Statement of Faith
The Triune God
We believe in one true God eternally existing in three distinct persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) each of Whom is fully and equally God; possesses all of the divine nature and attributes, and is totally worthy of our worship and service. He is Creator and Lord over all.
Deuteronomy 6:4 | Matthew 28:19 | John 1:14, 10:30 | 2 Corinthians 13:14
God the Father
We believe that God the Father is the first person of the Trinity and is the eternal, unchanging, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving, completely just and perfectly holy, sovereign Ruler and Sustainer of the universe. He is the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Father of all true disciples.
Genesis 1:1 | Isaiah 40:21-28, 43:10-13, 46:8-11 | John 1:12-13, 5:19-21, 17:1-5 | Romans 8:14-16 | Ephesians 4:6
God the Son, Jesus
We believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, He is fully God and was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, taking upon Himself full humanity at His incarnation for us and our salvation. We believe in His perfect and sinless life, and His substitutionary death on the cross. We believe that three days after His death, He was physically resurrected from the dead signifying that God the Father accepted His offering for sin and established His victory over sin, death and the grave.
Luke 1:35 | John 1:1-2, 14 | Romans 3:24 | Ephesians 1:7 | Philippians 2:5-11 | 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2:24
God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the Person who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He indwells, guides, teaches and empowers all those who repent of their sins and turns, in faith, to Christ Jesus. He is our seal and guarantee of redemption. It is through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit that Christians live faithfully in obedience to Christ. The Holy Spirit empowers and indwells the Church, enabling her constant renewal in truth, wisdom, faith, holiness, love, ministry, power and mission.
John 16:8-11 | Romans 8:9 | 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 | 2 Corinthians 3:6 | Ephesians 5:18
The Bible
We believe the Bible is the true story of the whole world and that its entirety is inspired by God’s Spirit through human authors and constitutes the revelation of God’s truth to humanity. The Bible is therefore inerrant in its original manuscripts. We believe Scripture to be the final authority on all matters to which it speaks specifically or in principle. God has supernaturally preserved the Bible and it is the sole and final authority for faith and life providing encouragement, guidance, comfort and instruction for training in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 | Hebrews 4:12 | 2 Peter 1:20-21
Humanity
We believe that all human beings are created in God’s own likeness and therefore have inherent value and equality before God. Humans were created to glorify God, worship and serve Him, and have fellowship with Him. We believe that through Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became alienated from God, suppressed the truth and is hostile to His Word. Because of this, humans are now subject to the just consequences and are unable to remedy our lost condition on our own and must receive God’s gift of salvation. God’s love desires for all to come to repentance and to be reconciled rather than condemned.
Genesis 1:27 | John 3:16 | Romans 3:23, 5:12-19, 6:23 | 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 | Ephesians 2:1-3 | 2 Peter 3:9
Salvation
We believe that salvation is a three-fold reality: justification, sanctification and glorification.
Justification: We believe that salvation from the just penalty of sin, the guilt of sin and all other consequences of sin has been achieved solely through the work of Jesus Christ – His perfect obedience, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection and exaltation as Lord. Jesus alone is truly God and truly human, the only mediator between God and humanity. There is salvation through no other person, creed, prayer, process or power. We believe this is the free gift of God’s grace and, when received, each sinner is justified before God and reconciled to God only by divine grace and appropriated by faith alone.
John 1:12 | Romans 1:16-17, 10:9-13 | Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10 | 1 Peter 1:18-19
Sanctification: We believe that all who are justified by grace through faith are united with Jesus by faith and receive the Holy Spirit, but still battle the flesh with sin. Therefore, salvation from the power of sin is a present, ongoing and life-long process in the lives of every Christian. By reflecting on the Gospel, obedience to the Word of God and daily yielding to the Holy Spirit, believers join God in the process of bringing about maturity and spiritual transformation into the image of Christ, so that His people are marked by sacrificial, self-giving love and not selfishness. We believe that those who turn to Christ in genuine faith and repentance are forever His and, by God’s grace, will remain faithful to Christ until the end.
John 10:27-30 | Romans 6:6-10, 8:38-39 | 1 Corinthians 11:26, 15:2 | Galatians 5:22-25 | Ephesians 4:14-16, 5:15-18 | 1 John 4:19
Glorification: We believe that all who are justified by grace and are being sanctified by grace will ultimately be glorified by grace and share in God’s glory at Christ’s return. Therefore, salvation from the presence of sin is a future event that will culminate in eternal life. A life of sacrificial, self-giving love when believers will be transformed from mortals burdened with sin nature, into holy immortals experiencing unbroken fellowship with God and not being at risk of falling away into sin ever again, reigning with Jesus for all eternity.
Romans 8:18, 30 | 1 Corinthians 15:42-57 | 2 Corinthians 4:17 | Revelation 21:4, 22:5
The Resurrection and Consummation of All Things
We believe that, just as the Lord Jesus ascended to His Father, so He will return personally, visibly and in glory. Therefore, we believe in the bodily resurrection of all people for judgment. Unbelievers will be judged according to what they have done and will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Believers will be judged, but will be found blameless because of the covering of the blood of Christ, and will enjoy eternal life with God, when He will then fully establish His Kingdom and finish the new creation – the union of Heaven and Earth.
Daniel 12:2 | Matthew 16:27 | John 5:28-29 | Acts 1:11 | 1 Corinthians 15:52 | Galatians 5:19-21 | 1 Thessalonians 4:16 | Revelation 3:11, 20:1-22:13
The Church
We believe there is one, holy, universal and apostolic Church (devoted to the Apostles teaching), which is the Body of Christ, and to which all true believers belong. The calling of the Church is to worship God forever, to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Christ and to serve the Lord in the world. We believe the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to each believer to be used for building up the Body of Christ – the Church – according to biblical guidelines and priorities. Therefore, all believers are ministers for Christ. We believe that God calls leaders to give oversight and serve each local expression of the Church.
Matthew 28:18-20 | Acts 1:8, 2:41-47 | Romans 12:6-8 | 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 | 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 | Ephesians 1:20-23, 4:1-16, 5:25-27 | Colossians 1:24-29 | 1 Timothy 3:15 | Titus 1:5-9 | 1 Peter 2:9, 4:10-11
The Mission
We believe that just as the Father sent the Son into the world, so the Lord Jesus Christ sends His Church to participate in God’s redemptive mission through words, works and wonders, as He leads. The Church is called: to make Christ known; to proclaim God’s truth and the Gospel of God’s grace; to make disciples among all nations; to exhibit God’s character through compassionate care for the needy; to demonstrate the reality of God’s Kingdom through creative and sacrificial living, the community of love, the quest for righteousness, justice and peace and the care of God’s creation.
Psalms 24:1 | Matthew 28:18-20 | John 13:34-35, 20:21 | 1 Peter 2:9
The Ordinances | Sacraments
We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are two practices Jesus gave the Church in order to viscerally remember, and participate in, His saving work.
Water baptism by immersion is a singular act of obedience following justification where the new follower identifies with Jesus and His saving work. This act is a picture of going under God’s judgment and testifies to the believer’s death to sin, burial of the old life and resurrection to new life.
The Lord’s Supper (also called Communion or The Eucharist) is a regular and ongoing act of obedience where communities of disciples remember Jesus’ death as their only source of forgiveness, celebrate fellowship and communion with Christ, and anticipate His second coming.
Matthew 28:19 | Luke 22:19-20 | Acts 10:47-48 | Romans 6:3-4 | 1 Corinthians 11:23-28
Room to Disagree
There are some doctrines on which two Christians may agree to disagree, even though they are in the same local church and part of the same leadership team. Examples include: the dating of events in Genesis, order of events associated with the Lord’s return and degree of separation from worldly practices. When teaching in any such area, it is made clear these beliefs are not essential for salvation or leadership in the church. We may state the case for our position, but will also acknowledge that sincere and intelligent Christians hold different views. We are committed to nurturing the unity we share as the family of God, and to obeying His command to love one another.
Romans 14:1-15:7 | 2 Timothy 2:23-24 | Titus 3:9
Marriage, Sexuality, and Gender
We believe in the historically Christian view of marriage and sexual expression; namely, that marriage is a one-flesh covenant union between two sexually different persons (male and female) from different families, and that all sexual relationships outside the marriage covenant are sin. God has given His people two best ways to enjoy connection in family: celibate singleness for the sake of Kingdom work with undivided attention, or lifelong marriage between one woman and one man. Biological sex is an essential part of human identity. All forms of abuse, slander, dehumanization or oppression toward fellow humans is an affront against God’s sacred image, which has been stamped upon all people.