The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. The authoritative rule of faith and conduct. The Scriptures are the product of men who spoke and wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thess 2:13; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
God is called by many different names because of the different dimensions of His personality, but God is one. God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He is the creator of the heavens and the earth. While God is one, He has revealed Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; John 8:54-59; Genesis 1&2; Matthew 28:19)
Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God. The Scripture declares his virgin birth; His sinless life; His miracles; His substitutionary death on the cross; His bodily resurrection from the dead; His exaltation to the right hand of God.
(Matthew 1:18-23; Hebrews 7:26; I Peter 2:22, 2:24; I John 3:4-5; Acts 1:9,11, 2:22, 10:37-38; II Corinthians 5:21, 15:4; Matthew 28:1-6; Philippians 2:9-11)
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament and is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the old nature, and conforms us to the image of Christ. Given at Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the Church to preach the Gospel throughout the whole earth. The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. All believers are biblically encouraged to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of biblical parameters.
(Joel 2:28-29, Matthew 3:11, Mark 16:17, Acts 1:5,2:1-4, 17, 38-39, 8:14-17, 10:38, 44-47, 11:15-17, 19:1-6, Hebrews 2:4, Romans 1:11,12:4-8, Ephesians 4:16, II Timothy 1:5-16, 4:14, I Corinthians 12:1-31; 14:1-40, I Peter 4:10)
The Church is the body of Christ, made up of all Christ followers, that individually find a home at, worship at, and serve within their local Church and she has a threefold purpose: To evangelize the world, to worship God, and to equip for ministry.
(I Corinthians 12:12-28, 14:12; Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15-16; Ephesians 4:11-16)
Baptism
The Scripture teaches that all who repent and believe in Christ are to be baptized by immersion. Baptism is a public profession of faith in Christ. It is symbolic of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is a declaration to the world that we have died to sin and have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life.
(Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4).
Communion
The Lord’s table consists of two elements: the bread and cup. Those elements are symbolic of the body and blood of Christ. Communion is a memorial of Christ’s sufferings on the cross and a celebration of our salvation. When taken, it is an opportunity for a believer to examine him/herself and experience forgiveness.
(Luke 22:14-20; I Corinthians 11:23-29
Man was created in the image of God. However, by a voluntary act of the will, Adam and Eve disobeyed God. That first sin had several repercussions. Man was excommunicated from God’s perfect garden, Eden, a curse was pronounced, the process of physical death began, and man died spiritually. Sin entered our hearts and separated humankind from God and left man in a fallen or sinful condition.
(Genesis 1:26, 2:17, 3:6, 3:14-19, 3:23; Romans 3:23, 5:12-19; Ephesians 2:11-18)
The only means of salvation is Jesus Christ. He died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins. He offers each of us a pardon for our sins and wants us to become children of God.
(Acts 4:12; John 1:12, 14:6; I Peter 2:24; Hebrews 9:26)
When we put our faith in Christ, it triggers a spiritual chain reaction. We become the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We become citizens of heaven. We are given eternal life. We are adopted and become children of God. Our sins are forgiven and forgotten. We are credited with the righteousness of Christ. We are born-again. God takes ownership of us. We receive an eternal inheritance.
(I Corinthians 6:19-20; Revelation 3:5; Philippians 3:20-21; Galatians 4:4-7; John 3:3, 16; Hebrews 8:12; Romans 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:13-14; I Peter 1:3-5)
The evidence of salvation is two-fold. The internal evidence is the direct witness of the Holy Spirit. The external evidence is the fruit of the Spirit. We become a new creation and are transformed into the image of Christ.
(Romans 8:16; Galatians 5:22, 23; II Corinthians 3:18, 5:17)
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God. The Bible teaches that, without holiness, no man can see the Lord. We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, beginning at the time of salvation, and continuing until the return of Christ.
(Romans 12:1,2; Hebrews 12:14, 13:12; I Thessalonians 5:23; II Peter 3:18; II Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:12-14; I Corinthians 1:30)
Marriage is intended to be between one man and one woman as God biologically created them male and female at birth. We believe that God created the human race male and female and that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than one’s birth gender is immoral and therefore sin.
(Genesis 1:27; Deuteronomy 22:5).
We believe that God has established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman as God biologically created them male and female at birth, and that all intimate sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, is immoral and therefore sin.
(Genesis. 2:24; Exodus. 20:14, 17, 22:19; Leviticus 18:22-23, 20:13, 15-16; Matthew 19:4-6, 9; Romans 1:18-31; I Corinthians 6:9-10, 15-20; I Timothy 1:8-11; Jude 7).