While we are an independent and non-denominational local body of believers, we recognize that we are a part of the whole body of Christ. We realize the importance of being an connected and submitted to the Lord’s influence and leading that is expressed through the Holy Spirit through His church at large (consisting of multiple ministries and organizations). We also realize it is the desire of and prayer of Jesus that we, though a many grouped and many membered body of believers, be One. This includes our interaction and relationships with other local expressions of the body of Christ at a local level.
Our connection to the Body of Christ at large (globally) is demonstrated in this: We subscribe to the Lausanne Covenant. This document was developed by 2,700 Christian leaders from over 150 countries at the 1974 International Congress for World Evangelization. You can learn more by visiting https://lausanne.org
Read the actual statement of the Lausanne Covenant by visiting this link: https://lausanne.org/statement/lausanne-covenant#cov (Copy and Paste the links in your browser).
Statement Of Faith
HOLY BIBLE:
We believe that all Scripture is the inspired Word of God (2 Peter 1:20-21), and it is the sole basis for our beliefs (2 Timothy 3:16). Thus, we believe that God verbally inspired all 66 books of the Holy Bible. We believe that the Scriptures (the Bible) are the final authority for all we believe and how we are to live (John 17:17; Matthew 5:18). Finally, we believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God especially as preserved in the original languages.
TRINITY:
We believe that the one and only true God (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) exists eternally and pluralistically in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And these, being One God, are equal in deity, power, and glory (John 14:11, 26).
JESUS CHRIST:
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. He is fully God and fully man. We believe that He was conceived and born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25), and He lived a sinless life and offered Himself for sinners as a sacrifice for the payment of our sins. He bought us eternal redemption and eternal life through the blood He shed on the cross (Colossians 1:15-20). He died and his physical body was raised back to life on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:12-29; Luke 24:46). He ascended to the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for the saints (Romans 8:34).
SALVATION:
We believe that all have sinned and are unrighteous (Romans 3:23), and that salvation is necessary to have forgiveness of sins and eternal life (Romans 6:23). We believe that salvation is given to us by grace alone and through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). It requires no additional ordinances, rituals, or works to be saved. Any person can enter into a saving relationship with God by confessing the Lordship of Jesus Christ for their lives and believing in their heart that Jesus has complete victory over death (Romans 10:9). This same grace from God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, empowers us to repent from our sins and be forgiven and cleansed (Acts 3:19). The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God’s sight so that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ by being transformed through the grace of God and the working of His Spirit (Romans 8:29; 12:2).
WATER BAPTISM:
We believe in water baptism by immersion (when possible) as an expression of public testimony of a believer’s new birth in Christ. Water baptism does not save people, but is a demonstration of faith and is symbolic signifying a person dying to sin and being raised up in the life of Christ (Romans 6:1-4; Colossians 2:9-13).
THE HOLY SPIRIT:
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes believers with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). At or after conversion, The Holy Spirit fills, empowers, and anoints believers, sealing those who are in Christ until the day of redemption (Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:13-14), this being done at or after conversion. We believe that signs and wonders (following believers) as well as all the gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament (Mark 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:11-13) are operative today and are designed to attest to the presence of the Kingdom of God and to empower and edify individuals to fulfill their particular callings (Romans 8:26) and empower the church to fulfill the Great Commission (Acts 1:8; Galatians 3:1-5).
THE CHURCH:
We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ, consisting of every born-again Christian, and is chosen and ordained by God for the revealing of Christ to the world and for fulfilling the Great Commission on Earth. Furthermore, we believe that we, as a congregation of believers, are merely a part of the church and that we are a community of the Holy Spirit among the many that comprise the complete Body of Christ. As a congregation of believers, we recognize and are dedicated to being conformed to the image of Christ so that we live revealing His character, virtues, and works.
HEAVEN AND HELL:
We believe that all will be judged for their decisions and actions (2 Corinthians 5:10). When the Christian dies, they will dwell forever in fellowship with God (Psalm 16:11). We believe that when the unbeliever dies, they will experience eternal torment and conscious separation from God (Luke 16:22-23), Revelation 20:11-15). This will be done through two resurrections. Those resurrected in the first resurrected unto eternal life, and those resurrected in the second resurrection unto eternal damnation in the lake of fire (John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:4-)
SECOND COMING:
We believe in and expectantly prepare for the literal Second Coming of Jesus Christ at the end of the age to consummate His Kingdom (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). We envision a future characterized by a great end-time revival, where the Church in victory will experience unprecedented unity, purity, and power in the Holy Spirit (Revelation 7:9-10; 2 Thessalonians 2:8) leading to a great harvest of souls.
STATEMENT ON MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY:
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. Furthermore, these two distinct and complementary genders together were created to reflect the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and in marriage reflect the reality of the union of Christ and the church as the husband and wife live together according to Scripture (Ephesians 5:22-33). We further believe that God ordained marriage and sexuality to be exclusively between man and woman – male and female as God created them each (Genesis 1:28, 2:24-24; Matthew 19:4-5; Romans 1:26-28).
The biblical account of creation recognizes that humans are created as sexual beings with clearly identifiable physical characteristics as male and female and relational characteristics as man and woman. The “sex” of an individual refers to the biological characteristics that distinguish male from female, whereas “gender” refers to the psychological, social, and cultural associations with being male or female. The Bible unambiguously affirms that human beings, both male and female, bear the image of God, representing the Creator in the care of his created earth. (Gen 1:26-28; 2:22-23)
We lament any distortion of sexuality. We reject the notion that individuals may determine their gender without regard to our createdness. Although biological sex and gender may be distinguished, they are inseparable. Maleness and femaleness are an inherent fact of human createdness—a fact to which cultures give expression in distinguishing between men and women. We also reject the notion of gender fluidity (the claim to fluctuating gender identity or gender expression, depending on situation and experience).
Furthermore, our Statement on Marriage and Sexuality (Romans 1:26-28) does not provide grounds for bigotry, bullying, or hate, as we fully believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity, regardless of his or her lifestyle. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated as sinful according to the Scriptures and our teachings. We teach that the faithful proclamation of the Scripture, including the call to repentance, does not constitute hate speech or hateful and harassing behavior but is instead a fundamental part of the church’s loving mission to the world (Matthew 28:16–20; 2 Corinthians 5:11–20; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 4:1–2). All have sinned (Romans 3:23), and Jesus came to save us from all our sins through the grace of His forgiveness and through the power of His grace to change and transform us – delivering us from our sins. All who have sinned; all sins included are a part of His loving call of salvation and regeneration.
