God

There is only one living true God who is Triune in nature.  God expresses himself in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity serves a unique role to bring God glory and accomplish his purposes in the world and are equal in essence. (Genesis 1:26; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The Father

The first person of the Trinity who desires for all to be saved from their sins through his Son Jesus.  We exist to bring him glory and honor as we receive his love through his son. (Matthew 6:9; John 3:16, 5:19-24)

The Son

Our Lord who is co-eternal with the Father, fully God and fully man.  His sinless, sacrificial death is our atonement for sin.  We believe in the bodily resurrection, His ascension, and his visible return.  He is the Bread of Life. The Water of Life. The Lamb of God. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. The one Mediator between God and humankind. The Lord of lords, the King of kings. The Son of Man. The Son of God. The Word become Flesh. The Name at which every knee shall bow. (John 1:14-18; 1 Corinthians 15; Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 2:9; Revelation 20:11-15)

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit executes God's will in the world through humans by leading, guiding, filling, teaching and convicting.  The Holy Spirit is the person of God who converts and equips people for the building up of the church and the bearing of spiritual fruit in their lives.  (John 16:6-16; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 2:10; John 3:1-8; Ephesians 1:1; Galatians 5:16-25). 

Salvation

Salvation comes through faith alone in Christ alone. God created people to be in a loving relationship with Him. However, humanity has rebelled against God separating themselves from God by rejecting Him as Lord (Genesis 3:1-7). Jesus restores that relationship by coming to earth as both God and man to atone for the sin of all humans (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3). Those who turn from their sin and place their faith in Jesus' saving work will receive salvation (Mark 1:15). 

The Bible

2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the people of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." All scripture is inspired by God. It teaches us how to know and obey God. Therefore, we believe the Bible should be read, studied and obeyed.  

The Church

The Church is collectively the body of Christ (1 Peter 1:5) and the people of God (1 Peter 2:10). It consists of those who have placed their faith in Jesus' saving works and committed their lives to His will (Romans 10:9-10). The Church exists to reflect the glory of God to the world as they lead people to Christ and help them mature in the faith. (1 Peter 2:9). 

Humanity

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Sin came into the world through one man - Adam (Romans 5:12). Sin leads to death but this is not humanity's natural destiny. Humanity was created to live eternally and relationally with God but the relationship was damaged by Adam's rebellion. Eternal life (humanity's original destiny) is restored while sin and death are conquered through the death of Jesus (Romans 5:19; 1 Corinthians 15:26).

The Future

The return of Jesus for his children is a great hope for all followers of Jesus.  It is clear that Jesus will come but not when he will come. While we wait we do so laboring through the power of Holy Spirit to fulfill his will on earth as it is in heaven through godly living, evangelism and discipleship.  After Christ returns those who have accepted God’s gift of salvation will be with him forever in heaven.  Those who have not received salvation will be eternally separated from Him.  (Matthew 24:36; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; John 14:1-3; Matthew 24-25).

Non-Essentials

We affirm that the doctrines of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and salvation by grace through faith in Jesus make up the essential, distinctive nature of Christianity.  We believe that these are essential doctrines of those who call themselves Christians. 

We acknowledge that there are peripheral, or non-essential doctrines, that are important, but not critical to the follower of Christ as it relates to salvation. Some examples of non-essential doctrines are: the exact timing and nature of the return of Jesus, the extent and use of certain spiritual gifts, the relationship between election and free-will in salvation, etc.  Our church does establish positions as it relates to non-essentials but we will not allow peripheral doctrines to cause division within the church.   We will accept into our body those who have differing views on the non-essential doctrines, but will not allow those of a different opinion to fracture the church as we pursue Christ together.  Finally, we welcome those who are not yet sure and are trying to discern if they would like to become a follower of Jesus.