Governance

We believe there is only one living and true God, and that the eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity has distinct personal attributes, but yet is still one. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 12:28-31)

• God the Father: He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men. He is all powerful, all knowing, omnipresent, omnipotent, and sovereign. (Jeremiah 10:12; Psalm 139: 7-10; Psalm 147:5; Proverbs 15:3; Romans 1:20)
• God the Son: Jesus is the eternal Son of God. We believe He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He was crucified, willingly shedding His blood for the redemption of mankind and forgiveness of sins to all who receive the sacrifice. He was crucified, dead, and buried. On the third day He rose from the dead with a glorified body, appeared to His disciples, ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, bringing reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to complete His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 3:17; Acts 1:8-11; Romans 8:31-34; 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-6; Titus 2:11-14)
• God the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God (the Comforter, the Intercessor, the Strengthener, the Standby, the Counselor). He illuminates men to understand truth, and He draws men to the Father. He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. (John 16:7-8; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 8:5-13)

We believe man was created in the image of God by a special act of God Himself. Man was created free of sin and innocent, but with a free choice. By man’s choice, sin entered the human race. Thus, the fall came by choosing to follow Satan and his temptation. Redemption comes through receiving Christ as a free gift and believing in the heart that He died for sins through the shedding of His own blood, and receiving and accepting the free gift of salvation offered to “whosoever will.” (Genesis 1:26; Galatians 3:17-24; Romans 5:6-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)

We believe in the new birth as work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 16:24-26; John 3:16-18; Romans 10:9-13)

The Church universal is the Body of Christ, and it consists of all true believers who are associated by their covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. The various local churches are smaller entities of the universal body of true believers. The Church operates under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and He raises up pastors and deacons as leaders. The pastors are the shepherds of the individual flocks. (Ephesians 1:18-23; Ephesians 4:4-13)

We believe in following the example of Christ in water baptism. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and the believer’s death to sin, burial of the old life, and a resurrection to walk in the newness of life in Christ Jesus. (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 1:4-11)

We believe in the Lord’s Supper as a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church remember the death of Christ by partaking of bread and fruit of the vine. (Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

We believe in giving a tithe, or a tenth, of total income in order to balance responsible stewardship with following the Holy Spirit. (Malachi 3:8-10)

We believe God created every person in His image as male or female. These are two distinct, complementary genders and rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe marriage is an institution created by God as a covenant relationship established by mutual vows exchanged exclusively between one man and one woman. We believe God intends for sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:18-24; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 18-20; 1 Corinthians 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4; Romans 1:18-32; Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13)

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image.  Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death.  We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.  (Psalm 139)