CORE BELIEFS

 

THE SCRIPTURES: We believe that both the Old and New Testaments are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. (Psalm 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).

GOD: We believe that there is only one true and living God existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each a distinct Person, but all of one essence and all having the same nature, perfections, and attributes, and each is worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience (Genesis 1:26; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 3:16–17; 28:19).

JESUS CHRIST: We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, shed His Blood on Calvary as a vicarious substitute, was buried, rose again bodily, and ascended to the Father according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18–25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 4:15).

HOLY SPIRIT: We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, very God, coexistent with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the chief agent in regeneration, the chief convictor of sin, and the chief comforter of the believer. Simultaneous with regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ. It is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. Matthew 28:19; John 16:7–11; Acts 5:3–4; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14 Ephesians. 1:17-18; 5:18; Romans. 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians. 4:7-12; 1 Corinthians. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22).

 

MAN: We believe that man is the direct creation of God—body, soul, and spirit—and is not in any sense the result of evolution, but is made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26–27; Romans 3:10, 23; 5:12; Ephesians. 2: 1-3; 4: 17-19).

SALVATION: We believe that all who, in faith, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour are born again by the Holy Spirit and thus become the children of God. Salvation includes redemption, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. We believe that repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ are the essential conditions for appropriating the saving grace of God (Luke 13:3,5; John 1:12; 3:3; 17:17; Acts 20:21; Romans 8:29–30; Ephesians 2:8–9; 4:30; Titus 3:5).

END TIMES: We believe in the literal, visible, personal, pre–millennial, pre–tribulation return of Jesus Christ for His Church. At this event the dead in Christ and living believers will be translated to meet Him in the air. At the end of the seven year tribulation period, Christ will visibly descend with the saints to establish His earthly millennial kingdom (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Revelation 20:1–6).

THE LORD’S DAY: We believe that Sunday is the Lord’s Day and is a Christian institution for regular observance of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private (1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).

THE LOCAL CHURCH: We believe that the New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers with Christ as its Head and the Holy Spirit as its guide. New Testament churches promote God’s work by personal and corporate evangelism, and by cooperating with other local N.T. churches of like faith and practice for missions and many other joint efforts. (Matthew 28:16–20; Acts 1:6–8; 6:3; 1 Corinthians 16:1; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 5:20a; 8—10; Ephesians 1:3–6, 22–23; Philippians 4:15–16).

 

ORDINANCES: We believe that the local church observes two ordinances—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that all who have received Christ as Lord and Saviour should be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit; that baptism is by immersion in the likeness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; and that the Lord’s Supper should be observed in remembrance of Him to show forth His death for our sins until He comes again. (Matthew 26:26–30; 28:19–20; Romans 6:3–6; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).

This Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe.