what we believe

THE SCRIPTURES

We believe the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and is without error. It is the final authority for faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:15, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Matthew 5:18, John 16:12-13)

THE TRINITY

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are equal in power and glory. (Deuteronomy 6:4, 2 Corinthians 13:14)

JESUS CHRIST

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son, who became flesh to reveal God to man and to become the Savior of the lost world. (1 Peter 4:5, Romans 14:9, 2 Timothy 4:1)

SALVATION

We believe the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, salvation occurs only when a person places his or her faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as the sufficient payment for his or her sin, and our justification is made sure by Jesus’ literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (John 3:16, Romans 3:23, Romans 8:38-39, Romans 10:9-10, Philippians 3:4-11, Revelation 22:17)

MAN

We believe that mankind was created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him but, through Adam’s sin, inherited a sinful nature and became alienated in that relationship. As a result, man is completely incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through his own effort. (Genesis 1:26-27, Romans 3:22-23, Romans 5:12, Ephesians 2:1-3,12)

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit. He indwells Christians and enables them to live godly lives. We further believe that biblical examples of the Holy Spirit’s power and gifts are available to believers today. (John 14:26, Galatians 5:22-23, Acts, 1:8, Romans 8:26)

THE CHURCH

We believe that the church is the body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the head. The members of the church are those who have trusted by faith the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We recognize believers baptism and communion as Scriptural means of worship in the church. (Ephesians 1:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 2 Corinthians 11:2, Acts 14:27, 1 Timothy 3:1-3, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-42, Acts 18:8, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

CHURCH GOVERNMENT

We feel that this is the form of government God desires for His church:

Jesus Christ is the head of the body, the church; He established the episkopas or bishop, [1 Tim 3:1-7] who we call the pastor, who is responsible to Jesus and whom must recognize and bear the responsibility to guide and to direct the ministry of the local church, guided directly by Jesus Christ. Under the pastor, in some cases, you have assistant pastors, who help lead and care for the church as a whole. They often oversee various aspects of the church in their service to the body and pastor. The deacons help in various areas of practical importance to the function of the church and often lead specific ministries. When the assistant pastors or deacons come up against an issue that they don’t know how to handle, they seek the counsel of the senior pastor, who, like they, should be seeking counsel from the Lord.

If someone in the church comes to a member of leadership about something they feel that the church ought to be doing, it is presented at the leadership meeting for prayer and discussion.

We also have a board of elders. The board of elders discuss and decide the business aspects of the church, the spending of the church funds, the requests for help that they have from various missionary groups, and ministries.