Our Core Beliefs

We believe in an eternal, holy and loving God who created the universe and is the sovereign ruler of everything. Genesis 1:1, 26, 27; 3:22-24;

Psalm 90:2;Matthew 28:19; 1 Timothy 6:15 ; John 1:1-5

 

We believe in Jesus the son of God who lived a sinless human life, offered himself as a sacrifice for the disobedience (sins) of all people by dying on the cross and then rose again on the third day to conquer sin and death. He ascended into heaven and will come again to eternally redeem his followers. Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John1:1-5; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 13:4; 15:3-4: Romans 1:1-4; Acts 1:9-11; 4:12; Colossians 2:9-10; 1 Timothy 6:13-15

 

We believe that the holy spirit who is sent from God to each believer. The Spirit provides Christians with power for living, insight for the understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Spirit gives and amplifies spiritual gifts in every believer for the glory of God. We are to live under control of the Spirit daily. Acts1:8; John 14:16-17; 16:7-13; Galatians 5:22-26; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; 1 Peter 1:1-2

 

We believe the Bible is the Word of God for humanity. It is the supreme source of truth for our beliefs about God and how we should live. We believe it is inspired by God and is truth without error. The duty of the church is to share this Word with everyone. 2Timothy 3:16; 2Peter 1:20-21; Psalm12:6;119:105,160; Proverbs 30:5; Isaiah 55:8-11

 

We believe that people are made in the image of God and are called to be like God in character. We also acknowledge that each one of us has been marred by disobedience toward the will of God. We call this disobedience sin. Sin separates us from God and causes many of the problems in our life and will have eternal consequences for each of us. Genesis 1:26-27; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:21-26; Isaiah 59:1-2; Psalm 51:1-4; 139:13-16; Colossians 2:13-15

 

We believe that salvation is Gods free gift to us. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus's sacrifice as God's offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin's eternal penalty. When we turn from our life of self-rule and turn to Jesus in faith, we are saved by the gift of God alone. Romans 3:21-26; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; 10:9-10; Acts 2:42-47; Titus 2:11; 3:6-8; 1John 5:11

 

We believe that baptism is the public way to declare to the world what God is doing on the inside of a believer. Baptism shows the world the commitment we are making to God and is a command of God for the believer. In baptism we follow the example of Jesus, our savior, who was baptized to fulfill his response to God's will. Matthew 3:16-17; 28:18-20; Acts 2:37-41; 8:12; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21

 

We believe that every believer is called to participate with in Communion, also known as the Lords supper. As often as the congregation gathers to share the body and blood of Jesus through the taking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, we proclaim our belief in Jesus as the Promised One and invited him to continue to live in our lives. Since the table was set by Jesus, and not by us, we practice open Communion and extend Jesus' invitation to anyone who wants to participate with us in celebrating our Savior. Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Matthew 26:17-27; Luke 22:7-20; Mark 14:12-25; 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

 

We believe that faith in God which produces salvation through God's grace and mercy will also produce obedience in the life of the believer. the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer to help them grow to be more like God through obedience. As a believer grows in faith, their lives will continue to turn away from their previous lifestyle and toward the life God is calling them to live. We believe that a lack of obedience on the behalf of a believer points to a crisis in faith. Ephesians 2:10; John 14:12, 15-17; James 2:17; Matthew 3:8; Acts 3:19; 2 John 1:6

 

We believe that the church is the Body of Christ, both as a collection of believers throughout the world and also as the local congregation of believers throughout the world and also as the local congregation. All believers are added to the church by God alone and the unity of all believers is created by God. Believers are called to preserve the unity that has been created by God and accept one another in faith and love. Divisiveness is contrary to Gods plan for the church. John 3:17; 17:22-23; Ephesians 4:1-6, 11-13; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Galatians 5:13-15; Titus 3:10

 

We believe that the two greatest commandments in the Bible are first to love God with all our heart, soul, body, and mind and second to love our neighbor as we love our self. These two avenues of love ought to be evident in everything we do as believers and as a church. We believe that without this love, we become empty and our efforts to do good works become meaningless. We are called to love our families, our fellow believers, our neighbors, strangers who need us and even our enemies. Love for a believer is not an option. Deuteronomy 6:5; 11:13; Leviticus 19:18, 34; Matthew 5:43-48; 22:36-39; Mark 12:30-33; Luke 10:27: John 13:34-35; 1Peter 3:8; Romans 13:8, 1 Corinthians 13

 

We also believe that many things in the Bible that are hard to understand and that have been interpreted differently by sincere believers throughout the ages. In these matters, each believer is to pray, study and examine these issues for themselves, and that these issues should not be considered as doctrines or values that should hinder believers from enjoying fellowship with each other and with Jesus. While the Bible is inspired, our interpretations do not have the benefit of inspiration. Romans 14:1-22; 1 Corinthians 10:23-24; Ephesians 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:15-16