What We Believe

Articles of Faith

The Authority of the Articles of Faith
The Articles of Faith do not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice. We believe the Articles of Faith accurately represent the teachings of the Bible and; therefore, we voluntarily bind ourselves to them.

Article 1: The Word of God
We believe the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God, which consists of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament. We believe it is divinely inspired and without error in the original manuscripts. We believe it to be the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (John 17:17; Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
Article 2: The Trinity
We believe there is one living and true God, existing in three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. These three are equal in divine perfection, and they execute distinct yet harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption. (Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-4; 1 John 5:7)
Article 3: God the Father
We believe God the Father is an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of each person, and He saves all who come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. (John 3:16-17, 4:24, 14:6) See Article 8: Salvation.
Article 4: Jesus Christ
We believe that the eternally existent Word of God, Jesus Christ, is God’s only begotten Son, The Second Person of the Trinity, and who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles and His teachings are truth. He is fully God and fully man, possessing both deity and humanity united in one person, without division of the person or confusion of the two natures. Jesus Christ suffered vicariously, atoned for humanity’s sin through his death and literally, bodily resurrected from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and will personally, visibly return to Earth to establish His kingdom (see Article 10). Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. (Isaiah 7:14; Zechariah 14:4; John 1:1-14; 3:16[KJV]; Acts 1:9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 1:2-3, 4:13; Revelation 1:7)
Article 5: The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity and came forth to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; to regenerate, sanctify, and empower believers; to indwell, comfort, help, teach, and guide believers. We believe when a person trusts Jesus Christ to be his personal Savior, the Holy Spirit baptizes (not to be confused with water baptism) that person into the body of Christ. We believe there is a distinction between the spiritual gifts given to believers to equip them for the work of the ministry and the “sign gifts” given as manifestations of the Holy Spirit in order to provide credibility in the messenger and the message during the foundational period of the church. Therefore, we believe “sign gifts” are not normal for the present day, and we do not believe speaking in tongues is an evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. (John 14:26, 16:7-15; Romans 8:14-17; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14)
Article 6: Satan
We believe Satan is a fallen angelic being. We believe that he tried to exalt himself to be God's equal and was therefore cast from Heaven with approximately 1/3 of Heaven's angels. Satan, formerly known as Lucifer, is the author of sin and was the instigator for the fall of man. He is the enemy of God and man; he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. (Genesis 3; Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-15; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
Article 7: The Creation & Fall of Man
We believe Jesus created the universe in six 24 hour days. We believe that all people are descendants of a literal Adam and Eve, whom God created personally and individually as perfect human beings. We believe man was created in the image of God, but the first man, Adam, willfully chose to disobey God and so sin entered into the world. We believe each of his descendants and every generation since then has inherited a sinful nature and became alienated from God. Man is depraved and utterly unable to remedy his condition without divine intervention. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7, 2:21-22, 3:6-24; Exodus 31:17; Psalm 33:6-9; Acts 17:24; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 11:8-9; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19; I Timothy 2:13,14))
Article 8: Salvation
We believe salvation is the gracious gift of God. By the term salvation, we refer to a specific relationship with God that people enter into when, with a repentant spirit, they put their sole trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to have completed all that was necessary to pay for the penalty of their sin (known as His redemptive work on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead). Those who have received this salvation are also said to be "born again" (John 3:3, 7; Acts 16:31). Salvation is not received on the basis of human merit, work, social position or heritage (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Furthermore, all true believers are kept by God’s power and are thus secure as a child of God in Jesus Christ forever, and their assurance of an eternal home in Heaven. (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30, 14:6; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8, 15:3-4; 1 Peter 1:4-5)
Article 9: The Universal Church & the Local Church
We believe the Church is the spiritual body and bride of Jesus Christ and is comprised of all born again believers. The local church is to assemble for the purpose of worship, outreach, discipleship, fellowship and service. The last command of Jesus before He was taken up into Heaven was to "Go and make disciples". We believe that the Church has been given the task of spreading the Gospel throughout the world. (Matthew 28:16-18; Acts 2:38-41; Ephesians 2:19-22, 5:25-27)
Article 10: The End Times
"We believe in the imminent calling up to heaven of the born-again, both the dead in Jesus Christ and those still living. This event is called the rapture. Jesus Christ will also visibly and gloriously return to the Earth to defeat the anti-Christ and his followers at the end of a seven year tribulation. Jesus Christ will then set up a literal 1000 year kingdom on the Earth. After the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ and the judgment of the wicked at the Great White Throne, Satan and those who denied Jesus Christ will be thrown into the everlasting Lake of Fire. Afterward, a new heaven and a new Earth will be created where the believers will live for eternity in paradise with God." (Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; 2 Corinthians 5:10; I Thessalonians 4:14-18; Revelation 20:1-15)
Article 11: Christian Conduct
We believe every Christian should live in such a manner as to bring glory to God and as not to bring reproach to the Name of Jesus Christ, nor bring disgrace upon the local church to which they belong. Every Christian should strive to grow and develop spiritually in personal holiness, and to edify the body of Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 2:14-16; Colossians 3:17-23; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18)
Article 12: Giving
We believe every Christian should be a wise steward of the resources entrusted to him by God. Every Christian has an obligation to support his church financially. God established the tithe as a base standard of giving in the Old Testament, and the New Testament standard adds to this "grace" giving and is in addition to the tithe as God leads. (Genesis 14:20; Matthew 23:23; 1 Corinthians 4:2; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Ephesians 4:28; Galatians 6:6; Philippians 4:15-19; 1 Timothy 5:17-18)
Article 13: Church Ordinances
We believe two ordinances have been committed to each church for administering: baptism and observance of the Lord’s Supper. We believe baptism commemorates the believer’s faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is intended for born again believers, by means of immersion.
We believe the observance of the Lord’s Supper is commemorative of His sacrificial death. We invite all born again believers to join us. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-42; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32)
Article 14: Holy Matrimony
We believe the institution of marriage was created by the command of God. We believe the only proper union of marriage is the uniting of a man and a woman, and that same sex marriages (including those who have altered their original gender) are strictly forbidden by God. The Senior Pastor has the unhindered discretion of uniting a man and a woman in marriage, if he believes it would be a proper union and is consistent with marriage as ordained by God. (Genesis 2:21-24; Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Romans 1:24)