WHAT WE BELIEVE

1.

GOD

We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God. He is infinite, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of Heaven and Earth (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 90). God is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love; that in the unity of the Godhead (the Trinity), there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being equal in their nature, attributes. God the Father is the first Person of the Godhead (Trinity); that He is the initiator of the salvation of mankind, sending His only Son to die as a perfect sinless sacrifice for the sins of mankind (John 3:16).

2.

JESUS

We believe in the essential deity and the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; that He is eternal with the Father, was begotten of the Holy Spirit, and in miraculous manner; that He was born of Mary, a virgin, as no other person was ever born of a woman, and that He is both the Son of God and God the Son (I John 1:1-2). He is both true man, one person with two natures, tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. We believe that His death was a substitutionary death for the appeasement of His Father, and for the sins of the whole world. We believe in His bodily resurrection, ascension, and pre-tribulation, pre-millennial return (John 3:16; Philippians 2:6-7; Luke 1:26-35; II Corinthians 5:21, I John 2:2; I Corinthians 15:3-4; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:1-10).

3.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person; eternal and equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same essence (I John 5:7); that He was active in the creation (Genesis 1:2); that in the unbelieving world He restrains evil, and the evil one, until God’s purpose is fulfilled; the world of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness; that He bears witness of the truth of the Gospel in preaching, teaching, and testimony; that He is the agent in the new birth; that He seals, empowers, guides, teaches, bears witness with, sanctifies, and helps the believer (John 14:26; Romans 8:14-27; Ephesians 3:16). We believe that the evidence for the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is boldly witnessing for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and daily living like our Lord Jesus Christ.

4.

SALVATION

We believe that salvation, the gift of eternal life, is divinely initiated, is instantaneous, and not a process. It is wholly apart from works and is upon the sole condition of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and never without genuine repentance. In order to be saved, the sinner must be born again, personally receiving Christ as Savior, being regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in God’s Word and becoming the recipient of a new nature. The believer who has exercised personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is completely justified and in possession of eternal life, which is eternally secure. WE DOGMATICALLY REJECT CALVINISM AND REFORMED THEOLOGY AND FIND IT’S DOCTRINE TO BE CONTRARY TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE WORD OF GOD! (John 1:11-12; 3:3-6, 16; 10:28-29; Acts 13:39; Romans 2:4; II Corinthians 7:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; I Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 4:2; I Peter 1:18-23; II Peter 1:4). 

5.

ETERNAL SECURITY

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus eternally secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8). We also believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to live a life of sin (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:1; Titus 2:11- 15).

6.

BAPTISM

We believe that baptism is the immersion in water of a born again believer in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, with the authority and approval of the local church to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the death, burial, and resurrected Savior, as it pictures our death to sin and resurrection to a new life (Matthew 28:19, 20; Romans 6:4); that it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership.

7.

BIBLE

We believe that the Holy Bible is the verbally (every word) and plenary (complete) inspired Word of God as contained in the original manuscripts; that it is truth without any admixture of error for its matter; and is and therefore shall remain to the end of the age the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man; the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried. By the “Holy Bible,” we mean the Canon, that collection of sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation, which, as originally written, does not only contain and convey the Word of God but is the very Word of God. By “inspiration” we mean that the books of Bible were written by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit of God in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21).

8.

CREATION

We believe the Genesis account of creation is to be accepted literally and not allegorically or figuratively (Genesis 1); that the creation was accomplished in six (6), twenty-four (24) hour days (Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31; 2:2; Exodus 20:11); that man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness (Genesis 1:26,27); that man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms; that all animal and vegetable life was made directly by God, and God’s established law was that they should bring forth only “after their kind.” We deny any form of atheistic or theistic evolution (Romans 1:19, 20).

9.

THE SECOND COMING

We believe in the personal, bodily, pre-tribulation, premillennial, and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ for His church. Christ will rapture (catch up) all born again believers in the air to be with Him forever (I Thessalonians 4:15-17; I Corinthians 3:12-14). The unbelievers left behind will go through a seven-year period called the Tribulation, after which Christ shall return visibly to the earth to set up His kingdom of 1,000 years of righteous rule; after this, the unbelievers of all ages will stand at the Great White Throne to be judged and cast into the Lake of Fire (Hell), separated from God forever, while the believers spend eternity in the fullness of joy and in the presence or our Lord forever (Revelation 20:11-15).

10.

CHURCH

We believe that the local New Testament church consists of an assembly of believers, who have been baptized by immersion, who have united together for the express purpose of fulfilling the “Great Commission” which consists of worship, evangelism, edification, fellowship, discipleship, and instruction. We believe that the officers of the Church are ordained pastors and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures (I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9). We believe that the Church observes two ordinances: baptism, and the Lord ‘s Supper (communion), and that they have no saving power. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that Christ is the head of the Church and superintends over the work of the local church through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:19-23).

SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE

We believe that the local New Testament church consists of an assembly of believers, who have been baptized by immersion, who have united together for the express purpose of fulfilling the “Great Commission” which consists of worship, evangelism, edification, fellowship, discipleship, and instruction. We believe that the officers of the Church are ordained pastors and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures (I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9). We believe that the Church observes two ordinances: baptism, and the Lord ‘s Supper (communion), and that they have no saving power. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that Christ is the head of the Church and superintends over the work of the local church through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:19-23).

11.

12.

SEXUALITY

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transsexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4).

13.

MARRIAGE

We believe that marriage was instituted by God to be a permanent union between a man and a woman, and, therefore, we are highly opposed to same-sex marriages. We further believe that God hates divorce and intends for marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Although divorced persons may hold positions of service in the Church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of Pastor or Deacon (Genesis 2:24; Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; I Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6).

14.

ABORTION

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1,5; Luke 1:44). We believe that life is sacred and any act of putting to death a person suffering from a distressing disease, illness, or health problem from injury (euthanasia or mercy killing) for his or her own good is virtually an instance of self-deification usurping a right that belongs to God (II Kings 5:7; Job 1:21; 2:6; Hebrews 9:27).