STATEMENT OF FAITH

1. The Scriptures: We believe the Holy Scriptures, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, to be the plenary (complete), verbal (every word), inspired Word of God. We believe they are inerrant, authoritative, infallible, and God-breathed. They are complete and our authority for faith and practice. We believe in a literal, grammatical, and historical interpretation of the Scriptures. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18 Psalm 12:6-7)

2. The Godhead: We believe there is one triune God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are co-equal in being, co-identical in essence, and co-equal in power and glory. They have the same divine attributes and perfections, yet exercise them within the scope of their varied roles. (Exodus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1+14; I Corinthians 8:6; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7)

3. The Lord Jesus Christ: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, having been born of the virgin Mary, became a man without ceasing to be God, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. (Matthew 1:18-20; John 1:1-2, 14, 18; Luke 1:35)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, being sinless, died for the sins of mankind as a substitutionary sacrifice, offering atonement for the sins of the whole world and that our justification is verified by His literal and physical resurrection from the dead. (Matthew 28:5-6; Romans 3:24-26; 4:25; II Corinthians 5:21; I John 2:2)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended bodily into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Intercessor and Advocate. (Romans 8:34; Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 4:14-16; 7:23-25; 9:24; I John 2:1)

4. The Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person who is co-equal with the Father and the Son. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, bears witness to the truth, and is the agent of the new birth. He seals, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies, and helps the believer. He baptizes the believer into the body of Christ at the very point of salvation, indwells him permanently from that day forward, seals him until the day of redemption, and enables him for service as he is yielded to Him.

We believe that certain gifts of the Holy Spirit (such as apostleship and the apostolic sign gifts listed in Mark 16:17-18) were temporary and were needed only in the infancy of the church to confirm the message of the early believers. We believe that these gifts gradually ceased and are not for our use today.

We believe that the Holy Spirit testifies concerning Jesus Christ and never leads any person at any time contrary to the teachings of the Bible. (14:16; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:4-13, 28-31; 13:8-11; 14:1-28; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:19-22; 4:11-16+30; Hebrews 2:3-4)

5. Creation: We believe in the Biblical account of creation, as accomplished in six successive, literal, twenty-four-hour days of creative activity, with God resting on the seventh day. We completely reject any unscriptural form of atheistic evolution and the gap theory. (Genesis 1:1-31; Exodus 20:9-11; 31:17; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17)

6. Man: We believe that man was created in the image of God and that he sinned, thereby incurring upon himself not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God. We believe that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by birth and by choice. They are positionally inclined to evil and are therefore under just condemnation to eternal damnation in a literal hell without defense or excuse. (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:17; 3:1-24; Romans 3:23; 5:12-21; Ephesians 2:1-13; Revelation 20:14-15)

7. Salvation: We believe that salvation is not a process but a point-in-time decision to repent of sin and place one’s faith and trust in the shed blood of Christ alone for the forgiveness of sin. Recognizing that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. We believe that all those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior are saved from sin’s penalty, which is eternal damnation. (Luke 5:32; 13:3; Acts 3:19; Romans 10:9-13; I Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:22; I Peter 1:18-19; II Peter 3:9)

We believe that salvation is a gift of God, by grace, through faith. It cannot be earned or merited by any good work of man. (John 3:1-18; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

We believe that regeneration, or the new birth, is that change produced in the soul by the Holy Spirit by which a new nature and spiritual life, not before possessed, are imparted. The regenerated person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus and part of the family of God, eternally secure, and never to be separated from Him. (John 1:12; 3:3-6; 5:24; 10:27-30; Hebrews 7:25; I Peter 1:23; Titus 3:5)

8. Sanctification: We believe that sanctification begins at salvation and is progressive in that it is produced in the heart of believers from salvation until the redemption of their bodies. Believers are progressively sanctified by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit through the means of the Word of God, prayer, and the local church. (Romans 8:17; I Corinthians 1:2; Hebrews 10:10-14, 25; I Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 6:18; John 17:17)

9. The Local Church: We believe that a New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers that voluntarily assembles for worship, service, fellowship, and edification. We believe the primary purpose of assembling is to glorify God by equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry, (i.e., fulfilling the Great Commission of Christ). We believe that a New Testament church is independent and self-governing, having Christ as its head. We believe it is autonomous, free of any external authority or control. We support the establishment and continuance of local churches. (Acts 1:8; 2:41-47; Matthew 18:15-17; 28:19-20; I Corinthians12:12-27; Ephesians 4:11-12; Hebrews 10:25; I Timothy 3:1-16)

We believe in two offices of leadership within the church: Pastors and Deacons. Scripture refers to the office of pastor with terms such as elder, bishop, and pastor. It is the responsibility of the deacons to serve the church family through assisting with care and the provision of special needs. (Acts 6:1-7; 20:17,28; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9; I Peter 5:1-4)

10. Church Ordinances: We believe there are two church ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Baptism is an act of obedience whereby one is immersed, giving public testimony of his identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the death of Christ and that it is open only to those who have been saved through faith in His atoning blood and who are walking in obedient fellowship with Him. We believe that neither of these ordinances offers special grace or merit. They are not sacraments; rather, simple acts of obedience. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38-41; 8:36-38; 9:18; 10:45-48; 16:31-33; I Corinthians 11:23-30)

11. Spirit Beings: We believe that God created an innumerable company of sinless spirit beings. One of these, Lucifer, although created sinless by God, did sin through pride, thereby becoming Satan, the Devil, the enemy of his Creator. He became the author of sin, leading a host of angels (1/3) in rebellion against God. He became the god of this age and the ruler of all powers of darkness and is destined to the judgment of an eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:1-19; Matthew 25:41; II Corinthians 4:3-4; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 12:4; 7-9; 20:10)

12. Prophetic Events: We believe in the personal, bodily, imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in the air to catch away (rapture) His own, prior to the seven years of tribulation on earth. We believe in His subsequent personal visible return to the earth with His saints at the close of the tribulation to judge the nations and establish His millennial (1000 years) kingdom on earth. (II Samuel 7:12-16; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6)

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life in heaven and the unsaved to eternal damnation in hell, both of which are literal places. We believe the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious happiness they await the first resurrection, when soul and body are reunited and glorified to be forever with the Lord. We believe the souls of unbelievers are, at death, absent from the body and in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when, with the soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting punishment. (John 5:28-29; John 11:25-26; Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15)

13. The Home: We believe in the institution of the home as defined by Scripture, that it was divinely established in the beginning as the union by marriage of one male and one female for life and is the basic unit of society; that each family member, husband, wife, or child, has distinct duties and responsibilities; that it is the responsibility of parents to train up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and to provide them godly instruction through Christian example and formal education. (Genesis 2:18-25; 3:16; 18:19; Deuteronomy 6:49; 32:46; Psalm 78:5, 6; 127:1-5; Proverbs 3:12; 13:24; 22:6; Isaiah 28:9,10; Matthew 19:3-9; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21)

14. Civil Government: We believe that government authorities are the ministers of God to be feared by those who do evil. They are to be prayed for, honored, and obeyed, except in things contrary to God’s Word. (Romans 13:1-7; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 2:13-14)