Frequently Asked Questions

We believe the Bible is the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is infallible in its original manuscripts, and it is trustworthy pertaining to all matters on which it teaches. It is unrivaled in its authority over life and faith, and the sovereign director of our worldview. Because it was inspired by God, the Bible is truth without any mixture of error and is completely relevant to our daily lives (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21).

We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

God the Father, who is Spirit, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

God the Son, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God and Lord over all, through whom all things were made and to whom all things belong;

God the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son for the sanctification of humanity.

Each is personally distinct from another, yet they are one in will, in being, in power, and in nature, glory and goodness, having existed eternally in the Godhead (John 1:1-3, 14, 18, 3:31, 4:24, 10:30, 15:26, 2 Cor. 3:17, Col. 1:15-19, 2 Thess. 2:13, Rev. 1:8, 22:13, 1 John 1:5).

We believe that humanity was created in the image of God, and because of this, people are of great value to God. He created people for Himself that they would know Him and enjoy fellowship with Him and one another. However, because of the sin of Adam, humanity separated itself from God and inherited a sinful nature, making it impossible to restore the communion between them and God. Humanity is spiritually lost and is now under the judgment of God for its rebellion. On its own, humanity can do nothing to remove their separation from and enmity with God. Only through Jesus Christ may humanity be saved from their sin and restored to fellowship with God (Gen. 1:27, 3:22-24, Rom. 1:18-31, 3:23, 5:19, Psalm 51:5, John 3:18, Romans 5:18-19, 1 John 1:7, Eph. 2:12).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the second Person of the Triune God.

The Scriptures declare:

His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31,35).

His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22).

His miracles (Acts 2:22; 10:38).

His substitutionary work on the cross for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4).

His exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9,11; 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3).

His bodily resurrection declares Him to be, most assuredly, the Son of God, and through His resurrection He secured our justification before God the Father.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the God the Father where, as our advocate and mediator, He lives to intercede for us. He will return one day in glory to judge both the living and the dead, and to bring to fruition the fullness of the plan of God (Isa. 7:14, 53:5, Matt. 1:25, Heb. 4:15, 7:25, 2 Cor. 5:18, 21, 1 John 2:1-2, Col. 1:22, Rom. 1:4, 4:25, Acts 2:33, 1 Thess. 4:16-17).

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Triune God, who indwells all those who have embraced Christ by faith, animating and empowering them to live worthy of God and in Christlikeness. We believe the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and leads people to knowledge of the righteousness of Christ. The fruit of the Spirit manifests from His indwelling presence, and growth in the fruit is evidence of a life separated unto God, a sign of maturity in faith and life (1 Cor. 3:16, John 16:8-11).

The baptism of the Holy Spirit empowers the believer to exercise spiritual gifts, and the evidence of this baptism shall be followed with signs and wonders. The spiritual gifts are given by grace from the Holy Spirit, in accordance with the faith of each believer. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the edification of the church, to strengthen and embolden it for the work of God to the glory of God. Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we believe all the gifts of the Spirit are still operational even today (Mark 16:17, 1 Cor. 12:12-13, 2 Cor. 3:17, Rom. 8:9-11, 1 John 5:12, 2 Cor. 3:18, 12:4-5, Heb. 13:8).

We believe salvation lies in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. It is a free gift, unmerited by any human achievement or personal goodness, received by grace through faith and expressed in the individual’s repentance and recognition of Christ and His finished work on the cross. One is born again when they undergo a spiritual rebirth (Eph. 2:8-9, John 3:16, Romans 10:8-9, John 3:5-6).

The Holy Spirit, who indwells each believer, works toward the sanctification and growth of each believer. By the Spirit, the believer is being transformed into the image of Christ, allowing them to be renewed in mind, in spirit and in body, as evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit and by new life (Romans 8:3-4, 2 Cor. 3:18, 2 Thess. 2:13, Gal. 5:22-23).

We believe God’s plan for legitimate marriage is the joining of one genetic man and one genetic woman. God has commanded us to have no sexual activity outside the boundaries of marriage. Any sexual relationship or marriage between similar sexes or human and beast is completely forbidden and is a restoration of the curse on humanity. The best representation of marriage is the marriage of Jesus to His bride – the body of Christ, the church (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9).

We believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end; and that we must have concern for the physical and spiritual needs of our fellow humans (Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 49:1; Jer. 1:5; Matt. 22:37-39; Romans 12:20-21; Gal. 6:10).

We believe in the one, true universal Church, comprised of all those born again through Christ Jesus our Lord.

We believe this Church to be the spiritual body and future bride of the resurrected Christ. As the bride of Christ, the Church is called to pursue holiness and be separated unto God, because, since God is holy, we are to be holy.

The Church is not confined to a physical structure, nor is it confined by ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, national, generational, gender, or denominational lines. The unity of the Church is testified to in the sacraments of Baptism and Communion.

This body of Christ is a congregation of all those who believe in Christ and seek to foster a community nourished by godly instruction in God’s Word, corporate prayer, personal and corporate worship, mutual encouragement and accountability, so as to become a sanctuary for a lost and dying world.

We believe also that no believer can function alone but must be part of a local church for fellowship, worship, prayer, instruction in the Word of God, and edification unto holiness. Thus, the church itself must not put off gathering together in person, so that believers may exhort and edify each other (Heb. 10:24-25, Eph. 4:4, John 3:3,5, 1 Cor. 12:12-13, Luke 22:19, Acts 2:38, 2 Tim. 1:13-14, Heb. 3:13, 10:25, Col. 1:9, Romans 12:3-4).

We believe it is the responsibility of the Church to provide opportunity for believers to grow in grace just as it is the responsibility of the believer to foster and exercise the spiritual gifts so as to minister to the Church. It is the assignment of every believer to serve according to the gifts he has been given in order to fulfill God’s perfect will for the believer’s life in the Church (1 Cor. 12:4-31). We believe that the church and all within it are called to make disciples of all nations, tongues and peoples, to evangelize them by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world (Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:15).

We believe in the reality of spiritual gifts as imparted by the Resurrected Christ through His Holy Spirit to all those who have taken faith in Christ, and that those gifts are for the building up of the church unto holiness and grace. We believe in the continuing five-fold ministry given by Christ – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers – for the edification and equipping of the church for the ministry of God’s kingdom. For each individual church to be functionally complete and whole, it must encompass all of the five-fold ministries (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 12:1-11, Eph. 4:11-16).

Those who desire leadership in the church must be faithful believers, servants, and members of the church with a clear calling, nominated through the elders of the church, and tested in their faith. Such will be assessed by the lead pastor and confirmed by the congregation (1 Tim. 3, Titus 1:5-9).

Except God the Father, no one knows when Christ will return in all His glory. We believe in the ultimate judgment of God, when Christ will return to judge both the living and the dead, and all will stand before God to give account for the life lived in the body.

Those who have no faith in Christ as their Savior will not have their names in the Book of Life, and so they will be raised to eternal torment in the lake of fire that is prepared for the Devil and his minions.

Those who are born again by the Spirit and know Christ as their Savior and are faithful to Him, they will have their names in the Book of Life, and they will be ushered into eternal life in the worship and love of God (John 3:3, 18, 11:25, 14:6, Eph. 2:8, Mark 1:15, Heb. 9:27, 2 Cor. 5:10, Matt. 7:23, 1 John 3:2, Rev. 20:12,15).