We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired of God and are inerrant in the original writings, and are the supreme and final authority in faith and life.

Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 1:12; Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21

We believe in one God eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (co-eternal in being); each having precisely the same attributes (co-identical in nature); worthy of the same worship and obedience (co-equal in power and glory).

Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19,20; John 1:1-14; Ephesians 4:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2

We believe that the Father, the First Person of the Trinity, is the Designer, Creator, Sustainer, and Sovereign Ruler of the universe. All created things exist by His will and for His pleasure and glory. Because of His infinite love, the Father willed that fallen mankind could be redeemed from sin and reconciled to Himself through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, to worship Him and enjoy fellowship with Him for now and eternity.

John 3:16; 4:23; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 11:3; 15:24-28; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 1:3-5; 3:26; 4:6; Ephesians 1:3-11; 4:4-6; Hebrews 2:10-11; 12:5-9; James 1:13; 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 4:9-11

a. We believe that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, is true God and true Man. He is the only begotten Son of the Father, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin. We believe that Jesus Christ is sinless and died for our sins as a vicarious/substitutionary blood sacrifice; His crucified body was raised from the dead, and He ascended into Heaven to stand before the Father as our High Priest, Advocate and Mediator. His sinless life and His death on the cross provide the only atonement that fully satisfies the righteous requirements of God for the sinner.

Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Peter 1:18-20; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and 1 John 2:1-2

b. We believe in “that blessed hope” which is the personal and imminent coming in the air of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones, and in His return to earth with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom.

Zechariah 14:1-21; Luke 16:19-26; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1- 15; 21:1-8

We believe that the Holy Spirit, being the Third Person of the Trinity, convicts men of sin, enables men to place genuine faith in Jesus Christ, regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and sets believers apart to a holy life. We believe His indwelling at the moment of saving faith constitutes the only baptism of the Holy Spirit and is not necessarily evidenced by any special immediate signs. We believe the Holy Spirit gives gifts to every believer as He determines, for mutual service within the Church/body of Christ. We also believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled/controlled with the Spirit of God.

John 14:16, 17; 16:7-15; Romans 8:9-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 12:1-31; 13:8; Ephesians 1:13; 2:22; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27

We believe that man was directly created in the image of God but that, in Adam’s sin, the race fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, and that all human beings, the man Christ Jesus alone excepted, are born with a sinful nature, are totally depraved, and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition and must be born again of the Spirit of God.

Genesis 1:26, 27; 1 Samuel 15:23; John 3:3-7; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12

Sin is any lack of conformity to the will of God or transgression of the law of God. Sin separates man from God, incurring His wrath and judgment, and resulting in man’s spiritual and physical death. Sin is manifested in selfishness, rebellion, and the total depravity of man’s conduct and behavior before God and man. Sin is the cause of the curse and defilement of the created universe.

Genesis 3:17, 18; Romans 6:23; 8:21; James 2:10; 1 John 3:4; 5:17

We believe that salvation from spiritual death is a free gift offered by God through His grace. It is received by personal repentance from sin, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ’s precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins (without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins), and no righteous work on our part can in the least add to the value of that precious blood or to the merit of the redemptive work completed on Calvary. We further believe that all who are truly born again/saved are sealed by the Holy Spirit and no one can snatch us from the hand of the Father. In the end Christ will present us blameless before the Father.

Isaiah 64:6; John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24,25; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; 20:31; Romans 3:24-26; 8:1, 16, 28-39; 10:9,10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Ephesians 2:8, 9; 4:30; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:18-23; 1 John 5:10-13; Jude 24

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind: the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.

Matthew 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25, 26; Revelation 20:5, 6, 12, 13

a. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, consciously awaiting the first resurrection when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.

Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; Revelation 20:4-6

b. We believe that the souls of unbelievers after death are in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with spirit, soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment.

Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15

a. We believe the universal church, which consists of all true believers in the Lord Jesus, is both the body of Christ and the promised bride of Christ. Christ is the head of the Church, and nothing will be able to stand against it.

1 Corinthians 12:27; 2 Corinthians 11:2

b. We believe the local church is a body of believers in Christ, bonded together as one through the Holy Spirit, who are to minister to one another within the Church using the gifts given by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:4-8; 1 Peter 4:10-11; 1 Corinthians 12-14

c. We believe that as members of one another we are responsible to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, loving one another fervently with a true heart.

Mark 16:15; 1 Corinthians 12:12-18; Ephesians 2:18-22; 4:1-6,25; Colossians 3:14,15; 1 Peter 1:22d.

We believe that the New Testament models the establishment of autonomous (self-governing) local churches. Each local church is responsible for selecting certain men of biblical qualifications to serve in leadership, i.e. elders and deacons.

Acts 6:1-16;14:23; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11

a. Believer’s Baptism is a public testimony of the individual’s personal faith in the crucified, buried and risen Lord. It does not in any way grant the forgiveness of sins or confer grace to the participant. Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (When it is physically impossible for the believer to be immersed, another mode will be considered.)

Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:9,10; Acts 8:36-39; 18:8; Romans 6:3-5

b. The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ to commemorate His death for us. Believers are to practice this ordinance until Christ comes again. The elements used are symbolic of our Lord’s body and blood and do not grant life or convey grace to the participant.

Luke 22:19,20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34

We believe Satan is a created angelic being who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. He is the god of this age/world, ruling by the permissive will of God. He exercises authority over the unsaved, tempts the believer to sin, and continually accuses the believer before the throne of God. He has been defeated by the finished work of Christ on Calvary. During the millennium, he will be confined to the abyss to be released at the end of the period to lead the armies of evil against God. He will be finally defeated and judged and doomed to the lake of fire.

Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:2; Zechariah 3:1; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 John 3:8; Jude 6; Revelation 12:10b; 20:2, 3, 10

a. We believe that both male and female together bear the image of God and are equal in value and position before God, but that God has ordained different roles and functions for men and women.

Genesis 1:27; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12

b. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.

Genesis 2:24; Genesis 19:5, 13; Genesis 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7; Ephesians 5:22-23

a. We believe that since man is created in the image of God, all human life is sacred. We believe human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of human life. Abortion is murder.

Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44

b. We believe human life should continue until God sovereignly chooses to give man his last breath. Euthanasia is unbiblical and contrary to the will of God. Euthanasia is murder.

Genesis 9:5-6; Job 14:5, Acts 17:25-26, Psalm 139:16, Psalm 31:15, Isaiah 38:5, Daniel 5:23

a. Marriage: We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one genetic male and one genetic female in a monogamous, life-long covenant relationship. Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7, Ephesians 5:22-23

b. Divorce: We believe God’s intention is for marriage to last until one (or both) of the spouses dies. Although God hates divorce, in His grace He has allowed for (yet not required) divorce under certain circumstances:

1. If a spouse is guilty of sexual immorality (i.e. – sexual contact with someone other than his or her spouse), repentance and reconciliation should be sought. However, if the offender is unrepentant, as a last resort divorce is allowed. Matt. 5:32, Matt. 19:7-9
2. When an unbelieving spouse desires to leave and all attempts to keep him or her in the marriage fall short, divorce is permitted. 1 Corinthians 7:12-15

c. Remarriage: We believe remarriage is biblically acceptable when a spouse has died or if a person was divorced for biblically-acceptable reasons. Rom. 7:2-3, 1 Corinthians 7:12-16

d. Divorce and Leadership in the Church: We believe divorce does not necessarily preclude a man from serving as an elder or deacon; however, extra caution is taken to determine faithfulness and strength of character. While listing the qualifications for leaders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, the Apostle Paul stressed the importance of the overall character of a godly man rather than a single life experience. First Timothy 3:2 says a leader is to be a “one-woman man.” We believe this should be understood to mean a man who demonstrates dedication, faithfulness, and devotion to his wife, as evidenced by his life.

e. Family Structure: We believe that God has ordained the family as a foundational institution of human society. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. A wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ (Ephesians

5). Children are a heritage from the Lord, and parents are responsible for training their children spiritually and morally through appropriate discipline and consistent modeling.

Genesis 1:26-28, Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Psalm 127:3-5, Proverbs 19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14, Malachi 2:16; Mark 10:6-12, 1 Corinthians 7:1-16, Ephesians 5:21-33, 6:1-4, Colossians 3:18-
21, Hebrews 13:4, and 1 Peter 3:1-7