What We Believe

We believe the Bible is the infallible, inerrant, Word of God and is alone the rule of life. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21) Our beliefs should be determined not on the basis of what we can make the Bible say but on what the Bible teaches. We want to subject every belief to the careful scrutiny of Scripture.

We believe in the Trinity–that there is one God who is eternally existent in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19; Matthew 3:16-17; Deuteronomy 6:4)

We believe God is the Author, Creator, Ruler, and Sustainer of all there is and ever will be. He is Sovereign over everything. (1 Chronicles 29:12; Psalm 135:6; Acts 17:24-26)

We believe Jesus was God in human form, born of a Virgin. He was mysteriously fully God and fully man. He lived a sinless life. Jesus was more than “man reaching his fullest potential”–He is God who has taken the form of man. Jesus is unique. (Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:5-11)

We believe the Holy Spirit is given to every believer to seal, equip, and lead us. We also believe the Holy Spirit is concerned not to draw attention to Himself but to Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit builds Christlike character into everyone who believes; brings strength, comfort and assurance to all believers; equips each believer with unique abilities to serve the body; and keeps us in the faith throughout our life. (John 16:7-15; Ephesians 1:13-14)

We believe Human Beings are by nature sinners (and will deny it with their dying breath) and subject to judgment. Without God’s intervention we have no hope and no desire for salvation. (Ephesians 2:1-5)

We believe salvation comes only by God’s grace (as a gift initiated by Him) through faith (our willing acceptance of the gift) in the sacrificial, substitutionary, death of Jesus Christ (He died for our sin, in our place). True faith involves a surrender of one’s life to the Lordship of Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

We believe a true faith response results in a change in our lifestyle. The “unchanged Christian” is a contradiction in terms. We change our behavior (1) because God’s Spirit is at work in us changing our appetites and desires as He moves us in the path of holiness. (2) We are grateful to God for His salvation. The change does not happen completely until we are in Heaven. We acknowledge that the Christian life is a life-long struggle. The true believer should be able to see progress in holiness. (James 2:14-26, Ephesians 2:8-10)

We believe Jesus will literally return to the earth to draw the world as we know it to a close. There will be a day of final judgment. Those who spurn the offer of salvation will be cast from God’s presence into eternal destruction. Those who have received His gift will be ushered in to eternal glory. As tempting (and fun) as it is to speculate when that day will come, we must rest in the tension that “no man knows the hour”. We must live every day with the realization that “this could be the day He brings us home.” (Matthew 24:36-44, Acts 1:11, John 3:16-18)

We believe at least 10% of all donations should be used beyond our church operations: for ministry around the world and in our own community. We also believe the tithe should be the standard for our personal giving. (Malachi 3:8-10, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2)

We believe there is no sin in laughter or smiling.

There are many other issues on which a variety of opinions is held. We adopt a policy of understanding and humility in those areas where we may disagree. We believe diversity is healthy when embraced with love and a desire to understand and grow.