What We Believe

1. The Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired, in its entirety and to the very words, and entirely without error in the original manuscripts, and is our only rule of faith and practice.
   
   (Romans 3:2; 2 Peter 3:16; Matthew 5:18; Psalm 12:6, 19:7; 2 Peter 1:18-20; 2 Peter 3:15; John 6:45; 1 Timothy 4:16)
   
   
2. There is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons. These are equal in every divine characteristic and fulfill distinct but harmonious aspects in the work of creation and redemption.
   
   (1 John 5:7; Matthew 28:19)
   
   
3. God the Father is an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of people, that He hears and answers prayer and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
   
   (John 1:12, 18; Ephesians 1:3-6)
   
   
4. Jesus Christ is God’s only begotten Son and the sole mediator between God and humankind. We believe in His pre-existence, His incarnation, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His substitutionary and atoning death, His bodily resurrection from the grave, and His personal, visible, imminent return from heaven.
   
   (John 1:14, 3:16; Matthew 1:22-23; Luke 1:27, 31, 35; Romans 9:5; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Corinthians 3:4; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 4:15, 3:1, 7:25; 1 John 2:1)
   
   
5. The Holy Spirit came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, dwell in, comfort, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. He is their abiding helper, teacher, and guide.
   
   (Matthew 28:19; Titus 3:5, 1 Corinthians 6:19, John 16:7-11)
   
   
6. Humankind was created in the image of God; we sinned in Adam and are now sinners by nature and by choice. Therefore, humankind is under God’s just condemnation.
   
   (Genesis 1:27, 2:17, 3:6; Genesis 6:5, Romans 5:12-21, 8:7-8; 1 Corinthians 2:14)
   
   
7. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from human merit, works, or ceremonies. It is applied by turning from sin to God and trusting Jesus Christ alone.
   
   (1 Corinthians 15:3; Isaiah 53:5-6; Colossians 2:13-14; 1 Peter 2:24; Galatians 2:26; Romans 3:20-23, 28, 4:16; Philippians 3:9; John 1:12-13, 1 John 3:1)
   
   
8. There is a twofold aspect of the church, the universal and local. The universal church is a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated people are members. The local church consists of a mutually identified group of believers in Jesus Christ. These believers have been baptized upon a credible profession of faith and associated together for worship, ministry, and fellowship.
   
   (Ephesians 1:22, 3:10, 5:24, 25, Colossians 1:18, Hebrews 12:23; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:42, 20:7; Ephesians 4:11-12)
   
   
9. The Lord Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to the local church; baptism, the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the triune God, and the Lord’s Supper, instituted by Christ for the commemoration of His death.
   
   (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12; Galatians 3:27,;Acts 8:38-39; 1 Corinthians 11:27, 31, 5:8)
   
   
10. The local church is self-governing, being free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority.
    
    (Acts 20:28-32; Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1; 1 Timothy 2:1-6)
    
    
11. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the eternal existence of all people either in heaven or hell, and in divine judgments, rewards, and punishments.
    
    (Matthew 24:30, 32-33, 42; Acts 1:11)
    
    
12. God has entrusted the church with the responsibility of making disciples throughout the entire world.
    
    (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:2)

 Having been led by the Spirit of God to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and to confess Him as Lord, and on profession of this faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ, to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him.   We agree, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to work for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and peace; to promote its health and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to give it a sacred preeminence over all institutions of human origin; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.   We also agree to maintain family and personal devotions to faithfully educate our children in the Bible; to seek the salvation of our family and acquaintances; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our conduct, avoiding all behavior that is unbecoming to our Lord Jesus Christ.   We further agree to give and receive admonition with gentleness and affection; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the instruction of our Savior to secure it without delay.   We agree to uphold the historic Christian positions on marriage and the dignity of life: that human sexuality is designed for physical expression only in the bonds of marriage between one man and one woman for life; and that all human life has intrinsic value from the moment of conception.   Finally, we agree that when we move from this place we will, as soon as possible, unite with a local church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of the Word of God.