This Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe.
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God and inerrant in the original writings. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man, and therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their grammatical-historical and dispensational meaning. (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-21)
The Godhead
We believe in the one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons–Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfection’s. (Gen. 1:1; Duet. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4; II Cor. 13:14)
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
A) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Is. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; II Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8) B) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification was made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; I Pet. 1:3-5; 2:24) C) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Rom. 8:34; I Cor. 15:1-4, 20-25; Heb. 9:24; I John 2:1-2) D) We believe in the “blessed hope;” the personal, bodily, pretribulational, premillennial, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Matt. 24:44; John 14:1-3; I Thess. 4:14-18; Titus 2:11-13)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
A) We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12:12-14; II Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14) B) We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (I Cor. 2:9-16; Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; I John 2:20,27) C) We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses pastors and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (Rom. 12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4-11,28; Eph. 4:7-12) D) We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues never has been a common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God may choose to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (I Cor. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
Creation
We believe in the direct creation by God of the physical universe, all spirit beings, man, and lower forms of life, without the process of evolution, and also that the early chapters of Genesis are literal and accurate history. God sustains all creation but exists in no necessary relationship to it. (Gen. 1,2; Col. 1:15-17; John 1:3)
Mankind
We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also the spiritual death which is separation from God, and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are now sinners by birth and by choice, positively inclined to evil, and therefore, under just condemnation to eternal ruin without defense or excuse. (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:17; Ps. 58:3; Rom. 1:20; 5:12-21; I Cor. 2:14)
Salvation
A) We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; I Pet. 1:18-19) B) We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Pet. 1:4-5) C) We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
The Local Church
A) We believe that the local church is a company of believers in Jesus Christ; baptized on an acceptable confession of faith; associated for worship, work, fellowship, observance of the ordinances, and the spread of the Gospel to all the world; and having two offices: pastor and deacon, which positions are to be held by men only. (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2:41-42; 10:47-48; Phil. 1:1; I Tim. 2:12; 3:1-13; Heb. 10:25) B) We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; Titus 1:5-11) C) We believe in the autonomy of the local church; free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1,4; I Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Pet. 5:1-4)
Missions
We believe that God has given the Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations, beginning with the family, so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to go to our families, our communities, and the foreign nations not waiting for them to come to us. (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:20)
Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific biblical responsibilities and a balance of those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; I Per. 2:13-14)
Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God established the tithe as a pattern for proportionate giving. Every Christian should give offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the local church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34:37; I Cor. 16:2; II Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; I Tim. 5:17-18; I John 3:17)