What We Believe
OUR CORE VALUES
We Value:
intimate worship
spiritual growth
authenticity
community
accountability
service
simplicity
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT:
THE SCRIPTURES
The Bible is God’s Word written by men but inspired by God’s Spirit and contains no error. It is truth provided for the believer as a tool to know the heart of God. It reveals the plan, purposes and will of God for all time.
THE TRINITY
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver and Ruler of the universe. To Him, we owe the highest love, reverence and obedience. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit with distinct personal attributes but without division of nature, essence or being.
THE FATHER
God as Father is the Giver and Sustainer of life, the seen and unseen. He is all-loving, all-just, all-wise and all-powerful. He is the true God and the One who judges righteously and tests the heart and mind. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ; however, He is fatherly toward all men. He is completely sovereign in all things.
THE SON
God as Son is the perfect representation for the Father in human form. He is fully human and fully divine. He is equal with God the Father but humbled himself by taking on the form of a servant and became obedient to a death on a cross. He knew that only through the shedding of His blood would the sinless Lamb of God be able to secure forgiveness and remission of sins. He arose on the third day following his death as He declared and now lives and reigns with the Father in glory awaiting His final triumphant return. He lives in all followers of Christ as the living, ever-present Lord.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
God as Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and unrighteousness, works in the life of each believer to produce godly character qualities and demonstrates Himself, in the life of the church, through special abilities given to each follower of Christ to carry out the work of the church. He is Comforter, Teacher, Wisdom and Counselor.
HUMANITY
Man was created by a special work of God, in His image and is the finest of the creation - God said, “It is very good!” Man was created innocent but chose to sin against God and fell from his original state. Because God created everyone in His image, every person is worthy of respect and Christ-like love.
SALVATION
Salvation is the free gift of God. Nothing can be done to earn or attain it. God does all the work in salvation from the beginning to the end. It was obtained by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. He shed His own blood for our sin that we might be rightly related to God.
GRACE
Grace is the unmerited favor of God and shows us His goodness. All who have received Christ and are set apart will never fall from grace but will endure the end. Followers of Christ may sin and grieve the Holy Spirit, but through grace they will be kept by the power of God and brought back to obedience by the discipline of God.
SIN
When one becomes a follower of Christ, he is free from sin’s penalty & power of death but not from the struggle with sin. A battle rages within the follower of Christ between the flesh and spiritual natures. When the follower of Christ confesses sin, Christ cleanses from sin. Sinning grieves the Holy Spirit, brings shame on the cause of Christ, hinders a follower’s relationship with God and others and causes the follower to endure the consequences of sin.
THE CHURCH
The church is a group of followers brought together by the Spirit of God to produce fully-committed followers of Jesus Christ who are committed to the DNA of the body of Christ:
1. Divine Truth - Truth comes directly from God. He reveals it to us. The purest form of Truth is in Jesus and the Scriptures. The inwelling Spirit of God is also Divine Truth. Jesus, the Scriptures, and the leading of the Holy Spirit are infallible, while our application of those sources may be filled with error. Check out the scriptures to the right to see where Jesus embodies, teaches, and commands this essential part of the DNA of the church as well as examples from the Early Church.
2. Nurturing Relationships - People were never created to be alone. In Genesis God said that it wasn’t good for man to be alone. We are wired to be social and we have this need within us for relationships. This nature actually reflects the Trinitarian image of God! Check out the scriptures to the right to see where Jesus embodies, teaches, and commands this essential part of the DNA of the church as well as examples from the Early Church.
3. Apostolic Mission - Apostolic means sent as a representative with a message. We are here for a purpose. We have been given a prime directive to fulfill: to make disciples of all the nations. Jesus is an apostle. Before he left earth He said to His disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you.” Check out the scriptures to the right to see where Jesus embodies, teaches, and commands this essential part of the DNA of the church as well as examples from the Early Church.
BAPTISM
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change that has occurred in the life of the follower of Christ. It is identification with Christ by picturing his death, burial and resurrection. It is the first commandment a new Christian is given from the Lord Jesus. We believe it is to be practiced as believer’s baptism by immersion.
LORD’S SUPPER
The Lord’s Supper is an opportunity for personal examination and reflection as we observe the “Lord’s death until He comes.” The bread and cup are symbols of His body and blood which were broken and spilled out for our salvation and is done in “remembrance” of Him until He comes again. Although there is no supernatural value to communion, it has great value in reflecting on what Christ did for us and who we are to become as followers of Christ. This should be done as often as possible.