Statements of Belief

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God               There is only one living, infinite, true, perfect, and holy God. He is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere at all times). He is personally and actively involved within the universe He created. The one and only God reveals Himself to us through the distinct personal attributes of Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit that are also entirely without division of nature, essence, or being.

The Father               God the Father reigns with divine care and direction over His universe and the stream of history, the present, and the future according to His will. He is Fatherly in His attitude toward all men. He is Father in truth to those whom accept His gift of reconciliation to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ             Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. While on the earth he was fully human and also was, and is for eternity, fully God. He lived a sinless life, sacrificially died for the sins of every person, was buried, arose from the grave, and appeared to His disciples as the person He was before His crucifixion. Being wholly God and wholly man, he is the only way a person can be reconciled to God. He will literally return in power and glory to judge the world and to complete His redemptive mission. He dwells within every believer as their living and eternal Lord.

The Holy Spirit       God the Holy Spirit inspired the earthly authors to write the Holy Scriptures. He enables people to understand truth. He actively guides and comforts every believer. He calls people to the Savior and at the moment of reconciliation to God (the acceptance of God’s gift of salvation), He regenerates their life into the Body of Christ. He bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God. He enlightens and empowers believers and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Scripture     The Holy Bible was written by people who were divinely inspired to convey God’s revelation about Himself to people. It is inerrant; a wholly sufficient and trustworthy source of truth and instruction concerning the principles by which God judges us. It is a testimony to Christ and the standard by which we commit to abide.

Salvation      Is necessary to reconcile us to a Holy God because of our sin. There is no salvation without personal faith in Jesus Christ. It is freely offered to all people through the redemptive power of Christ’s blood, through His sacrificial death to atone for our sins, to those who repent of their sins and accept Him as Lord. It is an eternal redemption that regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies us, so that we may be deemed worthy to be in the presence of God.

Regeneration         Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit that brings a person from spiritual death into spiritual life at the moment of salvation. The phrase “born again,” is used to describe this work in the Bible for, just as we had no part in imparting life to ourselves at our physical conception. Just as we have no part in imparting spiritual life to ourselves at the time of our new birth, or regeneration in Christ.

Justification            Justification is God’s action of declaring or making us righteous in His sight at the moment of salvation. This justification can only be obtained by God’s grace through a person’s faith in Him. It cannot be earned through any work or ritual. As regeneration and justification both happen instantaneously at the moment of salvation, a person needs nothing else to gain entry to heaven.

Sanctification         Sanctification is the process a person, empowered by the Holy Spirit, begins at the moment of regeneration. When we actively begin abiding in our new life unto God by growing toward moral and spiritual maturity we are working through the process of sanctification. Through sanctification, a person’s growth in grace should continue throughout their life.  Sanctification is a present possession, by virtue of our relationship with Jesus Christ, as well as a progressive life-long process of God-dependent effort on our part. It is also a reminder of our future anticipated completion which will result in a person’s glorification. It is not until glorification that the process of sanctification finally ends.

Glorification           Glorification is the final phase of our total redemption as believers in Christ. It is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed. It is the final mysterious, supernatural transformation that will occur at Christ’s Second Coming whereby our bodies will be made imperishable, impervious to death and sickness. Our souls will be fully filled with righteousness and truth, with no room for grief or burden. A state in which we will be like Christ and see him just as he is. It is the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus receiving us to himself and changing us gloriously, forever.

Baptism:                   Baptism is an act of obedience by a believer, done in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The baptism by immersion in water, symbolizes the believer’s faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior Jesus Christ, their death to sin, the burial of the old life, and their spiritual resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to the believer’s faith in the final resurrection of the dead. It is also a church ordinance.

Dedications       A Dedication, sometimes referred to as an Infant Dedication or Baby Dedication, is a Christian ceremony which simply dedicates an infant to God, welcomes the baby into the church, and has the parents dedicate themselves to raising the child as a Christian. The ceremony specifically does not include baptizing the baby with water. 

Communion             Communion is an ordinance of Jesus Christ. It is a symbolic recreation of the Lord’s Supper wherein followers of Christ remember His sacrifice for us and hold fast to the truth that we are people formed by God’s grace. It is an act of obedience whereby members of God’s Church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

The Church              A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. The New Testament also refers to the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

Evangelism and Missions           It is the duty and privilege of every follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His church, to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The rebirth of one’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit imbues in them the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all Christ’s followers is expressly and repeatedly commanded in His teachings. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek opportunities to invite the lost into a relationship with Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

Mankind       People are the special creation of God, made in His own image. In the beginning, He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. Initially, mankind was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby all people inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring a person into His holy fellowship and enable them to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for all people; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

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Scriptural References for the

Statements of Belief

Scripture                  Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; Joshua 8:34; Psalm 19:7-10, 119:9, 11, 89, 105, 160; Isaiah 34:16, 40:8, 55:11; Jeremiah 15:16, 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18, 22:29; Luke 21:33, 24:44-46; John 5:39, 17:17; Acts 17:11; Romans 15:4, 16:25-26; II Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2, 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21

God

The Father               Genesis 1:1, 2:7; Exodus 3:14, 6:2-3, 20:1-3; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4, 32:6; 1Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3, 43:15, 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10, 17:13; Matthew 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; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6, 12:9, 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7

Jesus Christ             Psalm 2:7-12; Psalm 110 1:1; Isaiah 7:14, 53 1-2; Matthew 1:18-23, 3:17, 8:29, 11:27, 14:33, 16:16, 16:27, 17:5, 17:27, 28:1-6, 28:19; Mark 1:1, 3:11; Luke 1:35, 4:41, 22:70, 24:46; John 1:1-18, 1:29, 10:30, 10:38, 11:25-27, 12:44-50, 14:7-11, 16:15-16, 16:28, 17:1-5, 17:21-22, 20:1-28; Acts 1:9, 2:22-24, 7:55-56, 9:4-5, 9:20; Romans 1:3-4, 3:23-26, 5:6-21, 8:1-3, 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2:2, 8:6, 15:1-8, 15:24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21, 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20, 3:11, 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22, 2:9, 1Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1Timothy 2:5-6, 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3, 4:14-15; 7:14-28, 9:12-15, 9:24-28, 12:2, 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25, 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9, 3:2, 4:14-15, 5:9; 2 John 7-9, Revelation 1:13-16, 5:9-14, 12:10-11, 13:8, 19:16

The Holy Spirit       Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalm 51:11, 13:7; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18, 3:16, 4:1, 12:28-32, 28:19; Mark 1:10-12; Luke 1:35, 4:1, 4:18-19, 11:13, 12:12, 24:49; John 4:24, 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:7-14; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 2:38, 4:31, 5:3, 6:3, 7:55, 8:17, 8:39, 10:44, 13:2, 15:28, 16:6, 19:1-6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30, 5:18; 1Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16, 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14, 3:16; Hebrews 9:8, 9:14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13, 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10, 22:17

Salvation (Regeneration, Justification, Sanctification, Glorification)   Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17, 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21, 4:17, 16:21-26, 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69, 2:28-32; John 1:11-14, 1:29, 3:3-21, 3::36, 5:24, 10:9, 10:28-29, 15:1-16, 17:17; Acts 2:21, 4:12, 15:11, 16:30-31, 17:30-31, 20:32; Romans 1:16-18, 2:4, 3:23-25, 4:3, 5:8-10, 6:1-23, 8:1-18, 8:29-39, 10:9-13, 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 1:30, 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20, 3:13, 5:22-25, 6:15; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-22, 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22, 3:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 timothy 1:12, Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3, 5:8-69, 9:24-28, 11:1-12:8, 12:14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11, Revelation 3:20, 21:1-22:5

Baptism                    Matthew 3:13-17, 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 3:23; Acts 2:41, 8:35-39, 16:30-33; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12

Communion            Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:42, 20:7; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 10:21, 11:23-29

The Church              Matthew 16:15-19, 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-47, 5:11-14, 6:3-6, 13:1-3, 14:23, 14:27, 15:1-30, 16:5, 20:28; Romans 1:7, 12:4-5 1 Corinthians 1:2, 3:16, 5:4-5, 7:17, 9:13-14, 12:1-31; Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 3:8-11, 3:21, 5:22-32, Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1Timothy 2:9-14, 3:1-15, 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter5:1-4; Revelation 21:2-3

Evangelism and Missions           Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-6, Isaiah 6:1-8, Matthew 9:37-38, 10:5-15, 13:18-30, 13:37-43, 16:19, 22:9-10, 214:14, 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-28, 24:46-53; John 14:11-12, 15:7-8, 15:16, 17:15, 20:21; Acts 1:8, 2:1-47, 8:26-40, 10:42-48, 13:2-3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesian 3:1-11; 1Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 2:1-3, 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 22:17

Mankind                   Genesis 1:26-30, 2:5, 2:7, 2:18-22, 3:1-24, 9:6; Psalm 1:1-6, 8:3-6, 32:1-5, 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32, 3:10-18, 3:23, 5:6, 5:12, 5:19, 6:6, 7:14-25, 8:14-18, 8:29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31, 15:19-22, Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22, 3:9-11