What We Believe

Our Statements of Faith

The Story of God’s Saving Love

God created people to be in a loving relationship with the Father and the Son and the Spirit.  However, sin came into the world and destroyed the loving relationship between the Creator and his creation.  Sin is mankind’s ultimate disease.  It leads to turmoil and selfishness which distances God’s children from their Father.  This separation from God, sin, is what robs us from real joy and happiness in our lives.  

Over the centuries, God has done countless acts to bring a lasting joy to his children.   Yet only a perfect gift of love would have the power to wipe out the cosmic effects of sin.   Out of his love, God parted with his own son, Jesus, and had him pay the penalty for our sins.  Jesus paid it with the death and sacrifice of his very own flesh and blood.  God asks that we accept his gift and trust him to be the only Lord of our lives.  Then we will have freedom from the effects of sin, and we will live with God forever. 

In Essentials:  Unity

There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4-6

In Non-Essentials:  Acceptance

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. . . . Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?  To his own master he stands or falls.  And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. . . .  Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. . . . Whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Romans 14:1, 4, 13, 22

In All Things:  Love

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2-3

We must always demonstrate love to those who either reject the essential truths of Christianity or whose opinion on non-essential matters differs from ours.  Love is greater than knowledge!

About God 

God is eternal.  He has always existed.  God created and rules the world and everything in it.  God is the ultimate truth of the universe.  He is the one and only eternal, immortal, and invisible being.  The one God exists in three “personalities:”  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (See Genesis 1:1, Psalm 24:1-2, Psalm 90:2, Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 Timothy 1:17)

About Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the Son of God; the eternal God in human flesh.  In His incarnation, God became human and lived a sinless life on earth.  In His crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead He became our Savior.  In His ascension to glory, He is our Lord.  In His ultimate return, He is our hope. (See John 1:1,14; 6:35; 8:12,23; 8:56-59; 11:25-26; 14:6-9; Colossians 1:13-20; 1 Timothy 6:14-16; Hebrews 1:1-3; Philippians 2:5-11)

About the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the “third personality” of the eternal God, equal with the Father and the Son.  He acts in the world to make people aware of their need for God.  He is present in Christians to guide us, to instruct us, to comfort us, to purify us, and to strengthen us for daily living. (See Matthew 28:19; John 16:7-14; Acts 2:38; Romans 8:10-11, 14, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Peter 1:2; Galatians 5:22)

About People

People are God’s highest creation, made in God’s own “image.”  The GOOD NEWS is that people share many of God’s own characteristics:  our ability to reason, our knowledge of right and wrong, our creativity, our capacity for love, our desire for meaning and for eternity.  The BAD NEWS is that the image of God in us has been marred by an attitude of disobedience called “sin.”  Every person has two unsolvable problems: (1) a problem with sinning, and (2) a problem with death.  God solved these two problems for us by sending Jesus Christ into the world. (See Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Romans 3:10-23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 2:11-12)

About the Bible

The Bible is God’s word to people.  It is the result of a divine-human cooperation:  God’s message in human language.  Because the Bible comes from God, it answers our most important questions with authority:  Who is God?  What is life about?  What is my purpose? (See 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119:105; John 17:17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 24:35)

About Salvation

Salvation is God’s free gift.  We cannot earn it!  In Jesus Christ, God solved our two greatest problems.  In His death on the cross God dealt with our sins.  In His resurrection from the grave God dealt with our death.  Salvation is offered freely to anyone who will receive it.  We are saved only by trusting in what God did for us in Jesus Christ. (See John 3:16; John 14:6; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38-39; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 1:16; Romans 5:6-9; Romans 6:3-8; Titus 3:5-7)

About the Church 

The church is God’s family; the people who have been born again through Jesus Christ.  The church is the body — Christ is the head.  The church is the bride — Christ is the groom.  The church is the flock — Christ is the shepherd.  The church represents Christ in the world and seeks to fulfill Jesus’ commission to preach the good news to all the nations.  If you belong to Christ you also belong to His church! (See Matthew 16:18: Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:21-23; 3:20-21; 5:25-26; 1 Timothy 3:15)

About Hope

In Jesus Christ, God offers us immortality.  Sin results in death, but in Christ, God gives us eternal life.  Those who receive Christ in this life look forward to bodily resurrection and eternity with God (heaven).  The consequence of rejecting Christ is separation from God (hell). (See John 11:25-26; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 50-57; Romans 8:23-25; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; 2 Timothy 4:7-8; 1 Peter 1:3-5)