Statement of Faith
Summary of our Beliefs:
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is the focus of divine revelation.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. God reveals Himself to us as Father, His only Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit.
Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Each man and woman is a sinner by nature and choice.
Salvation
Salvation is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Salvation cannot be earned by good works, nor can salvation be lost by a lack of good works. However, good works should be the natural product of salvation in the believer’s life.
The Church
A New Testament church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers. 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.
Baptism
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It symbolizes the believer's faith in a risen Savior, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to newness of life in Christ Jesus.
The Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act whereby the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of Jesus. The bread symbolizes the broken body of Christ, while the juice symbolizes the shed blood of Jesus.
Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. This happens through individual and corporate witnessing and ministry, as well as local and international missions. Churches can support missionaries both individually and cooperatively.
Stewardship
Christians have the duty and privelege to serve God with their time, talents, and material possessions. Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause on earth.
Social Order
Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. Christians should provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick, and contend for the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.
Religious Liberty
Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. Civil government is ordained of God.
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is the focus of divine revelation.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. God reveals Himself to us as Father, His only Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit.
Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Each man and woman is a sinner by nature and choice.
Salvation
Salvation is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Salvation cannot be earned by good works, nor can salvation be lost by a lack of good works. However, good works should be the natural product of salvation in the believer’s life.
The Church
A New Testament church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers. 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.
Baptism
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It symbolizes the believer's faith in a risen Savior, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to newness of life in Christ Jesus.
The Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act whereby the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of Jesus. The bread symbolizes the broken body of Christ, while the juice symbolizes the shed blood of Jesus.
Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. This happens through individual and corporate witnessing and ministry, as well as local and international missions. Churches can support missionaries both individually and cooperatively.
Stewardship
Christians have the duty and privelege to serve God with their time, talents, and material possessions. Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause on earth.
Social Order
Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. Christians should provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick, and contend for the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.
Religious Liberty
Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. Civil government is ordained of God.
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.