our beliefs
What We Teach.
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (the sixty-six canonical books) to
be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings,
infallible, sufficient, and God-breathed. God has divinely preserved the Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek texts
to make His will explicitly known and obeyed. This conviction requires a literal, historical, and
grammatical interpretation of the totality of Scripture (Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13: II Timothy 3:16-17;
II Peter 1:20-2).
The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit),
co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, each having the same attributes,
perfections, and each with distinct roles and functions (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14).
We affirm an orthodox view of the living God who possesses an exhaustive foreknowledge of all
things potential, as well as all things actual, and that there is nothing God does not know, past, present, or
future (Job 37:16; Psalm 139:4, 16; Isaiah 40:12-14, 42:9, 46:10; Matthew 11:21-23; Luke 10:12-13).
The Father
We believe that God the Father is the eternally self-existent One. He is the Creator of all things
(Genesis 1:1; Ephesians 3:9; Revelation 4:11) and the absolute sovereign and omnipotent ruler of all
creation (Psalm 103:19).
The Son
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, who exists eternally, became man without ceasing to be
God in an indivisible oneness, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, so
that He might reveal God, redeem sinful man, and rule over God’s kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7; John 1:1-2;
Luke 1:35).
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We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all mankind as a representative,
vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that the sufficiency of this atoning sacrifice to accomplish the
redemption and justification of all who trust in Him is assured by His literal, physical resurrection from
the dead (Romans 3:24-25, 4:25; Ephesians 1:7; I Timothy 4:10; Hebrews 2:9; I Peter 1:3-5, 2:24; II Peter
2:1).
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; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; I John 2:1-2).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5)
and that He alone is the Head of His body, the Church (Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:15, 5:23; Colossians 1:18).
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, a lack of righteousness,
and the requirement for judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all
believers into the Body of Christ at the moment of conversion, and indwelling and sealing them unto the
Day of Redemption (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians
3:6).
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the divine Teacher who guided the apostles and prophets into all
truth as they wrote God’s revelation, the Bible (II Peter 1:19-21). He continues to guide believers into all
truth as they read and understand His written revelation. Further, we believe that it is the privilege and
duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18; I John 2:20, 27).
We believe that the Holy Spirit does not glorify Himself by ostentatious displays but instead
glorifies Jesus Christ by affecting His purpose of redeeming and transforming people into His image. We
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believe that the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all spiritual gifts and that they are sufficient
for the perfecting of the believers today (John 16:14; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 12:4-11).
Man
We believe that man (male and female) was directly and immediately created in God's image and
likeness, but Adam's transgression resulted in the condemnation of all mankind. All mankind is thus born
spiritually dead and under the penalty of physical death. As a result of Adam’s transgression, everyone is
born with an inherited sinful nature and is alienated from God. We believe that man is totally depraved
and utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. Furthermore, we believe God wonderfully and
immutably creates each person as biologically male or biologically female. These two distinct,
complementary sexes reflect God’s image and nature. A biological male or biological female is grounded
in human reproductive biology. Thus, sex is binary, fixed at conception, and objectively verifiable.
Although the word “gender” in the past served as a euphemism for sex, “gender” has been redefined and
re-designated as a social construct and should not be confused with biological male-female sex. A
contemporary view of “gender” is used in gender identity theory as a fluid, subjectively defined continuum
of “genders” that range from male to female to something else. Some individuals reject their biological
sex and, relying on a gender identity theory, claim to be the opposite sex or other. This contemporary
view rejects God’s design and the person He created a biological male or biological female to be (Genesis
1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God to man by grace and received by faith alone in the
Lord Jesus Christ, whose voluntary, sacrificial death on the cross was the substitute and payment for the
forgiveness of all our sins (Isaiah 53:5,10, Romans 3:23-24, Romans 5:8-9, 1 Peter 2:24-25).
We believe that before the foundation of the world, God freely and graciously chose those
individuals whom He would save. He did this based on His sovereign choice and not on foresight or
anticipation of an individual’s decision. The grace of God encompasses the gift of salvation and the means
of receiving the gift. All and only those whom the Father draws will come in faith, and all and only those
who come in faith will be received by the Father (John 6:37, 40, 44; Acts 13:48, Romans 8:28-30;
Ephesians 1:4, 11; II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:1-2).
We believe God’s sovereign choice does not contradict or negate man’s responsibility for his
actions. Man is entirely responsible for his decisions and should be honestly called upon to repent and
trust Christ as Savior and Lord (John 3:18-19, 36, 5:40; Acts 2:38-39; II Corinthians 5:20; Psalm 62:12;
Romans 2:5-6; Revelation 20:13).
We believe that justification is an act of God, whereby He declares righteous those who have faith
in Christ alone. This righteousness is entirely independent of any virtue, merit, or good work of man but
is based upon faith alone. Justification involves both an imputation of the believer’s sin to Christ and the
imputation of God’s righteousness to the believer. In this way, Paul can say that God is both “just and the
justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:20; 4:6; 8:33, 10:9-10; Acts 2:38; Colossians 2:14;
I Peter 2:24; I Corinthians 1:30; II Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:26).
The Preservation and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in
Christ forever (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5). We believe
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it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s
Word and that it is the responsibility of believers not to use their Christian liberty as a license to sin.
Taking such “liberty” is forbidden in Scripture (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
Sanctification
We believe that every saved person is involved in a daily conflict—the new creation in Christ
doing battle against the flesh—but adequate provision is made for victory through the power of the
indwelling Holy Spirit. The struggle, nevertheless, stays with the believer all through this earthly life. All
claims to the eradication of sin in this life are unscriptural. This conflict terminates only when the believer
leaves this mortal life and enters the presence of Christ (Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Philippians
3:12; Colossians 3:9-10; I Peter 1:14-16; I John3:5-9).
Separation
We believe that out of deep gratitude for the completely undeserved grace of God, and because
God is worthy of total dedication, all the saved should live in such a manner as to bring glory and not
reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful
pleasures, practices and associations is commanded by God (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1-2, 14:13; I
John 2:15-17; II John vv. 9-11; II Corinthians 6:14-7:11).
The Standard for Sexuality
We believe that God has instituted the marriage union. Marriage is the lifelong commitment and
union of one biological male and one biological female. Biblical marriage is the sole legitimate and
acceptable context in which sexual relations are exercised. Hence, any intimate sexual activity outside the
marriage union is a sin. Sexual activities, including but not limited to adultery, licentious behavior,
fornication, incest, homosexuality, pedophilia, pornography (creation and distribution and/or viewing),
and bestiality, are inconsistent with the teachings of Scripture and the Church. Additionally, efforts to
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alter one’s biological sex or identify as different biological sex other than what one’s biological sex is, are
incompatible with Scripture (Genesis 2:24, 19:5-13; Leviticus 18:1-30; Mark 7:22; Romans 1:26-29,
13:13; I Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4; Jude 4).
Missions
We believe that it is the joyful obligation and privilege of all believers to witness, by life and by
word, the truths of Holy Scripture, seeking to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind and baptize and teach
all converts through the local church. If sound local churches are not present, then every effort should be
taken to establish a church to propagate the Gospel, baptizing converts and discipling believers (Acts 1:8;
Matthew 28:19-20; II Corinthians 5:19-20).
The Church
We believe that the Church, the Body, and the espoused bride of Christ is a spiritual organism
made up of all believers of this present age (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II
Corinthians 11:2).
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches are taught and defined in the
New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-3; Titus 1:5-11).
We believe in the local church’s autonomy, free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4,
15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1-4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4).
We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and He mediates His rule through the Word
of God by the plurality of elders who govern the church. The elders within a local church are assisted by
the deacons (Ephesians 1:22-23; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; Act 6:1-6).
As the three persons of the Trinity are co-equal, we believe that men and women are created equal
in the sight of God, equal image-bearers, equally sinful, equally redeemable, equal in Christ, and equally
morally responsible to God. Additionally, just as there are role distinctions within the Trinity, there are
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role distinctions in the church between men and women, which are to be celebrated and which in no way
hinder or contradict this equality (Genesis 1:26; Galatians 3:28; I Cor. 11:2-17; I Timothy 2:9-12; Titus
2:3-5).
We believe in the ordinances of believer’s water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as scriptural means
of testimony for the Church Age (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:8; I Corinthians 11:23-26).
The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a created being, the author of sin and the cause of the original fall, that
he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of
Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in the personal, imminent, and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His
redeemed ones and in His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His Millennial Kingdom
(Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1:10, 5:9; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6, 3:10).
Death, Resurrection, and the Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men: the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to
judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).
We believe that at death, the souls of the redeemed are absent from the body and consciously
present with the Lord as they await the resurrection of the Church to be glorified forever with the Lord
(Luke 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17).
We believe that after death, the souls of unbelievers remain in conscious misery until the Second
Resurrection when 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, conscious punishment (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark
9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude vv.6-7; Revelation 20:11-15).

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