Our Purpose
We are a local congregation of Christians attempting to fulfill the mandates of the New Testament church. Specifically, to bring glory to God as we worship, evangelize, promote the maturity of the saints, provide fellowship, enjoy unity in Christ, and reach out to meet the needs of each other and all humankind as God gives us opportunity.
Because of our…
Scripture-based faith, enduring hope, and love for God and others,
our vision and mission is to...
lead as many people as possible
to a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ
by training believers to live out and share their faith,
so that...
God receives glory and His Kingdom grows through healthy church families.
Summary: Faith, Hope, Love - Lived Out!
Our Faith
Introduction
We view the Holy Bible (its 66 books) as the inspired word of God. It is inerrant in its original form and preserved for all "reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness" (II Tim. 3:16). The scriptures are the highest authority; all doctrines of the church are attempts to apply the Bible to daily life. Therefore, the Bible itself is the final word, and all teaching, preaching, and activities of the church should be evaluated according to it.
Our unity is centered on Jesus Christ our Lord and his Word. We believe that there are Biblically-based theological non-negotiables that must be maintained. In other matters, however, we believe that the church should be proactive with contemporary culture in order to maintain cultural influence to maximize its potential to reach the lost.
Confessions of faith should be functional and practical in discipleship, not merely a document buried in a file or policy manual. These truths are life-giving. The following guiding beliefs are based on the statement which was issued by Christians from more than 150 nations who participated in the International Congress on World Evangelism at Lausanne, Switzerland, July 1974.
God
We believe there is one God eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Isa. 40: 18-28; Matt. 28:19; John 15:26; Isa. 42:1-9; Rev. 1:8, 17-18; John 14:23-27; 16:15; 1 Cor. 2:9-16
Revelation
We believe God revealed himself in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the inspired word of God, without contradiction, the only reliable guidebook for life. Ps. 119:9, 30, 65-72; Ps. 119:105, 137-144; Neh. 8:9-12; 2 Tim. 3:14-17; Heb. 4:12-13; 2 Peter 1:16-21; John 20: 30-31
Jesus
We believe God revealed himself supremely in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, being both fully human and fully divine. Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1-14; Heb. 1:1-14; Isa. 9:6-7; Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 4:14-16
Creation
We believe that in the beginning God created all things by his Son. He made humanity in the divine image, with free will, moral character, and a spiritual nature. Gen. 1; Col. 1:15-16; Ps. 104:1-35; Ps. 139:1-18; 1 Cor. 15:42-49; Rom. 1:18-20; Prov. 16:1-3
Sin
We believe humanity fell into sin, bringing depravity and death upon the race; as a sinner, each one of us is self-centered and self-willed, unwilling and unable to break with sin that leads to eternal separation from God. Gen. 3:1-24; Rom. 3:9-18; Ps. 14:1-3; Eccl. 7:20; Jer. 17:9-10; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Ps. 51; 1 John 3:4-10
Salvation
We believe that on the cross Jesus Christ took our place, bore our sins, died our death and rose from the grave; and for that reason alone God freely forgives those who repent and believe in faith. Eph. 2:1-10; John 10:14-18; Rom. 3:21-26; Col. 1:13-14; 2:13-15; Rom. 6:1-14; John 3:16-17; Acts 4:8-13
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, guides for life, and empowers for service. His supernatural work makes new life and new birth possible. Gal. 5:16-26; John 16:7-15; Rom. 8:5-17, 26-27; 1 Sam. 16:13; Luke 4:18-19; Acts 1:4-8; 2:17-21; Luke 11:9-13
The Church
We believe the church is the body of Christ, a redeemed people, obedient to God, a people of love, prayer, and healing. Eph. 2:19-22; 1 John 2:3-6; John 17:6-26; Phil. 2:3-4; Gal. 6:1-5; 1 Peter 2:21-25; Col. 4:2-6
The Great Commission
We believe God gave the whole church and every member of it the task of making Christ known throughout the world. Matt. 28:16-20; John 15:15-17; Col. 4:5-6; 2 Cor. 5:11-6:6; Acts 4:18-31; 1 Tim. 6:11-16; Acts 8:4
Spiritual Gifts
We believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to all who follow Christ, so that men and women, single or married, young and old, can work together to build up the church and bring the world to Christ. Luke 24:45-49; Eph. 4:7-16; 1 Cor. 12:1-31; Eph. 3:7-8; Rom. 12:1-8; Eph. 4:29-32; 1 Peter 4:8-11
Prayer
We believe spiritual warfare demands spiritual weapons; the word must be preached in the power of the Spirit; and we must intercede for Christ’s victory to be established over principalities and powers of evil. Eph. 6:10-20; 2 Cor. 10:3-4; Daniel 10:10-14, 20; Matt. 18:18-20; 1 Peter 5: 8-11; Luke 8:26-39; 1 Tim. 2:1-8
Social Need
We believe we must demonstrate God’s love visibly by caring for those who are deprived of justice, dignity, food, and shelter. 1 John 3:16-18; Matt. 5:13-16; Col. 3:12-17; Matt. 5:43-48; Rom. 12:9-21; Matt. 25:31-46; James 2:14-19
Baptism
We believe that those who repent and believe should be baptized with water as a symbol of cleansing from sin, new life and commitment to Christ. John 3:1-8; Matt. 3:13-17; Acts 2:36-39; Acts 8:36-40; Acts 10:44-48; Rom. 6:1-14; Heb. 10:19-23
Communion
We believe that the church observes the Lord’s Supper as a symbol of Christ’s broken body and shed blood, and the fellowship of his church until his return. Luke 9:18-22; Mark 10:32-34; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 22:7-23; 1 Cor. 10:14-17; 11: 23-34; Acts 2: 46-47
Marriage
We believe that both singleness and marriage are honored by God, who designed marriage to be the union of one man and one woman for life; homosexual practice rejects this celebration of diversity God intended. Gen. 2:20-25; Eph. 5:22-33; Song of Songs 2:3-13; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 7:10-16; Matt. 19:3-12
Christ’s Return
We believe that Jesus Christ’s personal return will be visible in power and glory to consummate salvation and judgment, thus the church serves sacrificially and joyfully anticipating eternal life with God. Mark 13: 5-31; Rev. 1:5-8; Matt. 13:37-43; 1 Cor. 15: 20-26, 51-56; Rev. 21:1-5; 2 Tim. 4:6-8; Rev. 22:12-21
In addition to the above non-negotiables, there are many secondary issues that can bring conflict among Christians because of differences in culture, upbringing, personal taste, and past experiences.
Where such secondary issues arise, these opinions should not be allowed to divide Christians and dampen the passion for the Great Commission. There should be much grace extended in these matters—they are not to be treated as non-negotiables.