Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is fully God and is given to believers in Jesus, fulfilling the promise of God to live with believers (John 14:26, Acts 2:17-18). Through the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son make Their home within every believer. The Holy Spirit empowers the Christian to obey the Lord (Rom 8:13), unites the church (Eph 4:1-6), and continually points our hearts to Jesus (John 15:26). He gives spiritual gifts to believers to bring the church to maturity as they work together to obey the Lord in spreading the gospel (Eph 4:7-16, 1 Cor 12:4-28).

Humanity

God made people in His image to exist in love with Him and each other. The Bible teaches that God created us uniquely male and female, equally bearing the image of God (Gen 1:26-28). As God's creation, mankind was created in perfect goodness (Gen 1:31). However, because of the sin of Adam, all mankind is subject to sin and death, and apart from God’s salvation in Jesus we will be eternally lost (Acts 4:12). One day every person, both small and great, will give an account to God for the things they have done in this life, both good and bad (Matt 25:31-46, Rev 20:12-15). God’s desire is that all people will be saved (1Tim 2:3-4), and He has made a way of salvation through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ available to everyone through the worldwide preaching of the gospel (Acts 17:30-31, Eph 3:8-10).

Marriage

We joyfully affirm that marriage is the union between one man and one woman, as revealed by God in Genesis 2:24 and affirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19:4-5. Marriage is intended by God to be a lifelong covenant as Jesus stated in Matthew 19:6 & 8. This union models Christ’s eternal and faithful love for the church as Paul described in Ephesians 5:22-33.

Salvation

Because of His great love, God sent His son to die for the sins of the world so that everyone who believes in Him will be forgiven and made righteous (John 3:16). Salvation is given freely as a gift; nothing can be done to earn it (Eph 2:8-10). People are saved when they repent of their sins and believe in Christ as the Savior who died for our sins and was raised for our justification (Rom 4:25, 1 Cor 15:1-4). Every believer will be saved from both the penalty and power of sin and will begin a life of becoming more like God in personal holiness. Nothing can separate the believer from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:38-39).

The Church

The church is composed of those who have placed their faith in Jesus, and the local church consists of those who have covenanted together to fulfill the commands of Jesus in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:19-22, 1 Cor 10:16-17).

Through Jesus, we are not only adopted as sons and daughters of God, but we are placed into a family of brothers and sisters (1 John 3:2). God has called us to serve one another in love and to spread the gospel to every part of the world (Matt 28:18-20).

Through the Holy Spirit, God gives every believer spiritual gifts to serve Him and the church through acts of service, encouragement, administration, preaching, and teaching, and many others (1 Cor 12:1-31). Every believer is called to serve the Lord in the context of a local church where our gifts work together for the benefit of the church and the glory of God (1 Pet 4:10-11).

Within the context of the local church, it is the members of the church together who possess the highest authority Biblically (Matt 18:15-20, 1 Cor 5:1-13). They together affirm each other in faith, carry out the mission of the church to spread the gospel, and love and serve one another (1 Pet 4:10-11).

God calls the church to be led by elders and deacons (Acts 14:21-23, 1 Tim 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9, Phil 1:1). Our church offices are described in detail in article seven (7).

In obedience to Jesus, the church practices two ordinances: baptism and communion.

Although it is not necessary for salvation, baptism should immediately follow a believer’s conversion.

Baptism is the ceremony which represents a person placing faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus by being buried in water as Jesus was buried in the ground, and being raised up out of water as Jesus was raised to life. This ceremony is only appropriate after a person has believed in the gospel. It is an expression of the believer's union with Christ in both His death and His life (Rom 6:4). As a symbol of death and new life it speaks to the believer about his or her death to sin and new life in God (Rom 6:3-11). Baptism also speaks to those who witness the baptism that this new believer is publicly confessing Christ as the Savior and Lord. If baptism by immersion is impossible, other modes may be considered.

Communion (also called the Lord’s Supper) is the eating of bread to remember the body of Jesus that was broken for us, and the drinking of grape juice to remember His blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins (Matt 26:26-28). It is the regular reminder of the death of Christ on behalf of the believer and a public proclamation of His sacrifice for His people (1 Cor 11:23-26). The body of Christ is symbolically represented through bread, and the blood of Christ is symbolically represented through grape juice. By eating the bread and drinking the juice we are remembering God’s promises to save us by faith through the sacrifice of Christ for us. Through it the church celebrates the unity of the body and the forgiveness of sins we each have through Christ (1 Cor 10:16-17). It is to be taken reverently, and joyfully. We believe that all who have placed their faith and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins are welcome to receive communion with our church.

Future Hope and Justice

We believe that Jesus will return to put an end to all evil (2 Thess 1:5-10). Those who have rejected His offer of salvation will suffer the holy wrath of God for all eternity in hell (Matt 25:31-46, Rev 20:12-15). Those who have received the free gift of salvation will enjoy the fullness of God and all His goodness together for all eternity (Rev 21:1-22:5).