STATEMENT OF BELIEF
THE BIBLE
The Bible was written by men under inspiration from God. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It is the source of God’s divine revelation and is the final authority for our belief and practice. We communicate the Bible with consideration for its intended audience, literary genres, and eternal context.
THE TRINITY
There is only one living and true God. God is the completely holy and sovereign creator and sustainer of the universe. He exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three persons are co-equal and co-eternal but are distinct from one another. To Him, we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.
GOD THE FATHER
God as Father reigns with care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of history according to His purposes. He is all-powerful, all- knowing, all-loving, and all-wise. God is Father to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
JESUS CHRIST THE SON
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and has existed eternally as God. He chose to take on flesh and be born of the virgin Mary. He is both fully God and fully man forever forward. Jesus lived a perfect life and died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He rose bodily from the grave in victory over death, sin, and Satan. Jesus will one day return to earth and reign as king.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired the writing of the Bible. He empowers believers to live the life God has called us to, illuminates the Word of God, and convicts people of sin. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers to be used to serve others.
HUMANITY
God created humans in His image. Out of all of creation, we are set apart as God’s image-bearers, which gives all people inherent worth and special responsibility. Being made in His image, we can have a relationship with God founded on love and worship, unlike any other created thing.
MARRIAGE AND PARENTING
Marriage is a covenantal relationship that is between a man and a woman and provides the foundation for a family. Sex is a gift from God to be practiced only in marriage. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing from the Lord. Parents, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, are to raise children in biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
MEN AND WOMEN
The Bible celebrates the highest form of gender value displayed by God’s special creation of males and females, both of which are made in His image. Gender biologically and spiritually defines who God designs each of us to be. Men and women share equal ability, capacity, and potential, and simultaneously are entrusted and held accountable for unique responsibilities by God.
THE ROLES OF MEN AND WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
In the church, the highest positions of authority and responsibility, called Pastor (ποιμήν - Poimen), Overseer (ἐπίσκοπος - Episkopos), and Elder (πρεσβύτερος – Presbuteros), are reserved exclusively for a man or men who are accountable to God for the communal, organizational, and institutional wellbeing of the church. While women are not called to these roles, the Bible teaches that women are gifted to lead and teach in the church.
SIN
Due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin entered and corrupted the world. The effects of sin impact all creation, including us. Sin separates us from God and from who God has designed us to be. Due to our sin, we stand guilty before God, deserve the punishment of eternal separation from Him, and are incapable of having a relationship with Him without His intervention.
SALVATION
God, according to His grace, offers salvation and forgiveness of sin to us as a gift that is obtained through faith in the work of Jesus through His sacrificial death and resurrection. Those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior are born again. Upon salvation, the Holy Spirit brings us from spiritual death to spiritual life. The Holy Spirit transforms and enables us to live like Jesus.
HEAVEN AND HELL
Humans have been designed to exist forever. Those who are saved by Jesus will spend eternity on the new heavens and new earth in new life under the rule and reign of Jesus, forever. Those who reject Jesus will experience the wrath of God and spend eternity separated from God in Hell.
THE CHURCH
The Church is the global community of believers, united as the body of Jesus Christ. A church is a localized group of baptized believers committed to one another and the mission of God, with loyalty and unity. The church gathers weekly to learn, serve, practice communion and baptism, and function as a family and team. God expects all Christians to by loyal and unified with one local church where they become members and expand the church’s ministry through regular service and giving. Churches are led by biblically qualified pastors who equip believers for the works of ministry.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
The people of God are equipped and empowered to serve the church through special gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit. Some gifts were exclusive to the times of the prophets and apostles, such as prophesying, which has become preaching God’s word, and healing. God can and does heal, but He does so independently or in response to the prayers of His people, not through what was a former spiritual gift. The gift of tongues is biblically shown to be the ability to speak in human languages unknown to the speaker for the purposes of evangelism and edification of the church through interpreters. There is no such thing as a second baptism of the Holy Spirit, nor is there a requirement of speaking in tongues to be saved.
COMMUNION
Communion is taken in remembrance of the work of Jesus on the cross, symbolically representing His body and blood. Communion is reserved for followers of Jesus Christ who are in good relational standing with the church.
BAPTISM
Baptism is an act of obedience, symbolizing a believer’s receiving of Jesus. Immersion in water represents death to a sinful life apart from Jesus and raising from water displays the gift of a new life through salvation in Jesus.
THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
According to His promise, Jesus will return and reign on the earth and, in his time, will create a new Heaven and Earth.
HERETICAL TEACHINGS & LIES WE STAND AGAINST
The Prosperity Gospel is a heretical teaching that proclaims God's desire for all Christians to be healthy and wealthy. This contradicts the promise of Jesus Christ that believers will experience hardships in this life, especially for following Him.
Word of Faith is a heretical teaching that declares all who have faith in God can name and claim God’s blessings and rewards. Among these is the belief that the healing of ailments can be spoken into existence. Those who fail to manifest blessings, rewards, or healing through spoken words wrongly told they are cursed for lacking faith, or because they have sin in their lives. Jesus Christ guarantees blessings, rewards, and healing in Heaven, not on Earth.
The New Apostolic Reformation is a heretical movement in which false teachers label themselves as holding the extinct roles of apostles and prophets. They do this to claim authority and power they do not have, even to the extent of changing the Bible.
Little "gods" Theology is a false teaching that follows deification, the belief that because humans are made in God's image, we are also gods.
The Bible was written by men under inspiration from God. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It is the source of God’s divine revelation and is the final authority for our belief and practice. We communicate the Bible with consideration for its intended audience, literary genres, and eternal context.
THE TRINITY
There is only one living and true God. God is the completely holy and sovereign creator and sustainer of the universe. He exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three persons are co-equal and co-eternal but are distinct from one another. To Him, we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.
GOD THE FATHER
God as Father reigns with care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of history according to His purposes. He is all-powerful, all- knowing, all-loving, and all-wise. God is Father to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
JESUS CHRIST THE SON
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and has existed eternally as God. He chose to take on flesh and be born of the virgin Mary. He is both fully God and fully man forever forward. Jesus lived a perfect life and died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He rose bodily from the grave in victory over death, sin, and Satan. Jesus will one day return to earth and reign as king.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired the writing of the Bible. He empowers believers to live the life God has called us to, illuminates the Word of God, and convicts people of sin. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers to be used to serve others.
HUMANITY
God created humans in His image. Out of all of creation, we are set apart as God’s image-bearers, which gives all people inherent worth and special responsibility. Being made in His image, we can have a relationship with God founded on love and worship, unlike any other created thing.
MARRIAGE AND PARENTING
Marriage is a covenantal relationship that is between a man and a woman and provides the foundation for a family. Sex is a gift from God to be practiced only in marriage. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing from the Lord. Parents, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, are to raise children in biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
MEN AND WOMEN
The Bible celebrates the highest form of gender value displayed by God’s special creation of males and females, both of which are made in His image. Gender biologically and spiritually defines who God designs each of us to be. Men and women share equal ability, capacity, and potential, and simultaneously are entrusted and held accountable for unique responsibilities by God.
THE ROLES OF MEN AND WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
In the church, the highest positions of authority and responsibility, called Pastor (ποιμήν - Poimen), Overseer (ἐπίσκοπος - Episkopos), and Elder (πρεσβύτερος – Presbuteros), are reserved exclusively for a man or men who are accountable to God for the communal, organizational, and institutional wellbeing of the church. While women are not called to these roles, the Bible teaches that women are gifted to lead and teach in the church.
SIN
Due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin entered and corrupted the world. The effects of sin impact all creation, including us. Sin separates us from God and from who God has designed us to be. Due to our sin, we stand guilty before God, deserve the punishment of eternal separation from Him, and are incapable of having a relationship with Him without His intervention.
SALVATION
God, according to His grace, offers salvation and forgiveness of sin to us as a gift that is obtained through faith in the work of Jesus through His sacrificial death and resurrection. Those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior are born again. Upon salvation, the Holy Spirit brings us from spiritual death to spiritual life. The Holy Spirit transforms and enables us to live like Jesus.
HEAVEN AND HELL
Humans have been designed to exist forever. Those who are saved by Jesus will spend eternity on the new heavens and new earth in new life under the rule and reign of Jesus, forever. Those who reject Jesus will experience the wrath of God and spend eternity separated from God in Hell.
THE CHURCH
The Church is the global community of believers, united as the body of Jesus Christ. A church is a localized group of baptized believers committed to one another and the mission of God, with loyalty and unity. The church gathers weekly to learn, serve, practice communion and baptism, and function as a family and team. God expects all Christians to by loyal and unified with one local church where they become members and expand the church’s ministry through regular service and giving. Churches are led by biblically qualified pastors who equip believers for the works of ministry.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
The people of God are equipped and empowered to serve the church through special gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit. Some gifts were exclusive to the times of the prophets and apostles, such as prophesying, which has become preaching God’s word, and healing. God can and does heal, but He does so independently or in response to the prayers of His people, not through what was a former spiritual gift. The gift of tongues is biblically shown to be the ability to speak in human languages unknown to the speaker for the purposes of evangelism and edification of the church through interpreters. There is no such thing as a second baptism of the Holy Spirit, nor is there a requirement of speaking in tongues to be saved.
COMMUNION
Communion is taken in remembrance of the work of Jesus on the cross, symbolically representing His body and blood. Communion is reserved for followers of Jesus Christ who are in good relational standing with the church.
BAPTISM
Baptism is an act of obedience, symbolizing a believer’s receiving of Jesus. Immersion in water represents death to a sinful life apart from Jesus and raising from water displays the gift of a new life through salvation in Jesus.
THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
According to His promise, Jesus will return and reign on the earth and, in his time, will create a new Heaven and Earth.
HERETICAL TEACHINGS & LIES WE STAND AGAINST
The Prosperity Gospel is a heretical teaching that proclaims God's desire for all Christians to be healthy and wealthy. This contradicts the promise of Jesus Christ that believers will experience hardships in this life, especially for following Him.
Word of Faith is a heretical teaching that declares all who have faith in God can name and claim God’s blessings and rewards. Among these is the belief that the healing of ailments can be spoken into existence. Those who fail to manifest blessings, rewards, or healing through spoken words wrongly told they are cursed for lacking faith, or because they have sin in their lives. Jesus Christ guarantees blessings, rewards, and healing in Heaven, not on Earth.
The New Apostolic Reformation is a heretical movement in which false teachers label themselves as holding the extinct roles of apostles and prophets. They do this to claim authority and power they do not have, even to the extent of changing the Bible.
Little "gods" Theology is a false teaching that follows deification, the belief that because humans are made in God's image, we are also gods.