The Gospel Changes Everything!
We desire to see lives changed by the Gospel. Everything we do is shaped by the Gospel, which is the good news of what God has accomplished in the person of his Son—in His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection—to secure forgiveness of sins and fullness of life for all who will repent of their sin and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Our essential beliefs are summarized as follows:
The Bible is God’s Word
The Bible is God’s written revelation of Himself to mankind divinely given through human authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is entirely true, totally sufficient, and completely authoritative for matters of life and faith.
There is one triune God
There is only one true and living God who is the Creator of the universe. He exists eternally in three Persons—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Humanity is fallen
We believe that Adam, made in the image of God, distorted that image and forfeited his original blessedness—for himself and all his progeny—by falling into sin through Satan’s temptation. As a result, all human beings are alienated from God, corrupted in every aspect of their being (e.g., physically, mentally, volitionally, emotionally, spiritually) and condemned finally and irrevocably to death—apart from God’s own gracious intervention.
Salvation by grace alone through faith alone
Salvation is the act and process by which God, through Jesus, reconciles man to Himself. Man's sin has separated him from God. Scripture teaches that all humans have sinned and need reconciliation with God. The work of salvation is started, maintained, and fulfilled by God and God alone. A person is saved through faith in Christ and repentance. A person must have faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and must also repent of sin and their sinful ways. Upon salvation the entire person is redeemed for eternity. Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ.
Justification by faith
Similarly, we believe that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures for those who believe in Him is Justification; that Justification includes the pardon of sin, and the promise of eternal life on principles of righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood; by virtue of which faith His perfect righteousness is freely imputed to us of God; that it brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with God, and secures every other blessing needful for time and eternity.
The Church
The local church is to be an autonomous congregation of believers that have been baptized, by immersion, and regularly observe the Lord's Supper. The church is to be governed by the authority of the Word of God. Within the church there will be diversity in gifting among the members, but doctrinally the body should be biblically sound and in agreement with one another. The church must be marked by a clear demonstration of the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). The church will have several distinct focuses; discipleship, worship, prayer, evangelism, fellowship, ministry, missions, etc. The church will be led by a pastor or group of pastors.
The restoration of all things
We believe in the personal, glorious, and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ with his holy angels, when he will exercise his role as final Judge, and his kingdom will be consummated. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust—the unjust to judgment and eternal conscious punishment in hell, as our Lord himself taught, and the just to eternal blessedness in the presence of him who sits on the throne and of the Lamb, in the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness. On that day the church will be presented faultless before God by the obedience, suffering and triumph of Christ, all sin purged and its wretched effects forever banished. God will be all in all and his people will be enthralled by the immediacy of his ineffable holiness, and everything will be to the praise of his glorious grace.