What We Believe

We believe in the one and only true God who is spirit. He is self-existent, infinite, personal, unchangeable, and eternal in his being. He is perfect in holiness, righteousness, love, justice, goodness, wisdom and truth. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is the creator and sustainer of all things both visible and invisible. He is both immanent in and transcendent to the creation. The one triune God exists and reveals himself as three persons, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe in God as our Father. In his nature and in his relationships, we understand him best as Father. While a human father imperfectly loves and cares, the heavenly Father perfectly loves and cares. He is good in all he does and in everything he gives, including his discipline.

We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was made in the likeness of men. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, thus blending organically and permanently his divine nature with human nature in one, unique person without a third nature being formed.

We believe the Holy Spirit is God, eternal in existence. His ministry, since his coming on the day of Pentecost, is broad and varied. Atsome time, every person in the world is touched by his work.

We believe the original texts of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, which the Church historically accepted as the Holy Scriptures, are God-breathed. These Scriptures are truth, written by holy men who were chosen and equipped by God for this special task.

We believe that man was created by an immediate act of God. He was created in the image and likeness of God. He was without sin, enjoyed fellowship with God and was capable of full obedience to his will. He was created in order that he might glorify God and enjoy him forever. In so doing, man finds his greatest measure of blessedness and true enjoyment.

We believe that man was confronted with a moral choice in the garden. By voluntarily transgressing God's command and yielding to the enticement of Satan, man lost his original condition, became physically, morally, intellectually and spiritually depraved and was alienated from God. In consequence of this act of disobedience, the entire human race became guilty before God with the result that each one of us possesses a sin nature. Both our sin nature and our acts of sin make us deserving of the righteous judgment of God. Therefore all men are sinners and guilty before God, are dead in their sins, and unable to save themselves.

We believe that God must and will punish sin because he is holy and cannot tolerate it. This punishment must come either to the guilty person or to a satisfactory substitute. Because it is not God's will that any should perish, he has provided the way of salvation. Jesus Christ voluntarily offered himself on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for sin so that all who believe in him may be redeemed. Initially salvation requires repentance and faith which results in justification, regeneration and sanctification and culminates in resurrection and glorification.

We believe the Church, in its universal context as the body of Christ, is composed of all believers regardless of name, race, nation or generation. The local church, as a part of that body, is composed of a group of believers in Christ who have voluntarily joined together and are devoted to one another in love, so that the church can fulfill its purpose and mission.