STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Trinity :
God the Father – God the Father is the Creator and sustainer of all things, who created the universe in love to respond to Himself. He created man in His own image for fellowship, and calls man back to Himself through Christ after the rebellion and fall of man.
God the Son – Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things were made. For man’s redemption He left heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and henceforth He is forever one Christ with two natures, God and Man, in one Person.
God the Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit is the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament, and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness. He imparts the life of Christ to the believer through the new birth experience and works to confirm the believer to the image of Christ. The baptism in the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit in the life of the believer and is evidenced by the gifts and the fruits. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Galatians 5:23
The Centrality of God’s word:
We believe the Bible is the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. The dynamic, transforming power of the word of God directs the church and the life of each Christian. This reliance on the Bible leads us to affirm both men and women as leaders at every level of leadership. Psalm 119:105
The necessity of new birth in and through Lord Jesus Christ:
The Apostle Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV). New birth in Christ means committing ourselves to him and receiving forgiveness, acceptance, and eternal life. It means being alive in Christ, and this life has the qualities of love and righteousness, joy and peace. New birth is only the beginning. Growing to maturity in Christ is a lifelong process for both individuals and communities of believers. God forms and transforms us—and it is through people transformed by Christ that God transforms the world.
The fellowship of believers:
We observe baptism and communion as the sacred sacraments as ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the priesthood of all believers—that is, we all share in the ministry of the We also affirm that God calls some men and women into professional, full-time ministry. The fellowship of believers is not an institution, organization, or building. It is a grace-filled fellowship of believers who participate in the life and mission of Jesus Christ. The New Testament teaches that within Christian community there is to be neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).