STATEMENT OF FAITH
SCRIPTURE
We believe that the scriptures of both the Old and New Testament are verbally inspired of God, that they are the supreme and final authority for faith and practice, and are preserved in the Authorized KJV Bible. (II Timothy 3:16; Psalms 12:6,7)
GOD
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That God is supreme in His person, absolute in His attributes, glorious in His perfection, and eternal in His being. (I John 5:7)
JESUS
We believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ, His conception by the Holy Spirit, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, His bodily resurrection, His exaltation at God’s right hand, and His personal, imminent, pre-millennial, and pre-tribulational return. (Matthew 1:20; II Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:7; Luke 24:6, 39; I Timothy 2:5)
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, one with the Father and the Son, the indweller of every believer to enlighten, guide, and enable him in life, testimony, and service, and seal each believer until the day of redemption of the body. (John 15:26, 27; John 14:7-11; Ephesians 1:13, 14)
MAN
We believe that God created man in His image and likeness (a triune being: spirit, soul, and body) in a state of innocency, but through temptation, he willingly transgressed, became dead in trespasses and sins. As a result, his posterity (all men) inherited a corrupt nature, are born in sin, and are under condemnation. (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12)
SALVATION
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; was buried; and arose again from the dead in His glorified body, ascended into heaven, and as our great High Priest and Advocate, He ever lives to make intercession for us; that all who believe on His name are justified on the grounds of His shed blood and receive the gift of eternal life by the grace of God. Nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner but his own voluntary rejection of the gospel. (Ephesians 2:8, 9; Hebrews 7:24, 25; Isaiah 1:18; John 3:18)
BLOOD
We believe the blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross to be the only and all-sufficient remedy for the sin of man; that this blood alone makes atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22)
HELL
We believe in a literal, burning hell that God prepared for the Devil and his angels. It is the place of everlasting, conscious punishment of the unbelieving lost. (Luke 16:22-26)
HEAVEN
We believe in a literal place called heaven where the saved shall enjoy everlasting blessedness. Heaven is where God’s immediate presence is manifested, where the angels reside, where the redeemed shall ultimately be, where Christ makes intercession for the saints, and from whence Christ shall come to judge the “quick and the dead.” (II Corinthians 5:8; John 14:1-3)
SATAN
We believe in the existence and operating power of a real and personal being opposed to all saints (saved unto all righteousness), and exalting himself against all that God is, has, and tries to accomplish. We believe that the “Evil One” is called Satan, the Prince and Power of the Air, and is a powerful being but not all-powerful. (I Peter 5:8, 9; James 4:7)
THE CHURCH
We believe that the local Church is a congregation of baptized believers, instituted for the purpose of worship, service, and fellowship. The local church is an indigenous and autonomous body. We further believe in the “The Church” as a living organism. It consists of all the blood-bought, born-again believers throughout the Church Age. This body of the redeemed collectively makes up the ultimate bride of Christ. (Acts 2:42; Ephesians 5:21-23)
BAPTISM
We believe that baptism by immersion for a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is the Bible mode of baptism that testifies to the believer’s faith in, and identification with, the crucified, buried, risen, and soon-coming Savior. (Matthew 3:16; 28:19; Romans 6:4)
SEPARATION
We believe that all the saved are called into a life of separation from all worldly and sinful practices, places, and alliances. (II Corinthians 6:14-18; II John 10:11; II Thessalonians 3:6, 14)
ORDINANCES
We believe the two ordinances of the church are:
- The Lord’s Supper: whereby believers do show forth the Lord’s death till He comes again. (The elements being unleavened bread and unfermented grape juice.) (I Corinthians 11:23-32)
- Bible baptism (see BAPTISM).
SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER
We believe that those who by faith receive Jesus Christ as personal Savior are born again of the Holy Spirit, are the children of God, are heirs and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, are kept by the power of God, and can know they are eternally saved, once forever! (Ephesians 4:30; John 10:27-30; Jude 2:4)
LAST THINGS
We believe in the imminent, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, return of Christ. The Lord could return for, and rapture out His Church at any given moment. The world will then enter into a seven year period of tribulation that will end with the battle of Armageddon and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. He will come as “King of Kings” and “Lord of Lords,” and establish His kingdom that will last for 1,000 years. The Lord will then judge the living and the dead at the Great White Throne Judgment (which is different from the Judgment Seat of Christ where the Lord judges the Church). After this, all the lost, Satan, death, and hell are cast into the Lake of Fire, while the Lord and His saints enter into “Eternal Bliss.” (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:51-58; Matthew 24:3-41; Revelation 19:11-21; 20:1-15; 21:1-6)
CREATION
We believe that God created the universe in six literal twenty four hour periods (days) and on the seventh day God rested. We reject evolution, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)
ISRAEL
We believe that the nation of Israel is God’s chosen covenant people. The nation Israel has been preserved by divine providence and will one day be re-gathered to its promised land and restored to fellowship with God and their true messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are instructed to “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem”. (Genesis 13:14-17; Romans 11:1-32; Ezekiel 37)
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: (1) the Home; (2) the Church; and (3) the State. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The Home, the Church and the State are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres or responsibility under God. (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 2:13-14)
HUMAN SEXUALITY & MARRIAGE
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:9-8; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
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 teachings 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; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
MISSIONS
We believe that God has given the Church a Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:20)
LAWSUITS BETWEEN BELIEVERS
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the Church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the Church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander (I Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32)
GIVING
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local Church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the Church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17)
