What We Believe

• God-We believe that God is the personal eternal Creator of everything. He rules over all in perfect wisdom and holiness. God has always existed as a Trinity of three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus Christ-Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity, equal in eternity, power, and glory with the Father and the Spirit, having the same Divine Nature as them. He took on human nature in His incarnation when He was born as a man of the virgin Mary. He died on the cross and rose bodily from the dead on the third day. He was taken up into heaven where He still dwells, making intercession for His people. He still has both His Divine Nature and human nature (body and soul) which are distinct but exist in personal union.
• The Holy Spirit-The Holy Spirit has been poured out on all believers and applies the work of Christ for us and our salvation to our persons so that we can have salvation and bear fruit to the glory of God.
• The Bible-The 66 books of the Bible which comprise the Old and New Testaments are the perfect revelation of God to man. They tell us of the only way that we can be saved. The Bible is inerrant and infallible in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts, and these have been preserved to such a high degree by God's providential care that our modern texts and translations are trustworthy and an infallible rule for belief and life.
• Salvation-We have a right standing before God only because Jesus has paid the price for our sins on the cross and lived a perfect life on our behalf. Because we have this right standing before God, we receive God's gift of redemption through faith, which is itself God's gift. He also gives us His Holy Spirit who works in us to make us holy in person and life. Thus our good works are a result and proof of our right standing with God, not a means by which we earn God's favor. Salvation is entirely by grace alone and is not merited by any good work or decision made by us, although faith and repentance are necessary for salvation.
• The Church-There is one Church composed of all believers. True churches (local congregations, regional organizations, and denominations) are those who preach the word of God faithfully, administer the sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper) rightly, and carry out church discipline according to the model laid out by Christ Himself in Matthew 18:15-22. The Church administers the means of grace (the word, the sacraments, and prayer) by which the lost are brought in and believers are built up and equipped for ministry. All true churches are servants of the same Lord and are called to serve together in His cause.
• Christian living-All believers are called to serve God by living according to His revealed will in their personal lives, relationships, and community life. Every believer is called to make disciples in their family, congregation, and community by sharing the gospel and demonstrating a godly life.
• Eternity-Those who belong to Christ by faith will go to Him immediately at death to live with Him in heaven. Upon His return at the end of time, their bodies will be raised from the dead in glory and all living believers will be glorified to live before Him in the new creation forever. Those who refuse Christ and live in rebellion against God without repentance and faith in the gospel go to their punishment in hell immediately at death and, after their resurrection, will suffer, body and soul, in hell forever. This coming judgment on the wicked spurs believers to share the good news of free salvation and new life in Christ with all those we can.