BELIEFS:

I believe that God verbally inspired the writing of the Bible. The Holy Spirit directed the various authors to write God's truth, working with and through their personalities and writing styles to produce one coherent and error-free work. I believe the canon of Scripture, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the complete written revelation of God to man. I believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God revealing the love of God to the world. 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; John 3:16

There is one true God. He is the Creator and Ruler of everything, seen and unseen. He exists eternally as one Being revealed to us in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 5:7

I believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood on the cross, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-4 and 1:29; Acts 1:11 and 2:22-24; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-4 and 4:15.

After Jesus returned to His place in Heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent to counsel, comfort, convict, and empower believers. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, the Holy Spirit begins to live in them, whose indwelling enables the Christian to live a godly life. John 3:5-8; Acts 1:8 and 4:31; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Galatians 5:16-18; Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:6-10

The pinnacle of God's creation was mankind, handcrafted in His image, to reflect His glory, to live in fellowship with Him, and to care for His creation. Satan, the enemy of God and man, tempted the first humans to choose to follow their own way instead of God's, and humanity, through a willful choice, decided to act against God. As a result, sin and evil entered creation, severing the perfect fellowship between God and man, between individual people, and between man and the rest of creation. Physical and spiritual death became the new reality. Each person has a broken relationship with God and is guilty of sin. John 3;7: Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12-21;

I believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The saved unto the resurrection of eternal life and the lost unto the resurrection of damnation and eternal punishment. 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; Revelation 20:11-15.

God did not abandon man in its brokenness. He sent His Son Jesus to pay for our sins by His own death. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross made a restored relationship with God available for every person. This salvation is not something that can be earned by trying to be a better person or by doing more good things, it is God's free gift. When we recognize Jesus' death as the payment for our sins and accept Him into our lives, we receive eternal life. From that point on, the Holy Spirit works in us to help us obey God's commands and to become more like our Savior. Romans 6:23

The Church is not a building. The Church is people. The Bible calls the Church the Body of Christ – we are the living representation of Jesus on earth. This means that the Church has the responsibility to carry on the mission of Jesus – helping people to have a restored relationship with God. We are called to make disciples; to lead others into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and then

prepare them to do the same.

I believe in the spiritual unity of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and that all true believers are members of His body, the church. 1 Corinthians 12:12, 27; Ephesians 1:22-2

The Church is more than a group of people worshiping God on a Sunday morning. It is the hands and feet of Jesus. We are to reach out to everyone we can with love and compassion, meeting practical and spiritual needs as we are able, every day of the week. Romans 12:5; 1Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:16 Matthew 28:16-20

I believe that all men everywhere are lost and face the judgment of God, that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ alone results in regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, I believe that God will reward

the righteous with eternal life in Heaven, and that He will banish the unrighteous to everlasting punishment in Hell. Luke 24:46-47; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:10-11; Ephesians 1:7 and 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7; Revelation 21:8

I believe that the ministry of soul winning (sharing and proclaiming the gospel message of salvation which is only possible by grace through faith in Jesus Christ) and discipleship (helping followers of Christ grow up into maturity in

Christ) is a responsibility of all followers of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:9-15; 1 Peter 3:15.

I believe God’s plan for human sexuality is to be expressed only within the context of marriage, that God created man and woman as unique biological persons made to complete each other. God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female. Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9.

I believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end; and that we must have concern for the physical and spiritual needs of our fellowmen. Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 12:20-21;Galatians 6:10.