OUR BELIEFS
Our aim is to hold to the historic Christian faith firmly (Jude 1:3), yet communicate it humbly (Proverbs 16:24). We believe doctrinal beliefs should be expressed gently and clearly (2 Timothy 2:25), and give grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29). We propose our beliefs to everyone, but we impose them on no one (Acts 4:19-20; 1 Corinthians 5:12).
From a pure spirit, good conscience, and sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5) we present the following beliefs.
GOD
We believe God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe all three persons are fully God, yet there is one God. We believe Jesus is fully human and fully God. We believe the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, but God himself personally indwelling every genuine believer and church.
MAN
We believe God created men and women in his image with equal and infinite value. We believe that marriage under God’s design is between one man and one woman, and that human sexuality was given for unity and procreation within such a marriage. We believe the sin of Adam and Eve created a universally broken human experience in which people find themselves routinely and naturally drawn to sin instead of God, wrong instead of right, and self-centered living instead of God-centered living. We believe this tendency is unbreakable apart from the power of God. We believe God’s perfection cannot coexist with such failure, leaving all people rightly deserving of eternal separation from God.
SALVATION
We believe God loves all people so infinitely that he chose to offer us something infinitely better than what we deserve. We believe Jesus lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, and rose again three days later so that humanity could be brought securely and permanently back to God. Because God accomplished this entire work himself, no human effort is required, but only faith. We believe salvation cannot be achieved by moral self-improvement or good deeds. We believe salvation is obtained through the grace of God alone, through human trust in Jesus alone. We believe that genuine Christian conversion includes being born again by faith, and that any such believer is eternally secure.
SCRIPTURE
We believe the sixty-six books of the Bible are fully inspired by God and are true without any mixture of error for all people in all places at all times. We believe that the original content of the Bible has been accurately preserved throughout human history so that we are able to fully trust the Bible we have today. We believe the Bible contains everything we need for faith and practice. We believe what the Bible says happened, happened. We believe what the Bible says should happen, should happen. We believe what the Bible says, God says. (See The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, 1978).
CHURCH
We believe in the universal church as the global body of all believers in Jesus Christ in all times and places. We believe in the local church as a committed family of believers focused on worship and expression of Christian mission in a particular community.
THE END TIMES
We believe Jesus will physically return to earth, signaling the end of human history and the beginning of the eternal state. We believe no person knows when this will happen. We believe he will judge this world for what it is, and permanently restore it to what God always intended it to be.