Vision & Beliefs


 

The Bible

We believe in the divine inspiration of the Scriptures contained in the 66 books of the Bible; their consequent inerrancy and infallibility in the original writings; that they constitute the Word of God to humanity, and are therefore the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life.¹

¹II Pet. 1:20-21 / II Tim. 3:16-17

 

God

We believe in One God, eternally existing in three persons: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.¹

¹Matt. 28:19 / John 1:1-4, 14; 10:30; 20:26-29 / II Cor. 1:21-22 / II Thess. 2:13 / Eph. 1:13-14 / Heb. 1:1-3 / I Pet.1:1-2

 

Jesus Christ

We believe in the absolute Deity, and the real but sinless humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was begotten of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary.¹ We believe His death was substitutionary in nature; that He died in the place of particular sinners, taking upon Himself God’s wrath against their sin and giving His life as a “ransom for many.”² We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and His ascension into heaven where He now lives as our High Priest and Advocate.³ We believe in the “Blessed Hope” of the imminent, personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ in great power and glory at the end of this present age.⁴

¹Is. 7:14; 9:6 / Matt. 1:22-23 / Luke 2:11 / John 1:1-5, 14 / Col. 1:15-20; 2:9 / Heb. 1:3
²Is. 53:4-6 / Matt. 20:28; 26:28 / Heb. 9:26-28 / I Pet. 2:24
³I Cor. 15:3-5 / Luke 24:33-39 / Rom. 8:34 / Heb. 7:25-26
⁴Acts 1:10-11 / I Thess. 4:13-18 / Titus 2:11-14

 

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, who is the source of power for all acceptable Christian life, worship and service.¹

¹Acts 5:3-4 / John 14:16-17 / I Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 12:1-14:40

 

Humanity

We believe humanity was created in the image of God; that our first human parents sinned, and that as a result of their sin, they (and all humanity with them except for Jesus)¹ have incurred the penalty of both eventual physical death² and immediate spiritual death³—a spiritual death which consists of both alienation from God and slavery to sin.⁴ All human beings are conceived with a sin nature that evidences itself more and more clearly as they grow to find it tainting and denigrating their affections, desires, thoughts, words and deeds.⁵ Only by the redemptive grace that comes through Jesus Christ can people be liberated from sin’s enslaving power, delivered from its awful penalty, and be gradually transformed as new creations into the image and likeness of Jesus.⁶

¹Rom. 5:12-14 / Heb. 4:15
²I Cor. 15:22
³Rom. 7:5
⁴Gen. 2:16-17 / Gen. 3:14-15 / Rom. 5:18-21 / Rom. 6:15-23 / Rom. 11:32 / Gal. 3:22
⁵Psalm 51:3-5 / Rom. 3:9-26 / Rom. 5:12-21
⁶Gen. 1:26-27 / Rom. 6:11-23 / Rom. 7:1-25 / Psalm 8 / II Cor. 5:16-21

 

Salvation

We believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by works. All who are born of the Holy Spirit and receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are accounted righteous in the sight of God by nothing other than the righteous obedience and shed blood of the Lord Jesus.¹ We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.²

¹John 1:12-13; 3:3,14-16 / Acts 16:30-31 / Rom.. 3:21-25; 4:1-8, 23-25 / Col. 1:20-21 / Titus 3:3-8 / Gal. 3:1-5 / I Pet. 1:23 / Eph. 2:1-10
²John 3:36 / Mk. 9:44-48 / John 5:28-29 / I Cor. 15:20-23 / Rev. 20:11-15

 

The Church

We believe in the real spiritual unity of all true believers in Jesus Christ—the familial oneness of all He redeemed by His precious blood.¹

¹John 17:20-23 / Acts 2:42-47 / Eph. 4:3-16 / I Cor. 12:12-26

 

Godliness

We believe in the necessity of maintaining, according to the Word of God, the purity of the church in doctrine and life; that the pursuit of godliness in the life of the individual Christian is not contrary to grace but an obligation laid upon us by grace,¹ and that the Fruit of the Spirit and the restoration of the divine image in believers is part of the gracious work that God intentionally and unceasingly carries on in the life of every believer.² We also hold the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed to be valid summaries of Scriptural truth.

¹Romans 8:9-14 / Eph. 1:4 / Titus 2:11-12 / Phil. 3:12
²I Cor. 1:7-9 / Gal. 5:22-26 / Eph. 4:24 / Eph. 5:25-27 / Phil. 1:6 / Col. 3:10


 

As one born from above by the Spirit of God,¹ and now trusting in the righteous merits of Jesus life, death and resurrection as the only sure ground of my salvation and acceptance with God,² I do solemnly covenant that I will seek, by the grace He gives,³ to live a life that honors Him⁴—dedicating to Him my supreme affections, and consecrating my life to His service and glory.

I pledge my heart, soul, mind and strength to love Him⁵—offering my time, talents and resources to the spread of His Gospel, the furtherance of His kingdom, and the building up of the Church He loves and for which He laid down His life.⁶

So long as I am a member of this local body of believers, I will do all I can to preserve its faith, sustain its unity, participate in its outreach, and support its ministries.⁷ I will diligently strive to study God’s Word,⁸ grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus,⁹ walk in love,¹⁰ turn from sin,¹¹ pursue holiness,¹² and cultivate an atmosphere of hope within this church body.¹³

I will seek to reach out to the lost,¹⁴ encourage the struggling,¹⁵ help bear the burdens of others,¹⁶ work for the good of the community in which God has placed me,¹⁷ and encourage my fellow believers by my presence and heartfelt participation at its services of worship.¹⁸ I shall make it my goal to live a life that pleases God.¹⁹

Joining in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, and trusting in His grace to enable me, I do now solemnly confess and promise, in the presence of this fellowship, to do these things.

 


¹ John 3:1-8 / Ephesians 2:1-10
² Romans 3:19-4:8 / 4:16-24 / I Corinthians 1:30-31
³ Hebrews 13:20-21 / I Corinthians 15:10
⁴ Isaiah 43:7 / I Corinthians 10:31
⁵ Matthew 22:37-40
⁶ I Chronicles 29:10-14 / Matthew 6:33 / Romans 15:2 / Ephesians 5:25 / I Peter 2:17
⁷ Romans 12:1-2, 9-21 / I Corinthians 13:1-13 / I Corinthians 15:1-11 / Ephesians 4:1-6
⁸ II Timothy 2:8-15 / I Peter 3:15
⁹ II Peter 3:18
¹⁰ Romans 13:8 / Hebrews 13:1 / 2 John 1:6
¹¹ Psalm 37:27 / II Timothy 2:9 / I Peter 3:11
¹² Romans 6:19-22 / II Corinthians 7:1 / Ephesians 1:4 / Ephesians 4:20-24 / I Timothy 2:1-4 / Hebrews 12:14
¹³ I Corinthians 13:7
¹⁴ Matthew 24:14 / Matthew 28:16-20 / Luke 24:46-47 / Acts 1:8
¹⁵ I Thessalonians 5:11 / Hebrews 3:13 / Hebrews 10:25
¹⁶ Galatians 6:2
¹⁷ Matthew 5:13-16 / Galatians 6:10 / I Peter 2:11-17 / Titus 3:1-8 / Galatians 6:10
¹⁸ Hebrews 10:25
¹⁹ Romans 12:1-3 / II Corinthians 5:9 / I John 3:22 / Colossians 1:9-12

 


 

 

Living in the Grace of Jesus

Our Church Vision is to live in the grace of Jesus in

our church’s culture, mission and discipleship process.

CULTURE: To Live IN the Grace of Jesus

Our desire is to have 1 culture of grace.  As those who have been shown grace, we will treat others with that same attitude of grace.

MISSION: To Live ALL the Grace of Jesus

By grace we are the Church.  To be a healthy Church we will seek to do ALL that God has called us to do.  These callings can be divided into 7 general categories.  (We call these links – as in the links of a chain.)

Prayer & Worship: Expressions of God-ward love.

Fellowship & Discipleship: Expressions of Church-ward love.

Evangelism & Social Action: Expressions of World-ward love.

Missions: Any of these expressions of love done cross-culturally.

DISCIPLESHIP PROCESS: To Live OUT the Grace of Jesus

We will seek to be a healthy church by growing in 5 practical disciplines.

Go to Jesus daily…in prayer and praise, seeking forgiveness, strength, help, and guidance; while reflecting upon the Scriptures, believing the Gospel, and being committed to live out what He calls us in His Word, and by His Spirit, to do.

Renew your spirit weekly…making participation in our worship gatherings a priority.

Attend a small group…to build relationships and actively grow as a disciple.

Cultivate friendships with unbelievers…by serving in a ministry to others in Jesus’ name.

Exercise your God-given gifts…by serving in a ministry to others in Jesus’ name.