OUR BELIEFS

THE GOSPEL

The Beginning
God loves you and created you to know Him, glorify Him, and enjoy fellowship with Him forever.

The Problem
Every one of us has sinned against God and fallen short of His perfect standard. Because God is holy and just, our sin separates us from Him. We cannot restore that relationship through good works, religion, or self-improvement.
God's Solution
In His love, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save sinners. Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the dead. Through faith in Him alone, we receive forgiveness, eternal life, and a restored relationship with God.
Your Response
God offers salvation as a free gift of grace. Will you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone as your Savior and Lord?

OUR STATEMENT OF BELIEFS

Our Belief Statements summarize the biblical convictions that guide our church's doctrine, ministry, and mission. These beliefs are rooted in God's Word and point us to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
I. The Bible
We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life.

Scriptures: 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; Hebrews 4:12
II. The Triune God
We believe there is but one living and true God, who is one in essence, while eternally existing in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Though each person of the Godhead possesses the same nature, each function differently in respect to God’s dealings with man.

Scriptures: Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:18-19; Mark 12:29
III. Spiritual Warfare
We believe that God created a great number of angels; that the greatest angel became proud and rebelled and is called Satan; that with the other angels who rebelled with him, called demons; he is seeking to destroy the kingdom of God. We believe that Satan was defeated at the cross and will be thrown into everlasting punishment at the end of the age.

Scriptures: Revelation 12:3-9; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Ephesians 6:11-12; Colossians 2:15; Revelation 20:10
IV. The Nature of Man
We believe that with the creation of the universe God created man in his image; that all men have sinned in the transgression of Adam as well as in personal experience; that they are totally dead in sin and apart from the grace of God are eternally lost and. on their way to everlasting separation from God in “the lake of fire”

Scriptures: Genesis 1:26; Romans 5:15-19; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:14-15
V. The Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is both the eternal Son of God and virgin-born Son of man. Fully God and fully man, He surrendered nothing of His deity during His earthly life. Having led a sinless life, He satisfied the Father’s justice concerning sin by His death.

Scriptures: Luke 1:30-35; John 1:1-2
VI. Redemption
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a substitutionary sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and to completely reconcile us to God, and that all who truly trust Him as Savior are justified and eternally saved on th eground of His shed blood.

Scriptures: Romans 5:6-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 2:8-9
VII. The Resurrection of Christ
We believe in the personal resurrection of oru Lord and Savior in the body in which He suffered, in His physical ascension into heaven, in His present life at the right hand of God the Father, and in His present work on our behalf as High Priest, Mediator and Advocate and His visible return to this earth to establish His earthly kingdom.

Scriptures: Luke 1:30-35; John 1:1-2, 14-18; John 20:19-20; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15; Romans 3:24-26; Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 2:17-18, 7:24-28; 1 John 2:1; Revelation 20:11-15
VIII. Salvation Into God's Family
We believe that all who by faith have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are “born again” of the Holy Spirit into the family of God, and that the Holy Spirit dwells within every believer to enlighten, guide and enable him in life, testimony, and service.

Scriptures: John 1:12, 3:16; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 8:9
IX. The Church
We believe that all who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit belong to the one true church and are directed by the Scriptures to associate themselves in local, visible churches. The local church is the only visible representation of Christ’s invisible church and consists only of regenerated believers. The local church is autonomous in its relationship, and elects its own members to the biblical offices of elder and deacon. The two-fold purpose of the church is to lead men to Christ and mature them in the faith.

Scriptures: Matthew 16:12-28, 24:36, 28:18-20; John 14:1-3; Acts 2:9-11, 41-47; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Hebrews 10:24-25
X. Spiritual Gifts
We believe that divine, enabling gifts for service are bestowed by the Spirit upon all who are saved. While there is diversity in gifts, each believer is energized by the same Spirit, and each is called to his own divinely appointed service as God wills. These gifts are not signs of deeper spirituality, but each believer has at least one gift and it should be used to build up the body of Christ.

Scriptures: Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11; Ephesians 4:11
XI. Baptism and The Lord's Supper
We believe that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only ordinance of the church, and that they are a scriptural means of testimony for the church of this age.

Scriptures: Matthew 28:19; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, 12:12-13
XII. Return of Christ
We believe in the Blessed Hope, the personal and bodily, pre-millennial and imminent, return of Christ to receive believers to Him.

Scriptures: Titus 2:13; John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
XIII. The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved in glory, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.

Scriptures: Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Luke 16:19-26; Philippians 1:23; Revelation 20:10-15
XIV. Marriage
Marriage has been instituted by God. We define marriage as the permanent, exclusive, comprehensive, and conjugal “one flesh” union of one man and one woman, intrinsically ordered to procreation and biological family, and in furtherance of the moral, spiritual, and public good of binding father, mother, and child. A civil government’s sanction of a union will be recognized as a legitimate marriage by the church only to the extent that it is consistent with this definition of marriage.

Scriptures: Genesis 1:27-28, 2:18-24; Matthew 19:4-9; Mark 10:5-9; Ephesians 5:31-33
XV. Sexual Behavior
Legitimate sexual relations are exercised solely within marriage. Hence, sexual activities outside of marriage (referred to in the New Testament as “porneia”), including, but not limited to, adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, and pedophilia, are inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible and the church. Further, lascivious conduct, transgender behavior, and the creation and/or distribution and/or viewing of pornography are incompatible with the biblical witness.

Scriptures: Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 18:7-23, 20:10-21; Deuteronomy 5:18; Matthew 5:27-28, 15:19; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-13; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 13:4; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 4:17-19; Colossians 3:5

CORE VALUES

We seek to help each other move forward in four things: Believing, Belonging, Building Up, and Being Strong. We follow Jesus together for L.I.F.E. according to our key values.
Our Family Focus
Believe: We all want something worth believing in, or better—someone worth believing in. The gospel gives us good news to believe and a Savior to believe in.

Belong: We all want real community. Jesus brings us into a loving community based on his merits, not ours.

Build Up: We all want to change. As we trust Jesus and his Word, he changes hearts, not just behaviors. Part of changing requires new pursuits and learning from others.

Be Strong: We all want our city and the world to be better. Jesus gives us a good news mission and the power to fulfill it.
Following Jesus For Life
Loving God, Worshipping, Trusting, Obeying
Investing in Others Serving, Relating, Discipling
Following God’s Word: Studying, Applying, Sharing
Engaging our World with the Gospel Loving, Showing, Communicating
Our Guiding Values
Every family has values. These values guide what we do as a church family.

Transformational Grace: Continually being changed by God’s Grace as we extend it to others in all we do.
Scriptural Truth: Consistently learning, practicing, and communicating the whole counsel of God’s Word.
Persistent Prayer: Regularly communicating with the Lord, recognizing our complete dependence on Him.
Missional Living: Actively showing and sharing the Gospel of Christ locally and abroad.
Intentional Discipleship: Personally helping others take their next steps with Christ in relationships, in service, and in leadership.
Authentic Community: Compassionately walking with one another in the ups and downs of life.

BELIEVE. BELONG. BUILD UP. BE STRONG.