This is a brief outline of our beliefs, as we understand them from the Bible. Every believer should study these matters and other issues of doctrine for themselves, and feel free to arrive at their own conclusions with the help of the Holy Spirit.
1. We believe the Bible is God’s inspired and inerrant written Word.
2. We believe there is one triune God, eternally manifested in the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
3. The Father is all-powerful, all-loving, all-wise, righteous in all His ways and just in all His works.
4. Jesus Christ is God the Son, the eternal and uncreated Word of God. He became God Incarnate, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He was fully human, yet remained without sin. He died on the cross as atonement for the sin of mankind; on the third day He was raised from the dead, and appeared to His disciples for forty days, then ascended into Heaven, where He is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
5. The Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the trinity, the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son. He is sent from the Father by the Son to convict people of sin and enable their conversion, as well as to live in His people, teach and inspire them, impart various gifts to them, and empower them to live fruitful lives of service for God’s glory.
6. Man was created by God in the image of God in order to have fellowship with God; however, his likeness to God was corrupted by sin, therefore he is separated from God and cannot reconcile himself to the holy God by any means of his own.
7. Salvation is the work of God, offered by His grace, received by faith and faith alone. The life of Jesus, offered up in payment by shedding His blood on the cross, is payment for the entire sin of all mankind. Salvation is offered to all people; it is appropriated and experienced by those who believe on Him and call on His name by faith.
8. We believe in the priesthood of the believer. Every Christian has direct access to the Father through the Son by the Spirit. Each believer has the privilege of serving God and is responsible to use the gifts He gives to proclaim the gospel, do good works, love one another, and bring glory to God in various forms of worship.
9. We believe the Church consists of all who believe in Jesus as the risen Son of God. The Church universal is divided into many flocks following many shepherds, but Jesus is the Chief Shepherd; true unity is found in Him alone, rather than any specific rite, ritual, rule, doctrine, practice, or tradition. The Church is also the Body of Christ on earth, and the future Bride of Christ that will reign with Him in eternity.
10. We believe Christ will return to this earth, just as He told His disciples at His ascension, visibly and physically, to establish His kingdom and reign in both earth and Heaven. His people will be resurrected into their eternal bodies and will reign with Him forever.
11. We believe that “it is appointed to a man once to die, and afterwards comes judgment.” The righteous will receive eternal life in Heaven; the wicked sinners and unbelievers will receive eternal punishment in the lake of fire, along with the devil and his angels.