:22, 3:18; 1 John 2:1; Revelation 3:21
THE CHURCH
We believe the Scriptures teach that the Church of Jesus Christ began at Pentecost and will be completed at the Rapture. It must be considered in two aspects: the local church and the "church which is His body." The local church is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by a covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word. Its Scriptural officers are pastors, sometimes called bishops or elders, and deacons, whose qualification, claims, and duties are defined in the epistles to Timothy and Titus. This definition of the local church leads to these Scriptural distinctives:
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Sole authority of the Scriptures for faith and practice;
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Autonomy of the local church;
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Believer's baptism by immersion before church membership;
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Two symbolic ordinances, baptism and the Lord's table;
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Individual priesthood of the believer and soul liberty;
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Separation of church and state (no state church).
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The "church which is His body" is the entire company of believers in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, regardless of denominational affiliation and present position in heaven or on earth. Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:5, 2:1-4, 41-42, 10:44-45, 11:15-16; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; Titus 1, Hebrews 12:23