Our core convictions:
These three statements provide the foundation of our church. To that end, we believe without reservation and proclaim without hesitation that—
God is Real/Reigns
We worship the creator and sustainer of the universe who cares for us and loves us as our heavenly Father. The Living God exists/reigns as the maker of time and space and all that exists. Our purpose is to worship God, serve God, love God, and enjoy the presence of God forever. Our highest calling is to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. The task of the church is to worship God, serve God, and experience a life of daily fellowship and dependence on God. Because God is the creator of all, every human life is to be treated with value and respect. Likewise, all of the creation is to be treated as a stewardship from God himself. The Living God has revealed himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one God in three persons. God’s ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. We know and experience him only as he reveals himself to us. In short, the Living God really exists, He really hears and answers prayer, He really guides and strengthens us as we trust him, He really forgives sin through Jesus and will one day welcome us into eternity. God is real!
(Heb. 11:6; Acts 17:22-31)
Jesus Saves
Because every human sins (does what is wrong and fails to do what is right) and sin destroys our relationship with God and with others, we need a Savior. Jesus is the Savior we need! The only remedy for sin is found in repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ’s offer of salvation. Pardon from sin and power over sin is available to all peoples through faith in Jesus. Apart from this, all men and women are without hope and without God.
Jesus of Nazareth is the revelation of the creator in human flesh. He came to show us God, teach us the truth, and demonstrate the grace of God by dying on the cross and the power of God by rising from the grave. He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. We are his disciples/followers who have intentionally accepted his authority and teachings as the standard for our lives. We acknowledge that forgiveness and salvation only comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. As individual believers we testify to this fact in our baptism. As a fellowship of believers, we proclaim this in the Lord's Supper.
(Rom. 1:18-21; 3:23; 6:23Lk. 19:10; Rom. 5:6-11; 10:9-13)
The Spirit Leads
The Holy Spirit, the unseen yet powerful presence of the Living God, is alive and well, working through the life of the believer and the fellowship of the church. The Holy Spirit converts and convicts us. He helps us grow more and more like Christ in word and deed. A primary work of the Holy Spirit is the inspiration of Scripture. As a result, God’s Word written is the final authority for the church and individual disciples of Jesus in all matters of faith and practice. The intended teachings of Scripture, rightly understood, are true. In Scripture we find the teachings of Jesus to which we are committed and the record of God's dealings with people of faith. The Bible is a people's book, written in the language of common people to be read, understood and applied to life by ordinary people. Our aim as a congregation is to restore the Bible to its rightful place of authority in the faith, practice, and life of the church, especially the New Testament. We pledge to speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent, without allowing any human opinion to over shadow our commitment to Christ as Lord and Savior.
(Rom. 8:9-11; Gal. 5:16-26;Jn. 14:25-26; 2 Tim. 3:14-17)
Two Special Issues:
Because of confusion and misunderstandings in our society, we think that it is important to note our convictions on two other matters:
The Sanctity of Human Life—We affirm that all people are created in the image of God and possess inherent dignity—born and unborn, young and old, rich and poor, able-bodied and otherwise, regardless of race, nationality, education, or other human differences. Each individual deserves to be treated with respect and honor.
(Gen. 1:27; 2:7; Acts 17:26-31)
Marriage and Gender— We affirm that God wonderfully creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary sexes together reflect the image and character of God. These two genders are determined at conception and recognized at birth.
We affirm that the term “marriage,” according to the book of Genesis and the teachings of Jesus, has only one intended meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other.
We also commit ourselves to treating every individual with loving respect and compassion. We also pledge to faithfully teach and lovingly preach the message of Jesus and our convictions without compromise.
(Gen. 2:24: Matt. 19:4-6)
