WHAT WE BELIEVE
The Lord’s Prayer
On the first Sunday of every month, we recite the Lord’s prayer together as a community.
“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]”
Matthew 6:9–13 (HCSB)
The Apostles’ Creed
On the first Sunday of every month, we recite the Apostles’ creed together as a community.
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into Sheol. On the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from where He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy worldwide church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the flesh, and the life everlasting. Amen.”
Key Doctrines
“Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”
2 Timothy 1:13–14 (CSB)
The Bible
The Bible, containing 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the infallible Word of God, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and having supreme and final authority on all matters to which it speaks. It is inerrant in the original manuscripts and contains all the words God intended for his people to have in order to trust and obey Him. (E.g., Prov. 30:5; Rom. 16:25-26; 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
The Trinity
God is three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — existing forever in one divine essence. (E.g., John 1:1; Rom. 9:5; 1 Cor. 8:6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6)
Jesus Christ
Jesus the Messiah is both fully God and fully man, one Son, Lord, and Messiah made known in two natures without confusion, without change, without separation, without division (in accordance with the Definition of Chalcedon [451 AD]). The eternal Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (E.g., Jn. 1:1, 14; Rom. 9:5; Ph. 2:5-11; Col. 2:9; Rev. 1:8, 17; 22:16)
Salvation
There is salvation in no other than Jesus. The forgiveness of sins is accessed only through the atoning blood of Jesus shed on the cross. Justification, sanctification, glorification, reconciliation (and all other NT images of salvation) are by God’s grace/gift and through faith. (E.g., Ac. 4:12; Eph. 1:17; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9-13; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 5:9)
Gifts of the Spirit
All the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit are operative in the church today and are to be eagerly desired. The gifts are to be exercised and administered not in a spirit of self-exaltation, but in love and humility for the edification and well-being of others. (E.g., Rom.12; 1 Cor. 12-14; Eph. 4)
The Sacraments
The two sacraments of the church are water baptism and the Lord's Supper. Water baptism is for believers, who are to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Babies are dedicated rather than baptized.) In communion the elements of bread and wine, which represent Jesus’ body and blood, are taken in remembrance of His sacrifice on the cross. (E.g., Matt. 26:26-29; 28:19; Acts 2:38; 8:12, 36-38; Rom. 6:1-4; 1 Cor. 10:16, 11:23-25)
Church Governance
Church leaders are to be selected on the basis of the qualifications delineated in the New Testament. While women are to be enthusiastically encouraged and fully equipped to bring glory to Christ through their engagement in different kinds of ministry, the function of elder/overseer is restricted to men. (e.g., 1 Tim. 2-3 and Tit. 1)
Church’s Mission
The primary mandate of the church in this age to make disciples of Jesus Christ, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded, in preparation for his return. (e.g., Matt. 28:18-20; 1 Cor. 2:8; Eph. 5:27; Tit. 2:11-14)
The Return of Jesus
At the end of this present evil age Jesus the Messiah will return bodily to the earth to raise the dead, judge the world, restore all things to a state of perfect order, and set up His Kingdom from Jerusalem, just as the prophets foretold. The righteous will inherit the Kingdom of God in resurrected bodies, and the wicked will ultimately be thrown into the Lake of Fire in resurrected bodies. (E.g., Is. 2; 11; 40-66; Dan. 2; 7; 12; Matt. 19:28-30; 25:31-46; Lk. 14:14; Jn. 5:28-29; Ac. 3:19-21; 24:15; 1 Cor. 15; 1 Th. 4:13-18; 1 Pet 1; Rev. 1-3; 11:15-19; 14:9-10; 19-22)
Creation Order
God, as the Creator of all things, is the one who defines and orders all reality. Humanity consists of two genders, which, according to His design, are intricately and inseparably tied to biology. Marriage is the covenantal union of one man and one woman for life. All sexual relations outside of a covenantal marital relationship between one biological man and one biological woman are considered by the Creator to be outside of His will and design for the world and are, therefore, sinful in His eyes. The Creator’s call for humanity to conform to His good design for His world is, from His supremely authoritative perspective, an act of love, not hate. Human beings are not authorized by the Creator to define human identity outside of His design. (Gen. 1-3)
The Goal: Love from a Pure Heart
“Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.”
1 Timothy 1:5 (CSB)
