DOCTRINES WE BELIEVE….
- We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- We believe that God the Son became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, who was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and who is true God and true man.
- We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are declared righteous on the basis of His shed blood.
- We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, in His ascension into heaven, and in His present life for us as High Priest, Intercessor, and Advocate.
- We believe in the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ and that we should live our lives in anticipation of His return.
- We believe that the Bible, consisting of all the books of the Old and New Testaments, is the written, inspired Word of God, our final and infallible authority in all matters of faith and life, inerrant in the original autographs and preserved by God through history by its many copies.
- We believe that man was created in the image of God, and that he sinned and consequently experienced not only physical death but also spiritual death (which is separation from God); as a result, all people are born with a sinful nature and apart from Jesus Christ are eternally lost.
- We believe that all who by faith receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are born again by the Holy Spirit and immediately become children of God and citizens of His Kingdom, a relationship in which they are eternally secure; this salvation is not the result of any human effort or merit.
- We believe that there is only one baptism of the Holy Spirit, occurring at salvation; at that time, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ and comes to indwell him permanently.
- We believe that the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to every believer, to be used for building up the Body of Christ; these gifts are to be exercised according to biblical guidelines and priorities.
- We believe that all Christians are “new creations;” and have been freed from the bondage of sin. As they mature in their walk, each believer makes a choice to become a disciple of Jesus. With Christ Jesus as our Disciplor we make moment by moment choices to walk following His leadership and taking on His character or to walk according to the flesh and experience sin with its consequences. All believers have the capability of becoming Christlike, in this life, to an extent far beyond what we believe to be possible.
- We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people; believers are resurrected to enjoy eternal life with God; unbelievers are resurrected to experience judgment and then eternal suffering apart from God.
- We believe in the reality and personality of Satan, and that, when given the opportunity, he attempts to defeat Christians; however, Christians can overcome Satan’s schemes by applying biblical truths in the power of the Holy Spirit.
- We believe that the Church consists of all those who have truly put their faith in Jesus Christ and that the purpose of the Church is to give God the worship and praise He deserves, to build up every believer to spiritual maturity, and to make disciples of every member and then every nation, through word and deed as ambassadors for Christ.
- We believe that Christ commissioned His Church to observe believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper until He returns.
- We believe that Christ is the head of the Church and that the local fellowship is to be governed by elders and deacons, men chosen on the basis of biblical qualifications.
DOCTRINES ON WHICH WE AGREE TO DISAGREE
There are some doctrines on which two Christians may agree to disagree, even though they are in the same local church and part of the same leadership group. Some examples might be dating of the events in Genesis, order of events associated with the Lord’s return, degree of separation from worldly practices, extent of spiritual gifts, preferences in worship, etc. When teaching is done in any such area, it should be made clear that these doctrines are not essential for salvation. We may state the case for our position, but we should point out that sincere and intelligent Christians hold different positions.