The Bible:
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God. Each of the sixty-six books is fully and equally God-breathed (inspired) and without any error in the original writings. The Bible is God's message to man and is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
God:
We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; these three are the one true God. They have the same nature and are co-existent, co-equal and co-eternal, and are worthy of the same worship, confidence and obedience.
Jesus Christ:
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. We believe that He was born of a virgin and lived a sinlessly perfect life. By His sacrificial death on the cross and His physical resurrection from the dead, He is the substitute for sinners. He is the only mediator between God and man, and only He can bring about reconciliation between sinful man and a holy God. He ascended into Heaven where He now ministers as the Head of His body, the Church.
Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment and guides us into all truth. The Holy Spirit indwells believers upon salvation, enabling them to live a godly life of obedience to God's Word by yielding to Him. We believe that the Holy Spirit seals the believer until the day of redemption.
Human Beings:
We believe that man, through Adam, was created in the image of God, but because of willful sin he became spiritually dead and was alienated from God. Therefore, every human being is born into the world sinful and unable to redeem himself apart from the grace of God found in Jesus Christ.
Salvation:
We believe that a person is saved when, by an act of faith, he repents of his sin and acknowledges Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior, Who died a substitutionary death on the cross for man's sin and rose from the dead. At that moment, he is born again - a new creation in Christ- and he is sealed by the Holy Spirit. Salvation must be received as a gift of God, and cannot be earned. It is freely offered to all people and only those who receive it become children of God and possess the security of eternal life. Salvation is made possible through the blood of Christ.
The Church:
We believe that the Church began with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and is composed of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. These believers are united to Him and to one another by the indwelling Holy Spirit. This means that the Church, as a whole, is not an organization, but a living organism, known as the Body of Christ. The Church's calling, hope and destiny are heavenly, and its chief functions are to glorify God and to witness for Christ until His return. The local Church is composed of believers in a locality who gather in Christ's Name for worship, prayer, edification and testimony. Government and discipline are divinely outlined in the New Testament as being the responsibility of the local Church. There are two Christian ordinances; baptism and the Lords Supper. Baptism by immersion signifies that the believers, having died with Christ, is buried with Him in baptism and is risen with Christ to walk in the newness of life. The Lord's Supper is a memorial feast, instituted by the Lord Himself exclusively for His own. In the observance of this supper, believers remember Him; they show forth His death until He comes, and they function as worshipping priests before God. Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ possesses eternal life and, being justified, sanctified and sealed with the Holy Spirit, is safe and secure for all eternity. However, a Christian can, through sin, lose his fellowship, joy, power, testimony, and reward, and incur the Father's chastisement. Relationship is eternal, being established by new birth; fellowship however, is dependent upon obedience.
The Return of Jesus Christ:
We believe that the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to translate His Church is imminent, an event which concludes the present age of grace. This will be followed by the outpouring of God's wrath on the earth, known as the Tribulation. After this, Christ's Millennial Kingdom will be established, and the "glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." At the conclusion of His Millennial Reign, Christ will deliver up the Kingdom to God the Father, so that the Triune God may be all in all.
Eternity:
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and of the lost. Those who are saved will have everlasting life with Christ in Heaven; the unsaved will experience everlasting and conscious punishment in Hell.
