Statement of Faith
In short, we believe the Bible is the word of God. It is His love letter to us and our compass for all things. We believe in the Father, Son and Spirit.
We believe that Jesus came to planet earth to live and break the power of death through his resurrection and illuminate the way to life and immortality.
(1 Tim 1:10)
STATEMENT
OF FAITH
This Church accepts the Bible as the revealed will of God, the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice, and for the purpose of maintaining general unity of statements of faith.
We believe that God can be known and experienced; that’s God’s life is greater than sin and death; that He still speaks today, still performs miracles, and that He loves us.
We believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. And that God creates us male and female.
We believe that God’s love and His life are the greatest force in the galaxy and that He can free anyone from anything, anytime, anywhere.
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% 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 mankind 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. (John 1:1,14, 20:28; I Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6; I Timothy 2:5)
VIRGIN BIRTH
Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) in the virgin Mary's womb; therefore, He is the Son of God. (Matthew 1:18, 23-25; Luke 1:27-35; Isaiah 7:14)
REDEMPTION
Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Gen. 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21). We believe that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, took our place, and with His life’s blood purchased the pardon for all who believe in Him. (John 3:16; Titus 2:14)
JESUS’ BLOOD
The Blood that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100% sufficient to cleanse mankind of 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. (I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Romans 3:23, 5:9; John 1:29)
HOLY BIBLE
The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant. (II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26)
RESURRECTION
Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; they that are saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation. (Luke 24:16, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; I Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21)
TRINITY
There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal. (I John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11)
SALVATION
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. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22)
FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
As evidence of a Spirit-filled life, believers should walk in the Spirit and show spiritual “fruit” such as love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. (Ephesians 4:30-32; Galatians 5:22-25)
GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
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 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; II Timothy 1:5-16; I Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; I Peter 4:10)
REGENERATION
We believe that the change that takes place in people at conversion is a very real one; that having received righteousness in Christ and having received of His Spirit, people will have new desires, interests, and pursuits in life (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20).
SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ's character in us. It is through GRACE that this present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God takes place and the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. (I Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; II Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18; Romans 8:29, 12:1-2; Hebrews 2:11)
TWO SACRAMENTS
Water Baptism: Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 8:12, 36-38, 10:47-48)
The Lord's Supper: A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (symbolic of 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)
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Given at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the Church to preach the Gospel throughout the whole earth. (Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:5,2:1-4, 17, 38-39, 8:14-17, 10:38, 44-47, 11:15-17, 19:1-6)
SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE
Christians are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to him thus making Jesus the Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead. (John 1:12; John 14:17, 23, 15:4; Romans 8:11; Revelation 3:20; Ephesians 5:16)
MODERATION
We believe a Christians’ moderation should be obvious to others and that their relationships with Jesus should never lead people into extremes of fanaticism; their lives should model that of Christ in uprightness, balance, humility, and self-sacrifice. (Colossians 3:12; Philippians 4:5)
HEALING OF THE SICK
Healing of the sick is illustrated in the life and ministry of Jesus, and included in the commission of Jesus to His disciples. It is given as a sign, which is to follow believers. It is also a part of Jesus' work on the Cross and one of the gifts of the Spirit. (Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16; I Corinthians 12:9, 28)
SECOND COMING
Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures. (Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; II Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7)
JUDGMENT
We believe that all shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ: the redeemed to be delivered unto everlasting life, and the unrepentant unto everlasting punishment. As believers we will also be judged for our works and given rewards in Heaven accordingly. (Revelation 20:11-12; 1 Corinthians 9:24-25; 2 Corinthians 5:10)
HEAVEN
Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and after Christ returns believers will live with Him for an eternity in the Presence of God on the New Earth, Heaven. The New Earth will be a place of cultures, people, activities, food, celebration, productivity, and many other exciting things. (Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; II Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; I Peter 1:4; Revelation 22:1-2)
HELL
After living one life on earth, the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to Hell. We believe that hell is a place of darkness, deepest sorrow, and unquenchable fire, which was not prepared for man but for the devil and his angels; yet it will become the place of eternal separation from God for all who reject Christ as Savior. (Matthew 13: 41-42, 25:41; Revelation 20:10-15)
EVANGELISM
We believe that soul winning is the “main focus” of the Church on earth, and that every hindrance to worldwide evangelism should be removed. (James 5:20; Mark 16:15)
THE CHURCH
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)
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that civil government is by divine appointment and that civil laws should be upheld at all times except in things opposed to the Word of God. (Acts 4: 18-20; Romans 13:1-5)
TITHES AND OFFERINGS
We believe that tithes and offerings are ordained of God to sustain His ministry, spread the Gospel, and release personal blessing. As we are faithful to return the tithe as an act of worship, we redeem our income of financial curses enabling us to live a life of fullness and blessing. (Malachi 3:10; 1 Corinthians 16: 1-2; Hebrews 7:2; Romans 11:16
MARRIAGE
We believe that because God our Creator established marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman, the idea that marriage is a covenant only between one man and one woman has been the traditional definition of marriage for all of human history (“Traditional Definition of Marriage”). Because of the longstanding importance of the Traditional Definition of Marriage to humans and their relationships and communities, and, most importantly, the fact that God has ordained that marriage be between one man and one woman, as clearly conveyed in God’s inerrant Scriptures, including for example in Matthew 19:4-6 where in speaking about marriage Jesus referred to the fact that “he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” the Church hereby creates this policy, which shall be known as the “Marriage Policy.”
Under this Church’s Marriage Policy, the Traditional Definition of Marriage is the only definition of marriage that will be recognized or accepted. No elder, officer, employee, servant, agent, or any person, corporation, organization, or entity under the direction or control of this Church shall commit any act or omission, or make any decision whatever, that would be inconsistent with, or that could be perceived by any person to be inconsistent with, full support of this Church’s Marriage Policy and strict adherence to the Traditional Definition of Marriage rather than any alternative to the Traditional Definition of Marriage.
This Church’s Marriage Policy specifically prohibits acts or omissions including but not limited to permitting any Church assets or property, whether real property, personal property, intangible property, or any property or asset of any kind that is subject to the direction or control of the Church, to be used in any manner that would be or could be perceived by any person to be inconsistent with this Church’s Marriage Policy or the Traditional Definition of Marriage, including but not limited to permitting any church facilities to be used by any person, organization, corporation, or group that would or might use such facilities to convey, intentionally or by implication, what might be perceived as a favorable impression about any definition of marriage other than the Traditional Definition of Marriage.
We believe this Church’s Marriage Policy is based upon God’s will for human life as conveyed to us through the Holy Scriptures, upon which this Church has been founded and anchored, and this Marriage Policy shall not be subject to change through popular vote; referendum; prevailing opinion of members or the general public; influence of or interpretation by any government authority, agency, or official action; or legal developments on the local, state, or federal level. In accordance with the Church’s Marriage Policy, individuals known to be living in (a) a common-law state of matrimony or (b) a manner inconsistent with the Church’s teachings on marriage pursuant to these Bylaws shall not be accepted into Church leadership or employed by the Church.
SEXUALITY AND GENDER
Sexuality and the divinely prescribed boundaries for the expression thereof are covered clearly in the Holy Scriptures, which limit sexual expression to the marital relationship of one (1) man with one (1) woman. Homosexual acts, adultery, bestiality, and all forms of fornication are categorically condemned in the Holy Scriptures. (See 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Romans 1:26-27; Proverbs 5:3-5, 8-13; 7:21-27; Galatians 5:19; Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18; Matthew 5:27; 19:18; Luke 18:20; Romans 13:9; James 2:11; Leviticus 20:10-21; 1 Corinthians 10:8; and 6:18; Jude 7) Furthermore, the Church believes that sexuality is assigned by God at birth, and the Holy Scripture does not permit an individual to alter their sexual identity physically or otherwise. (Deuteronomy 23:1)
Consistent with the Church’s sincerely held religious beliefs regarding sexuality and gender, gender specific bathroom facilities may only be utilized consistent with gender assigned at birth and not gender identity or expression. Optional family (non-gender specific) bathrooms may also be made available.