What We Believe

BELIEVE IN GOD, who has eternally existed as the One Living and True God (Deut. 6:4, 1Tim. 1:17, Rev. 1:8) in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory and authority. (1 Jn. 5:7-8, 1 Cor. 8:6). His nature and attributes are revealed in part through the Old Testament law and scriptures and in full through the life of Jesus. He is: Creator of all things: Gen. 1:1, Ps. 90:2, Col. 1:16, Rev. 4:11  All-Knowing: Job 37:6, 1 J 3:20, Ps. 147:5
All-Powerful: Jer. 32:17  Ever-Present: Ps. 139:7-12  The Supreme, Sovereign Ruler over Creation: Eph. 1:11, Sustainer of all things: Heb. 1:3 Unchanging in His nature and promises: Mal. 3:6, Heb. 13:8, Heb. 1:10-12 The only Perfect Being: Ps. 18:30  Spirit who also took the form of flesh as Jesus Christ, the Son: Jn. 4:24, John 1:1-5  Love: Lam. 3:22-23, 1 Jn. 4:7, 16 Light: 1 Jn. 1:5 Truth: Num. 23:19, Titus 1:2, Jn 14:6 Always and only Good: Ja. 1:17 Holy: Is. 6:3, Rev Just and Perfect in Judgment: Deut. 32:4 Unchanging in Mercy: 1 Jn. 1:9, Dan. 9:9, Ex. 34:6

WE BELIEVE IN JESUS, the Son of God, who is the Messiah (Chosen Savior/Deliverer) promised in the Old Testament scriptures and the Christ (Anointed/Chosen of God) manifested in the earth and revealed in the New Testament scriptures (1 John 4:14). Jesus is God's Son incarnate, born of the Virgin Mary (Mt. 1:21-22). He is the visible image of the invisible God who existed eternally with the Father as the Word (Col. 1:15-17), through whom all things were created. In His earthly existence He was fully man and fully God. He came to earth to redeem mankind from sin (Mat. 1:21) and make a way for God’s created children to be reunited to Him (Jn. 14:6). Jesus accomplished this restoration through His substitutionary sacrifice by His death on the cross (Mt. 26:28. Ro. 1:3). He lived a sinless life (1 Pet. 2:22), overcame the temptations of Satan, Sin and the Flesh (Mt. 4:1-11), preached the good news of salvation and the arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth (Luke 4:43) and reclaimed the keys to hell and death (Rev. 1:18). He healed the sick (Mt 4:23), delivered the demonized (Mk. 9:25), raised the dead (Jn. 11:43-44), fed the hungry (Mt. 14:16-20) and tangibly loved mankind (John 13:1). Through His resurrection He empowers believers to live in newness of life (1 Tim. 4:10, 2 Tim. 1:10). Christ's earthly life reflected how God intends man to live when empowered by the Holy Spirit.

WE BELIEVE THE GOSPEL (GOOD NEWS) of God is God’s only plan for the SALVATION of men and their restoration to fellowship with Him (Acts 4:12, Jn 14:6). The Gospel is “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-5) and was seen of men for a period of 40 days and then ascended to the right hand of the Father where He now intercedes for the believers (Ro.8:34). Jesus Christ came to reconcile us with God. He lived a life without sin and willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our transgressions. God raised him from the dead and now, by grace, offers as a free gift eternal life to all who follow Christ, by faith, as their Lord and Savior (Luke 24:46-48). He reclaimed the keys to hell and death (Rev. 1:18) and made the way for men to return to God through
salvation.

One enters into a state of salvation through application of His death, burial and resurrection through faith or trust in His redeeming work on the cross. Salvation centers entirely upon the Person and the work of Christ. Jesus fulfilled the old covenant laws and established a new covenant of grace and faith individually with each believer. We encounter God through the sacrifice of Jesus. Through Jesus's
death, burial and resurrection, God meets His people, redeems them from sin and recreates relationship (Ro. 3: 21-23, Ro 10:8-10, Acts 16:31, Acts 2:38-39, Eph. 1:13, Mark 1:14-15). The purpose of salvation is to restore relationship with God. God desired to rekindle His relationship with His children. Through faith in His work on the cross, we are now restored to our original position as the Sons of God and have become the Bride of Christ. We traded in the old Adamic nature and received a new nature, a new identity as a child of God, an heir of salvation (Gal. 4:4-8).

WE BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. God’s Spirit was imparted to the church when Jesus breathed upon his disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:22). This experience of receiving the
indwelling Spirit brought eternal life to them. He becomes our abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide for spiritual worship, personal sanctification, and building up the Church (Jn 14:16-17, Jn. 16:7-14, Rom. 8:1-27. Christ, at his ascension, also instructed His disciple to “wait” for a greater empowerment of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49). These disciples and others later received this promised baptism of fire on the Day of Pentecost as described Acts 2. At Pentecost the Spirit came upon them (baptized them) for power and released the gifts of the Spirit (Act 1:4-8). One of the signs indicating the baptism of the Holy Spirit is “speaking in other tongues as the Spirit give the utterance” (Acts 2:1, Mk 16:17). This prayer language is used for the individual believer’s edification and communication with God (1 Cor. 14:2). This baptism also gifts us for doing the works of ministry that Jesus did and resisting the kingdom of Satan to extend the Kingdom of God. Under the power of the Holy Spirit the believers can exercise of all biblical gifts of the Spirit. We, therefore, practice the laying on of hands for the empowering of the Spirit (Act 8;18), for healing (Mk.
16:17), for impartations of gifts of the Holy Spirit and recognition and empowering of those whom God has ordained to lead and serve the church (1 Tim. 4:14). We also recognize that the Bible gives evidence that God also empowers people through individual or corporate prayer and waiting upon God, without the laying on of hands. We value all of God’s ways of impartation and empowerment.

WE BELIEVE THE HOLY BIBLE is the only infallible rule of faith and practice for the Church. We believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of the Holy Scripture so that the Bible is “God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16).” We accept the sixty-six canonical books
of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, as the only written Word of God, without error in all it affirms. The Holy Spirit preserves God's Word in the church today, and it speaks God's truth and wisdom to people of every age and is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16-17). The Bible is also the story of God and His people, the history of our relationship. The church is commanded to read, study, preach and teach the Word of God (2 Tim 2:15, 2 Tim 4:2).

WE BELIEVE HUMANKIND was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Humans, both male and female, were created in God's image for His glory. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin and appointed as caretakers of the rest of God's creations. His image in mankind was marred in every part through the disobedience of our first parents, and fellowship with God was broken (often referred to as the fall of man). Their fall into sin passed a sin nature on to all humanity (Rom. 3:23, Ro. 5:12,14). All of creation now groans under the consequences and effects of Adam and Eve's original sin (Ro. 8:19-23). Human beings are born in sin, separated from God’s fellowship (Is. 59:2), subject to God’s judgment of death (Ro. 6:23), and captive to Satan’s kingdom of darkness – which exists to steal, kill and destroy. However, the sin nature has been crucified with Christ on the cross (Ga. 2:20), buried in baptism and should no longer reign in our mortal bodies (Ro. 6:4). The following verse from Second Peter instructs us how to walk into our new life. Through the salvation and Christ’s indwelling Spirit we have been given His divine power to be partakers of the divine nature and escaped the corruption that is in the
world (2 Pet. 1: 3-8).

WE BELIEVE THE CHURCH AND KINGDOM OF GOD were established through the coming of Jesus Christ and his ministry. The Kingdom continues to expand through the ministry of the Holy
Spirit in partnership with the Church, and it will be consummated in the glorious, visible, and triumphant appearing of Christ as He returns to the earth as King. At His return, He will bring about the final defeat of Satan, his demons and his works.  The Church is the Body of Christ, the corporate gathering of believers who received salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus and His gospel. Our actions must represent Christ to the world through our assembly, through our relationships one to another and through our display of love toward the lost. The church will become the Bride of Christ (Rev. 21:2, 22:17) and as His fiancé she is learning now to partner with her Beloved and operate in unity through the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). The role of the universal Church today is to prepare the Body for His return by equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-13) ; to preach the news of Jesus to all creation (1 Cor. 1:23-27); to make disciples of all nations (1 Cor. 28:19-20); to worship God (Jn. 4:23) and obey His commands by loving God with all our heart, soul and mind (Mark 12:30); and to be lights in this dark world (Mt. 5:14-16), illuminating the dark and drawing people into the light and life with Jesus. One of the greatest
responsibilities of the church in society, today, is to be the "pillar and foundation of the Truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).  Individual believers are sent into the world to glorify God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and carry on His mission until the end of the age. (Mat. 28:19-20, Mk 16:15-18). We cooperate with the Holy Spirit in taking back the King’s domain by the evangelizing the world—proclaiming the word of Jesus and doing the works of Jesus.

WE BELIEVE in WATER BAPTISM and the HOLY COMMUNION. Jesus Christ committed these two ordinances to the Church. Both are available to all believers. We believe Water Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, as well as the preached, taught or read Word of God are all means by which we can experience God in all His Personhood and provisions.  Baptism of Repentance: Water baptism of repentance was commanded by Jesus (Mat. 28:18-20, 1 Cor. 12:13) baptizing believers into the body of Christ. It is a symbolic action representing to the world that the believer of Christ has been buried in Christ and raised to live a new life in God’s kingdom for eternity (Ro. 6:4).
Holy Communion / Lord’s Supper: Jesus established the ordinance of the taking of bread and wine (or juice of the grape) as symbolic representations of His blood and His body that were sacrificed for the
believers (1 Cor. 11:23-32, 1 Cor 10:16). The wine/juice represents His blood, shed for the remission of our sins. The bread represents His body, that was broken for our healing. The act of taking communion reminds the believer or all the promises purchased by Christ for us. The act of taking communion does not save us, it is an act of worship and remembrance.

WE BELIEVE in the RETURN of Jesus Christ and the Final RESURRECTION and JUDGEMENT of all humankind. Jesus Christ is returning one day to judge both the living and the dead (Mt. 24: 30-32, 1 Pet 5:4) and to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom on earth. All humankind will experience the resurrection of the dead (1 Thes. 4:16-17, John 5:28-29, Act 24:15) the final judgments (Rev.20:12-15), and the eternal blessing of the righteous (Rev. 20:6) or the eternal conscious punishment of the wicked. Finally, God will be all in all (1 Cor. 5:28) in His new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21:1-3), recreated by His mighty power, in which righteousness dwells and in which He will forever be worshiped (Rev. 5:13).