CORE VaLUES
AND BELIEFS
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
1. The sixty-six books of the Bible are the Inspired, Infallible, and Living Word of God. They are without error in the original manuscripts and are the supreme and final authority for one’s faith and life. (Psalm 119; Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16- 17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
2. There is one God, who exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As God, the Father is infinite, eternal, all-sufficient, unchangeable, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, holy, just, merciful and loving. (Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19-20; Philippians 2:5-8)
3. The Holy Spirit is God, equal with the Father and Son in essence, nature, power and glory. He is the one who convicts men of sin, regenerates, seals, indwells, and baptizes each believer into the Body of Christ at conversion. (Acts 5:3-4; John 16:7-12; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14)
4. Jesus is the eternal Son of God equal with the Father and Holy Spirit in essence, nature, power and glory. He was born in this world of a virgin so that, becoming the perfect God-man, He might become the perfect sacrifice for man’s sin. (Isaiah 7:14; John 1:1-14; 20:28; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-3)
5. Jesus lived a sinless life and then gave His life as a substitute for man for the atonement of our sins. (Isaiah 53:3-11; John 3:14-19; Romans 5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9:12-14; 1 Peter 2:22-24)
6. Jesus rose bodily and physically from the grave on Easter Sunday morning (Matthew 28:1-8; John 20:24-29; Romans 4:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8)
7. Jesus ascended to heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. He serves as our High Priest and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; 7:25)
8. Jesus will return in the clouds to gather His church at the Rapture. He will then bodily and visibly return to earth at the end of the seven years of tribulation to establish His kingdom here on the earth for a thousand years. (Matthew 24-25; John 14:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 19:1-20:7)
9. Satan is the fallen angel Lucifer; he is the arch-enemy of God and man. He is a deceiver, liar, murderer, who masquerades as an angel of light in order to deceive. (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:13-15; 2 Corinthians 11:14; Ephesians 6:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)
10. Mankind was created by God in His own image on the sixth day of creation. The first two humans (Adam and Eve) chose to sin, and that sin brought spiritual death (separation from God) and physical death upon all mankind. The universal rebellion of all human persons against God confirms the sin of the first humans and highlights the universal need of salvation through Jesus Christ. Although fallen and in need of salvation, all human persons are made in God’s image, are intrinsically valuable, and ought to be protected from conception to natural death. (Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-14; Romans 3:10, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:13)
11. Salvation is by grace, through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, it is not of works. (John 1:11-13; John 3:1-6; Romans 3:23-28; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5-7)
12. All who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are eternally secure and cannot lose their salvation. (John 3:16; 5:24; 10:28-30; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 John 5:4-5)
13. All believers should be baptized by immersion following their conversion in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 10:47; Romans 6:3-6)
14. All believers should witness to the world by their lips and life concerning the grace they have found in Christ Jesus. We are to live separated to the Lord from the world. (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 6:17-20; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Thessalonians 5:22)
15. There is a future bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost. Believers shall dwell eternally with the Lord and may receive rewards for their service on earth at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Unbelievers shall spend a conscious eternity in hell, having been judged at the Great White Throne Judgment. (Mark 9:42-50; John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:12-15)
16. A local New Testament Church consists of a group of baptized believers who, led by the Holy Spirit, have voluntarily associated themselves for worship, edification, instruction, accountability, and service for their Lord Jesus Christ. A local New Testament Church should regularly remember Christ’s death through the Lord’s Supper realizing the elements are merely symbols of His body and blood. (Matthew 26:26-30; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 11:23-27; 12:13, Galatians 6:1-10; Ephesians 4:11-13)
17. Marriage was created by God to be a permanent monogamous relationship between one man and one woman, and the essential foundation of human society. Every person is created by God as either male or female, which is an immutable distinction expressed in biological sex, and which determines suitability for marriage partnership. Marriage is the only legitimate context for human sexual relationships; and sexual activity outside the context of marriage is destructive, devalues those persons involved, and is contrary to God’s perfect design. (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:4-5; 1 Corinthians 7:2; Ephesians 5:31-32)
*This Doctrinal Statement does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. The Elder Board is responsible for determining the official doctrinal position of the church.
CORE VALUES
THE WORD OF GOD
We believe the Bible is God’s Word and is the source of God’s wisdom for our life here on earth. We believe in the final authority of His Word, the clarity of His Word, and the sufficiency of His Word. We are therefore committed to the expositional teaching of the Bible in our Sunday services. We also encourage everyone to join a small group Bible study and to personally study God’s Word in their daily lives.
SERVICE
We believe in serving others in the name of Jesus. We believe that all Christians are uniquely gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve others both in the church and outside the body of Christ. We are therefore committed to equipping and impassioning the church family for serving others. We want everyone in our church family to know the joy that comes from serving Jesus by serving others. We provide multiple opportunities for service within the local congregation and also out in the community.
PRAYER
We believe that God answers prayer, and that He does “exceeding abundantly beyond what we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). We are therefore committed to praying together as a church when we gather on Sunday, praying in our small groups, and encouraging a growing personal prayer life for everyone. We call for times of special prayer throughout the year to gather together as a body to bring our praise, needs and petitions to Him.
COMMUNITY
We believe in the importance of the unity and community of the church. We believe that we have been called to be the hands and feet of Jesus’ love to one another. We are therefore committed to getting involved in each other’s lives and giving ourselves in service to one another. We encourage everyone to be a part of a small group that nurtures the special community that there is to be between believers.
WORSHIP
We believe in the importance of worship, both personal and corporate, in the life of a believer. We believe that true worship must first come from the heart and that the greatest act of worship we can give is to love Jesus Christ with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to walk in obedience to His Word. We are therefore committed to a corporate worship time that seeks to focus on the Lord, not on a style of worship or those who lead worship. We believe that for the community of the church a variety of styles is a blessing to all and by blending them together we can worship the Lord in unity.
GIVING
We believe in the importance of giving to the Lord. We believe that one of God’s greatest attributes is His generosity. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus and become more like Him we believe that giving to Him will be a characteristic of our lives. We are therefore committed as a church to giving to missions, not only here at home, but around the world. As a church we seek to give a minimum of 10% of our church’s income to support missionaries in their work of evangelism, discipleship, leadership training and compassionate care around the world.
EVANGELISM
We believe in the importance of evangelism. We believe that Christ’s command to take the good news of salvation to the world needs to be our first concern. We are therefore committed as a fellowship to train our church family to be able to clearly and concisely communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to their friends and family. We also are committed to reaching out to the world around us with that good news, and seeking to give everyone an opportunity to hear and respond to the grace of Jesus. We are also committed to taking the gospel of salvation around the world through missionaries and mission teams as the Lord provides opportunity.