OUR BELIEFS

The Scriptures

We believe the Bible, and only the Bible, is the inspired authoritative Word of God.  We believe it is the product of holy, God-appointed men who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. As recorded in the New Testament, we accept the Bible as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to doctrinal truth and conduct.

2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5;
1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:20-21

The Trinity

We believe our God is One, but manifested in three persons -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being co-equal. God the Father is greater than all. The Son Jesus, is the Word made flesh, the only begotten son of the father, and He has existed with the Father from the beginning. The Holy Spirit proceeds forth from both the Father and the Son and is our Helper, Comforter, Strengthener, Advocate, Intercessor, and Standby.

Philippians 2:6, John 14:28, John 16:28, John 1:14,
John 1:1, John 1:18, John 15:26

Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100 percent God and 100 percent man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for humankind and, thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.

Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1,14; 20:28;
Philippians 2:5,6; 1 Timothy 2:5; 3:16

Man’s Fall and Redemption

We believe man is a created being, made in the likeness and image of God. Through Adam’s transgression and fall, sin came into the world, and death was the result. Man is spiritually dead and separated from God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent to give His life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man back to God by providing us with salvation. Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the law, and it is by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved.

Romans 5:14; Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23, 1 John 3:8; Ephesians 2:8

The Blood of Jesus

We believe the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100 percent sufficient to cleanse humankind from all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death.

John 1:29; Romans 3:10-12,23; 5:9; Colossians 1:20;
1 John 1:7; Revelations 1:5; 5:9

Eternal Life & the New Birth

In order to be saved, Jesus said every person must be born again. The New Birth is necessary to all men and women, and when experienced, produces eternal life. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ: His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts .

John 3:3-5; Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22; 1 John 5:12

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

We believe the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers in this dispensation and is received by faith, subsequent to the New Birth. The baptism, or infilling of the Spirit gives a believer power to be a witness for Christ, and is the entry point for the supernatural, victorious life. This experience is received by faith and then the believer is commanded to continually “be filled” with the Spirit.  The believer also gains the ability to pray in tongues, which is the Holy Spirit working through the individual to assist them in prayer and intercession.

Joel 2:28-29; Matthew. 3:11; John 14:16,17;
Acts 1:4-8, 2:1-4,38, 8:14-17, 10:38, 11:15-17, 19:1-7; Romans 8

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible’s lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters.

Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11, 12 :4-8; Ephesians 4:16; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6-7; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; 1 Peter 4:10

The Church

We believe the Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus' Great Commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23

Water Baptism

We believe Jesus commanded all believers to be baptized by immersion in water. This is a symbol of the Christian’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.

Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:36-39

The Lord’s Supper

We believe communion is a unique time of fellowship in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross.

Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25

Marriage

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27). We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God

Matthew 15:18-20, 19:4-6; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Sanctification

We believe the Bible teaches that, without holiness, no man can see the Lord. We believe that sanctification which leads to a holy life is a definite, yet progressive work of grace. This process begins at the time of the new birth and continues throughout our Christian life.

Hebrews 12:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Peter 3:18;
2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:12-14; 1 Corinthians 1:30

Divine Healing

We believe healing for the physical ills of the human body is available by the power of God through the prayer of faith, and/or by the laying on the hands and/or by the supernatural gifts of the Spirit. It is provided for in the atonement of Christ, and is the privilege of every member of the Church today.

Mark 16:17-18; James 5:14-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Matthew 8:16-17;
Acts 8:6-7; Psalms 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:4-5

Resurrection of the
Just & Return of Christ

We believe in the physical, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe His coming is imminent. When He comes, the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds (what we refer to as the Rapture), to meet the Lord in the air.  After this rapture event, we believe the Tribulation, a period of 7 years, will take place on earth.  Following the Tribulation, Jesus shall return to the Earth as King of kings, the Lord of lords, believers will return with Him, and will be the kings and priests, and will reign a thousand years on earth during what is known as the Millennial Reign of Christ.

Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; Revelation 20:6 

Heaven

We believe heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  All whose names are recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be accepted into heaven. 

Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; 2 Corinthians 5:1;
Hebrews 11:16; 1 Peter 1:4; Revelations 3:5, 20:15, 21:27

Hell & Eternal Retribution

We believe the one who physically dies without accepting and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is hopelessly and eternally lost. After living one life on earth, the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to Hell where they will be eternally tormented with the Devil and the Fallen Angels.

Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8