What We Believe

God exists, without beginning or end, as one God in three persons, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. These three are distinct in person but share the same substance
(Gen. 1:1; Deut. 4:35; John 1:1–3; Acts 5:1–5).
The Father is the architect of creation and salvation. Through Jesus Christ, he brings all
things into existence and reconciles all things to himself (Gen. 1; Col. 1:12–14; 19–20;
Heb. 1:1–2).
The Son is the creator, sustainer, and reconciler of the entire created order (Col. 1:16;
Heb. 1:3; Rom. 8:19—25; Col. 1:18—20). He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born
of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:26—35). He died for the sins of His people, absorbed the
entirety of God’s wrath, and was raised from the dead on the third day (Isa. 53; Col.
1:15–16; Rom. 4:24–25; 5:9; 1 Cor. 15:3–4). He ascended into heaven and sits on his
throne where he reigns, intercedes, and watches over his people (Acts 1:9—11; 2:33;
5:31; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 1:3; 7:25; 10:12). He will return to the earth to bring judgment
and salvation (Acts 1:9—11; 2 Thess. 1:5—10; Heb. 9:28).
The Holy Spirit washes, sanctifies, and justifies the people of God. He speaks through
the prophets, Christ, and the apostles (Mark 12:36; Acts 1:16, 4:25, 7:51; 2 Pet. 1:21).
He convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment, and glorifies the
risen Son (1 Cor. 6:11; John. 16:14).
The Bible is the inspired word of God and is without error in the original manuscripts. It’s
timeless in its relevancy and is the story of what God did to bring people into
relationship with himself through Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 3:16–17; John 5:39–40; Luke.
24:25-27).

We were created by God, in the image of God, for fellowship with God, and eternal joy
in God. But because of sin, we are out of relationship with God and are under God’s
wrath and in desperate need of reconciliation (John 3:36). God reconciles us to himself
by placing our sin on Jesus and giving us his righteousness (Gen. 1:26; Ps. 68:3; 1
John 1:3, 3:36; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:7–9; Rev. 4:11). When Christ returns to judge the
living and the dead, he will redeem his faithful ones by raising their bodies from the
dead to eternal life in His presence (Acts 10:42; 17:31). Those outside of Christ will
suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and
from the glory of His might (2 Thess. 1:9). The gospel is the good news of what God did
to save us from eternal destruction. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ
(Eph. 2:8–9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18).
We are the church, reconciled, chosen, called, adopted, and eternally loved by God our
father and our older brother, Jesus Christ. Miraculously, we are part of the family of God
and are wholly accepted because of the sacrifice of Jesus (Eph. 1:3–14; 1 Peter. 2:9).
We look forward to a bodily resurrection from the dead and eternal life in fellowship with
God (Luke 24:36—43; 1 Cor. 15:12—58; 1 Thess. 4:13-17).
Church Practices

Baptism is a believer’s bodily declaration of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and his or her
appeal to God for a clean conscience. The mouth confesses Jesus’ lordship with the
tongue; the body confesses his lordship with baptism (Rom. 10:9–10; 1 Peter 3:21). We
practice baptism by immersion.
Communion is the way that we celebrate our deliverance from sin by Christ’s death and
one of the ways that we look forward to his second coming (Matt. 26:26; 1 Cor. 11:26).
We celebrate weekly to remind ourselves of the unity that we have with Christ and with
one another because of his death and resurrection (1 Cor. 11:17—32).