OUR CORE BELIEFS
We believe there is only one God. God is not limited in any way by creation or our ideas about God. God rules over all creation in love, justice, and wisdom (Genesis 1:1-31).
We believe God created and designed the whole world to be cared for and enjoyed. God has a plan for what He created and will accomplish God's purposes in the end. (Psalm 8:1-9)
We believe human beings are created in the image of God so that we can have a personal and communal relationship with God. As image bearers of God, we are created to love and to exercise gracious stewardship over the non-human creation (Genesis 1: 26-31).
We believe sin, death, evil, suffering and pain began by rebellion against God and can only be undone by the justice of God. Jesus’ birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection are the primary means by which God deals with sin, evil, death, suffering, and pain (Romans 1:16-32).
We believe God has communicated clearly through creation, through Jesus Christ, and through the Bible. The Bible is our authoritative standard for all matters of faith and life as it clearly points us to the mystery and power of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1; 1-4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We believe that although God is one, God is presented in three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)—the Trinity. As “Father,” God reigns on high, pursues righteous purposes, and will ultimately act as gracious judge of all creation (Luke 3:21-22; Revelation 20-22).
We believe Jesus Christ, the Son, is completely God and became a complete human being. His life revealed God to us. His death exemplifies the love of God which redeemed the original rebellion and the evil that followed. His resurrection overcame the power of death and gave us life with God after death. Jesus is now with the Father and personally intercedes on our behalf (John 1:1-18; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28).
We believe the Holy Spirit is completely God and does the work of the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit teaches, gives gifts, and transforms us into God’s image. The Holy Spirit empowers us to accomplish the will of God on earth as it is in heaven (John 14-16; Romans 8:18-39).
We believe salvation is by God’s grace, through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, and a result of the Holy Spirit’s active work in us (Philippians 2:1-11; Mark 10:35-45).
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We believe in the Church of Jesus Christ. The church is the community of people who have accepted Jesus as Savior to make them right with God and yielded to the Holy Spirit to make them more like God. The church is a “sent people,” “commissioned” to serve God and accomplish God's purposes in the world (Matthew 28:16-20, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 4:2-6).
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We believe God has given the church special ways in which we can draw close to God personally and enjoy God's blessings. These include but are not limited to baptism, communion, prayer, worship, preaching, teaching, sharing the Gospel, Bible study, fasting, serving the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized, exercising spiritual gifts, and building deep relationships with others (Ephesians 4:11-16).
We believe Jesus will one day return to finally overthrow evil and death forever and to set up a new heaven and a new earth where all of Jesus’ followers can be with Jesus forever (Matthew 19:28-30; Romans 8:22-24; Revelation 21-22).
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We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s day or Christian Sabbath; and we believe that the principles of Sabbath are to be observed by followers of Jesus Christ (Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-12; 28:1; Acts 20:7).
We believe in membership cooperation. We believe that members of the local congregation should willingly, enthusiastically, sacrificially, and collectively cooperate with each other and others to advance the ministry and mandate of Jesus Christ for the sake of the Kingdom of God (Ephesians 4:1-16; Philippians 1:15-18)
We believe in Christian education. We believe that Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Deuteronomy 4:1-9; 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16-17)
We believe in missional discipleship, evangelism, outreach, missions, and spiritual formation. We believe it is the duty and privilege of every follower of Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples and to spiritually form disciples through spiritual disciplines that lead to missional living, habits of holiness, Christian leadership, and service in the world (Matthew 4:1-11; 5:20; Luke 4:2, 11:1, 22:42, John 3:16-17, Revelation 3:20).
We believe in whole-life stewardship where God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual.
We believe that all that we have and are belong to God. Hence, we believe in giving God our time, talents, tithes, and testimonies to advance His Kingdom (Genesis 1:28, 14:19-20; Deuteronomy 14:22; Nehemiah 10:35-37, Proverbs 3:9-10, Malachi 3:8-12; Psalm 24:1, Luke 6:38, 12:13-21; Hebrews 7:1-2, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8).
We believe in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We allow congregants to express sign gifts in corporate prayer and corporate worship under the guidance of pastoral leadership (Romans 12:4-7, 8, 10, 12, 28; 1 Corinthians 7:7-8, 12:4-5, 8-10, 28, 30, 13:3, 14:27-28 ; Ephesians 3:6-8, 4:11, I Peter 4:9-10).
We believe God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. We also believe the family is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. We believe that marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment according to the teachings of Christ (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20, Proverbs 1:8-9, Ephesians 5:21-33).
We believe that God calls some to a life of singleness. We believe that the call to singleness is a gift from God and is to be lived in vibrant community (I Corinthians 7:7-8, 17; Acts 21:9).
We believe that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral government; that it is holy, just and good; and that the inability which the scriptures ascribe to fallen individuals to fulfill its precepts arises entirely from their love of sin (Romans 3:31; Matthew 5:17; Romans 8:2‑4).
We believe that civil government is of divine appointment, for the interests and good order of all in human society; and that governmental leaders at every level are to be prayed for, honored and obeyed; except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:1‑7; Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:29).
We believe in religious liberty. We believe that God alone is Lord of the conscience. We believe Church and state should be separate (Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Matthew 6:6-7, 24; John 8:36; Acts 4:19-20).
We believe in social justice. We believe that Christians should oppose racism, sexism, ageism, and any type of “ism” individually or institutionalized. We believe that Christians should oppose all forms of injustices (Isaiah 30:18, Micah 6:8, Matthew 23:23).
We believe that Christians should seek peace over war on principles of righteousness and justice (Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 5:9,38-48; 6:33; 26:52; Luke 22:36,38; Romans 12:18-19; 13:1- 7; 14:19; Hebrews 12:14; James 4:1-2).
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the unrighteous; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, sanctified by the spirit of our God, and on mission with God to advance God’s Kingdom agenda are truly righteous (Matthew 4:17, 5:3-11, 6:13; Ephesians 6:12, Romans 1:17; I John 5:19, Revelation 11:15).