STATEMENT of DOCTRINE

On God

We believe in one God, creator and sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect, holy, and eternally co-existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who are omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and immutable. We believe God as uncreated and self-sustaining, has eternally existed, now exists, and is existing in the eternity of tomorrow.

On the Authority of Scripture

We believe the Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, are the Word of God. We believe that the original manuscripts are the inspired, inerrant, and trustworthy Word of God, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of human beings, and the final authority for all matters about which it speaks.  We believe that God still does everything today that He did in Scripture.

On God the Father

We believe in God the Father, who is an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love; that He mercifully concerns Himself in the affairs of mankind; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

On Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus Christ is God, and that He is God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the seed of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles and infallibly taught, lived and is the Word of God from the beginning.  He pre-existed with God in the form of God.  He freely gave up His position, humbled Himself, and became incarnated as a man.  We believe Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and mankind.

On the Atonement

We believe the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for the atonement of our sins and His bodily resurrection provide the only ground for justification, forgiveness, and salvation for all who believe that He is the Son of God.  Through the atonement, and therefore as the “last Adam,” Jesus came to return all who believe in Him to the original mandate that the first Adam failed to accomplish.

On Salvation

We believe that accepting and confessing Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God and asking Him to forgive our sins, results in a re-conception and regeneration of our lives, as the seed of God’s light enters our spirit (Galatians 3:19; 1 John 3:9).  This results in a new birth as we become a new creation in Him.  This new birth or being “born again” does not make our decisions and actions immediately perfect; it is the beginning of a new way of life that allows God, in His faithfulness, to conform us to His nature (Romans 5:10; Philippians. 1:6). 

On the Resurrection

We believe Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead and ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father, forever making intercession for His people.  Just as He resurrected from the dead, His resurrection is the “first-fruits” promise of the resurrection into eternity for all who believe in Him. 

We believe that when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father He gave five ministry gifts to mankind: the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher.  These ministry gifts are to mature and unify His people, help His people grow in intimacy with the Father, and advance His Kingdom.

On the Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is the very Spirit of God.  He came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  The Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration and sanctification for believers in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit makes the presence of Jesus Christ real in believers.  He teaches, comforts, guides, convicts, and enables believers to live in ways that honor God.  He empowers believers for ministry.  He indwells everyone who believes in Jesus Christ.  We believe in the present and interactive ministry of the Holy Spirit and in all the biblical gifts, which He continues to give today.

On Original Sin

We believe that human nature derives from two historic persons, male and female, who were created in God’s image from the dust of the Earth, without the knowledge of good and evil.  They were created perfect, but they sinned, thus plunging themselves and all humanity into sin, guilt, suffering, and death.  Therefore, all human beings are sinners by nature and by choice.  We believe that God, through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit, regenerates those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. 

On the Lord’s Supper

We believe and acknowledge the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Jesus and His crucifixion for the atonement for our sins.  He was the Passover Lamb and fulfilled the Feast of Passover.  We believe the Lord’s Supper is a holy ordinance, and that it testifies of our union with Him and of the remission of our sins through His sacrifice on the Cross.  Partaking of the Lord’s Supper in a corporate or church setting also testifies of our relationship with each other as the Body of Christ. We believe there is all manner of power released through the Sacraments as we remember all that Jesus did for mankind.

On Water Baptism

We believe that water baptism should be by immersion and consummated as soon as possible after committing to the Lordship of Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for our sin.  This ordinance is a personal and public statement of our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our behalf.  The emersion and rising up out of the water is a testimony to our being born again.  It is also a commitment to follow His example and lay down our lives for the sake of His Kingdom.

On the Baptism in the Holy Spirit

We believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as being an additional impartation, which empowers, strengthens, comforts, and is usually accompanied by the manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life.  These gifts are available to all who believe.  Baptism in the Holy Spirit endues and transforms the believer to increasingly take on more of the nature of Christ.  We accept, acknowledge, encourage, and seek all of the biblical gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit.  They are present, active, and vital in aiding the Church and the advancing of the glorious Kingdom of God. We believe that all gifts from the Holy Spirit destroy evil.

On the Second Coming

We believe in the literal, physical, personal, and visible return of Jesus Christ to the Earth and the establishment of His Kingdom.  We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, and the eternal blessing of the righteous. We believe there is an endless suffering for the wicked.  We believe only those who have made Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior and are born of the Holy Spirit are members of the Body of Christ, and will spend eternity with Christ.

On the Purpose of Faith

We believe true faith is born in a believer’s heart and not just in their mind.  God requires us to exercise faith for our salvation as well as for all other issues in His Kingdom.  In exercising our faith, we lift our focus above the temporal terrestrial realm to the eternal celestial realm.  We focus on God’s infinite nature, whose desire is for our good.  We mature to see that all matters that have eternal consequence happen through faith in God.

Our faith activates the movement of the Holy Spirit

Only the Holy Spirit of God can reveal the Son of God, and only the Son can reveal the Father.  This is the Kingdom process.  Eternal change can only happen as the Spirit of God initiates the Kingdom processes thus the Holy Spirit moves and convicts the heart of mankind.  Neither the eloquence of speech nor the passionate presentation of the Gospel can activate the Kingdom process and eternally change the hearts of men and women.  It is God who draws us to Himself.