What We Believe

We believe in one God, eternally existent in Three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Matt. 3:16-17, John 1:1-18, 5:71).

We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning sacrifice through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory (Matt. 1:20, Luke 1:26-35, 1Peter 2:22, 1John3:5, 2Cor.5:21, John 2:11, 23, Is.53, Acts 1:3, 9, 2:31-33, Heb. 9:27-28).

A.       We believe that the Holy Ghost is the 3^rd person of the Triune God, who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement, and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration (John 16:8-11). He is the Divine Teacher of all believers (John 14:26).
B.       The Baptism of the Holy Ghost – All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect  and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With this experience comes the enduing of power for victorious living and service, the bestowing of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-8, 1Cor. 12:1-31). This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 8:12-17, 10:44-46, 11:13-17, 19:2). With the baptism in the Holy Ghost comes such experiences as an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37-39, Acts 4:8), a deep reverence for God (Acts 2:43, Heb. 12:28), an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work (Acts 2:42), and a more active love for Christ, for His word and for the lost (Mark 16:20).
C.       The initial evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Ghost- The baptism of believers in the Holy Ghost is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance (Acts 2:4, 10:44-46).
D.       We believe the Holy Ghost bestows spiritual gifts to believers and uniquely uses apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers to equip the believer in the congregation for the work of the ministry (1Cor. 12:4-11, 28-30, Eph. 4:7-12, Rom. 12:3-8).

Man was created good and upright; for God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Gen. 1:26-27, 2:17, 3:6, Rom. 5:12-19). It is because of the fallen nature of man that none can be saved through their good works.

Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
A.       Salvation is God’s gift – Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Salvation is based upon God’s provision and not the works of man. No one can purchase it by money or works or righteousness (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation is God’s gracious gift to sinful man (Rom. 6:23).
B.       Conditions to Salvation – Salvation is received through repentance toward God and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life (Luke 24:47, John 3:3, Rom.10:13-15, Eph. 2:8, Titus 2:11, 3:5-7).
C.       The evidences of Salvation – The inward evidence of salvation is a direct witness of the Spirit (Rom. 8-16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:24, Titus 2:12).
D.       The loss of Salvation – A believer can lose salvation by not continuing in the faith ( Ezek. 18:24, Col. 1:21-23, Heb. 12:14-17, Jude 1-6, Rev. 3:5, Ex. 32:33).

A.       Baptism in water- The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded in the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have raised with Him in newness of life (Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:16, Acts 10:47-48, Rom. 6:4).
B.       Holy Communion – The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements (bread and the fruit of the vine) is the symbol expressing our sharing the Divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2Peter 1:4); a memorial of His suffering and death (1Cor. 11:26) and a prophecy of His second coming (1Cor. 11:26); and is enjoined on all believers “till He comes!”
C.       Foot washing – Foot washing is a New Testament teaching. According to the 13^th chapter of John’s gospel, our Lord took a towel and girded Himself, poured water into a basin, and washed His disciple’s feet, and wiped them with a towel. Then he sat down and said, “If I then your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done unto you.” Feet washing should be observed in connection with the Lord’s Supper as illustrated by our Savior.

Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and a dedication unto God (Romans 12:1-2, 1Thes. 5:23-24, Heb. 13:12). It is taught in the Bible as an act of God that changes the nature of man(1Thes. 5:23-24). Man must also realize his responsibility to sanctify himself to God (Lev. 20:7, 1Thes. 5:22, Rom.12:1-3, 1Peter 3:15). Sanctification is by faith (Acts 26:18) in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (Rom. 15:16, Eph.5:25-26, Jude 1). Sanctification is accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:12) and the word of God (John 17:17). Jesus taught that the greatest commandments were to love God supremely and our neighbors as ourselves. These two commandments, if fulfilled, will cause all the other commandments to be fulfilled (Matt. 22:37-40). Therefore, an experience of perfect love will cause the believer to live a holy life (Rom. 5:5, 1John 4:15-21).

The scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). We are called unto holiness (1Thes. 4:7). The reason that we are commanded to be holy is because we serve a holy God. By the power of the Holy Ghost we are able to obey the command: “Be ye holy, for I am holy’ (1Peter 1:15-16).

Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection and, by faith, reckoning daily the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Ghost (Rom. 6:1-11, 13, 8;1-2, 13, Gal.2:20, Phil. 2:12-13, 1Peter 1:5). Sanctification is for the whole man, as a Definite and Progressive experience (2Cor. 7:1, 1Thes. 5:23).

A.       We believe the Church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born again persons of this age which started at Pentecost and will end at the second coming of Christ (Eph.1:22-23, 5:25-27, 1Cor. 12:12-14, 2Cor. 11:2).
B.       We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches as clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32, 1Tim.3:1-13, Titus 1:5-11, Acts 1:8).

A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the threefold purpose of leading the church in:
1.       Worship of God (John 4:23-24)
2.       Evangelization of the world (Mark 16:15-20)
3.       Providing for the Church such things as will cause the congregation to be spiritually healthy.

This would include ministering to the needs of the members, leading them to spiritual maturity, holiness, and a place of ministry. The goal is to perfect the image of God’s Son n the believers (Eph. 4:11-16). The authority of the ministry comes from the Word of God and therefore it is the basis of the teaching and preaching of ministers (2Tim. 2:15, 4:2).

Divine healing is an important part of the Gospel. God has represented Himself as a healer and given promises to heal in answer to prayer (Exodus 15:26, Isaiah 53:4-5, Matt. 8:16-17, James 5:14-16).

The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the Church (1Thes. 4:16-17, Rom. 8:23, Titus 2:13, 1Cor. 15:51-52).

The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the return of Christ with His saints to reign on the earth for one thousand years (Zech. 14:5, Matt. 24:27-30, Rev. 1:7, 19:11-14, 20:1-6). This millennial reign will bring the salvation of the nation of Israel (Ezek. 37:21-22, Zeph. 3:19-20, Rom. 11:26-27) and the establishment of universal peace (Is. 11:6-9, Ps.72:3-8, Mic. 4:3-4).

A.       We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46, John 5:28-29, 11:25-26, Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13).
B.       We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43, Rev. 20:4-6, 2Cor. 5:8, Phil. 1:23, 3:21, 1Thes. 4:16-17).
C.       We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until their resurrection, when they will appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and will be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment (Luke 16: 19-26, Matt. 25:41-46, 2Thes. 1:7-9, Jude 6-7, Mark 9:43-48, Rev. 20:11-15).

We believe that Satan is a person who is the open and declared enemy of God and man. He is a tempter and accuser. He will be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7, Is. 14:12-17, Matt. 4:2-11, Rev. 20:10).

We believe that God had condemned any intimate sexual activity outside a marriage between a man and a woman. We reject homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, and adultery as sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex to married couples (Gen. 2:24, 19:5-13, 26:8-9, Lev. 18:1-30, Rom. 1:26-29, 1Cor. 5:1, 6:9, 1Thes. 4:1-8, Heb. 13:4).

We believe that God hates divorce and intended marriage to last until one spouse dies. Divorce and remarriage is said to be adultery in Holy Scriptures. Individuals in such cases will not be considered for the offices of pastor, deacon, Sunday School teacher, or any other leadership position in the church (Mal. 2:14-17, Matt. 19:3-9, Rom. 7:1-3, 1Tim. 3:2, 12, Titus 1:6).

We believe that the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful practices and association is commanded by God (2Tim. 3:1-5, Rom. 12:1-2,  1John 2:15-17, 2John 9-11, 2Cor. 6:14-7:1). This would include a separation from worldly dress, filthy habits and worldly places that would be considered a bad testimony for a Christian to engage in. All Christians must separate themselves from anything that the Bible speaks against, by principle or precept. We believe that the Bible teaches against immodesty, the wearing of unisex apparel, jewelry, or makeup (1Tim. 2:9-10, Deut. 22:5). We believe that women are to have long uncut hair and men are to have their hair cut short (1Cor. 11:1-16).