Doctrinal Statement
We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God; equal in all parts, and is totally inerrant in the original manuscripts. We believe it is the supreme revelation from God and of God, being superior to conscience and reason, though not necessarily contrary to them. It is therefore our infallible rule in all matters. We believe that all Scripture centers around Jesus and therefore no portion is properly read nor understood until it leads to Him. (John 5:39; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; Heb. 4:12)
We believe in one true God, revealed in Scripture as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are unified in nature, purpose, and perfection. Thus all are worthy of the same homage and obedience. (Duet. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; Mark 12:29; John 1:14;
2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:4-6)
We believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things, visible and invisible. We believe that His person, nature, and attributes are revealed throughout the Scriptures. (Gen. 1:26-27, 2:4; 14:17-24, 15:2, 17:1, 21:33, 49:25; Ps. 91:1; Duet. 32:4,8,20; Eph. 1:9-10; Heb. 1:10-12; 1 John 4:16; Is. 9:6)
We believe in the preexistence, incarnation, and virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into this world to reveal the Father and that He is the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. We believe
that the Lord Jesus Christ is the creator of all things, for by Him the worlds were made. We believe that in Christ dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and that He was completely God and completely man. We further believe in the sinless life of our Lord Jesus Christ, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven, and His eminent return. We believe that He is presently seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for His redeemed. We also acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord over all things in heaven, on earth and under the earth. (John 1:1, 14; 1 Tim. 3:16; Acts 7:37-38; Phil. 2:9-10; Heb. 7:25)
We believe that the Holy Spirit, though omnipresent throughout all eternity, was sent on the day of Pentecost after the glorification of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells in every believer, unites all believers in Christ in one body and is the source of all power and all acceptable service. We believe that ministries are committed to the Holy Spirit including the restraining of evil in the world, the convicting of the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment, the regenerating of all believers, the sealing of all believers until the day of redemption, and the continued filling of power and service to those among the saved who yield to Him and t His will. We believe that all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to Christians today and that all of the fruit of the Spirit should and must operate in the Church for the Church to manifest her full glory under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. (John 3:6; Romans 8:9, 12:1-11; 1 Cor. 6:19, 12:8-11; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 2:22, 4:11-13)
We believe that God created an innumerable company of spiritual beings known as angels; that one, Lucifer, son of the morning, sinned through pride, thereby becoming “satan”, and that a great company of the angels followed him in his moral fall becoming demons that are active as his agents. (Is. 14:12-17; Ez. 28:11-19; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6)
We believe that satan is the originator of sin; that through subtle deception he led our first parents into transgression, there accomplishing their moral fall and subjecting them and their posterity to his own power, and that he is the enemy of God and His people. However, we also believe Jesus Christ defeated satan through His death on Calvary and His burial and resurrection, and that He has delegated this victorious authority over satan to His Body, the Church. Satan’s ultimate end will occur when he is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where he shall be tormented day and night for eternity. (Gen. 3:1-19; Romans 5:12-14; 2 Cor. 4:3-4, 11:13-15; Eph. 6:10-12; Col. 2:15; 2 Thess. 2:4; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 1 John 3:8; Rev. 20:1-3, 10)
We further believe that a great company of angels kept their first and holy estate and are now before the throne of God, from where they are sent forth as ministering spirits for those who are the heirs of salvation. (Luke 15:10; Eph. 1:21; Heb. 1:14)
We believe that God, in His sovereignty, created the world, and that man was created in the image of God by a direct and immediate act of God. (Gen 1:1, 26-27, 2:4; Heb. 11:1-6)
We believe that man fell from the state of righteousness and holiness in which he was first created by willful transgression into total spiritual depravity, a state of death in trespass and sins in which he is held a slave of sin and an enemy of God. Man is incapable of attaining divine righteousness by his own efforts, but can only be redeemed and delivered by the power of the Gospel. (Romans 1:16, 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2 Cor. 4:3-4)
We believe that repentance and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ produces the work of justification in the believer through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the full and final payment for all sin forever. Due to universal spiritual death through sin, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born again of the Spirit. We also believe that our redemption has been accomplished solely by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, who died as our substitute. (Romans 3:24-25, 5:1, 9-10; Eph. 2:8)
We believe that the believer should continuously walk in grace with the emphasis on heart righteousness and purity, walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh. A believer should exhibit a lifestyle that displays character, standards and convictions of Jesus Christ, not conforming to the world, but being transformed by the renewing of the mind. We further believe that each believer must lay a foundation of Biblical truth and experience upon which he builds his life. Through the Lordship of Jesus Christ these foundation stones are established in the new birth and include repentance from dead works, faith toward God, the doctrine of baptisms, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and the eternal judgment. (Romans 4:1-5; 1 Cor. 3:11; Gal. 5:16-25; Heb. 6:1-2; Jude 24)
We believe that the New Testament teaches three major baptisms.
1. The baptism by which the repentant sinner, upon trusting Jesus Christ as his Savior, is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12:13)
2. Water baptism by total immersion is an ordinance of the church, by which the believer experiences the reality of the power of the Cross by identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Matt. 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-6)
3. The filling or baptism of the Holy Spirit by the Lord Jesus Christ, which may occur at or following conversion. We believe that speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance is the normative evidence of this baptism, but other gifts of the Spirit may manifest through the believer as well. We further believe that by continued yielding to the Holy Spirit his weakness is transformed into strength to be a witness for Jesus Christ in power and to live according to the will of God. (Acts 1:5, 8; 2:4, 38; 10:46; 11:28; 19:60)
We believe in divine healing for the whole man (including body, mind, and emotions) through the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ, purchased by the stripes on His back, and practiced by the first century church as recounted in the book of Acts. (Is. 53:4-5; Matt. 8:17; Acts 3; 4:30; 19:11; 1 Cor. 12:9; James 5:14; 1 Peter 2:24-25)
We believe that all who unite by the new birth to Jesus Christ are members of the universal church, the Body of Christ. We also believe that the local congregation of Christian believers is divinely instituted and is the chosen instrument of God for the furtherance of God’s work upon the earth. While appreciating the work of Para-church groups we believe that the local church is God’s chosen vehicle for world evangelization and the nurture of Christians. We further believe in the spiritual unity of all believers and in working with others who believe in salvation by Grace through faith in the shed Blood of Jesus Christ for the causes of evangelism, missions, and benevolence. (Matt 16:16-18; John 17:21; Romans 12:5; Eph. 1:20-23, 4:3-10; Col. 3:14-15)
Water Baptism
We believe that water baptism is for every believer who understands its purpose and power in their life. It should be administered by the mode of immersion and in the name and authority of Jesus Christ to the Glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We further believe that water baptism is symbolic of the circumcision of our hearts (the cutting away of the old nature by the power of God) and our identification with Jesus Christ and participation in His death, burial, and resurrection. (Matt 28:10-20; Acts 8:16; Romans 6:4; Col. 2:10-11)
The Lord’s Supper
We believe that through the Lord’s Supper the believer reaffirms and renews the reality of the New Covenant. It is a memorial commemorating the death of Jesus Christ for the remissions of sins and reaffirming of His imminent return. The elements are to be received with joy and gratitude after confession and repentance from every known sin. We also believe that this ordinance is open to all Christians with no un-confessed sin in their lives. (Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 1:23-24)
We believe that the whole purpose of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Therefore, we believe in the act of worshiping God with our total being as set forth in the Holy Scriptures. (Ps. 150; Mark 12:29-31; Eph. 5:18-21)
We believe in the doctrine of laying on of hands for:
1. Confirming believer’s commitment and ministry in the local church.
2. Confirming one’s call by God to a special ministry in the local church with prophecy by the presbytery. (Acts 13:1-3)
3. Imparting the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim 1:6)
4. Imparting the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:17-18)
5. Ministering of healing to the sick through the Lord Jesus Christ. (Mark 16:18)
6. Blessing and dedicating children to the Lord. (Mark 10:16)
We further believe that, in obedience to the Holy Scriptures, we should lay hands on no man suddenly (i.e. to place them into ministry without proving the call of God), which the laying on of hands confirms a ministry that is already observable and proven. (1 Tim. 5:22)
We believe in the divinely called, commissioned, and equipped five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers as given to the church by the Lord Jesus Christ after His ascension. We further believe that all Christians are called to be ambassadors for Christ and that all believers have been given the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Cor. 5:20; Eph. 4:11-13)
We also believe that it is the explicit mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ to those He has redeemed to be sent forth by Him into the world and to be witnesses of His saving Grace. Our primary purpose in life is to glorify God by obedience to Christ’s command to preach the Gospel to all creation. (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; John 17:18; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:18-20; 1 Peter 1:17, 2:11)
We that what our first parents lost in the fall (the image of God, fellowship with God, authority and dominion, fruitfulness, wisdom, character, etc.) is now being restored by Jesus Christ to and through His church. We also believe that, in these last days, the church is in a state of restoration of truth that was essentially lost during the Dark Ages. We believe that a revelation of the truth of God is already written and contained in the Scriptures, and its progressive unfolding will not take away from previously revealed truth. In light of this concept, we will maintain an open attitude to hear and receive further revelation of truth from the Holy Scriptures. We believe that, in keeping with the Biblical principle of restoration, the Church, in these last days, will be restored completely to the New Testament pattern, power and practice, but shall not be limited by that example. (Ex. 22:1-9; Dan. 7:14; Acts 3:21; Acts 15; Eph. 3:1-6; 2 Peter 1:20; Rev. 10:6-7)
We hold dear the belief that it is God’s Will and purpose to restore the mankind unto Himself through the Word and ministry of reconciliation according to 2 Cor. 5:18-21.
We consider the teaching known in some circles as “ultimate reconciliation”, (which implies that God will restore all things, including satan, the fallen angels, and all unregenerate souls in eternity unto Himself) to be inconsistent with clear Biblical teachings on hell and the eternal state, and thus, a false doctrine.
We believe that, at the time of death, the spirits and souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ will pass immediately into His presence. There they remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the glorified body, when Jesus Christ comes for His own, upon which soul and body reunite to be with Him forever in Glory. The spirits and souls of the unbelieving remain conscious of condemnation after death, and in misery, until the final judgment of the Great White Throne. at that time, soul and body shall be reunited and cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power. (Luke 16:19-26; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)
We believe that, according to His promise, Jesus will personally return to this earth in power and glory. (Matt. 24; Acts 1:11) Although there are many claims as to the date and time of Christ’s return, we hold that no man knows the day or the hour that Jesus shall return, not even He Himself, but that knowledge is reserved unto God the Father. We further believe in a gracious and merciful God who has promised to keep His children from the great tribulation that will come upon the earth in the last of the Last Days. (1 Thess. 4:15-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; Rev. 3:10)
We believe that Jesus was born, raised, and lived His sinless life as an observant Jew. Therefore we must understand the Hebrew perspective if we are to correctly understand Scripture. We believe that we are grafted into the root of Israel and thus built on the same foundational covenants as Israel. (Romans 11:16-21)
We celebrate the feasts of the Old Testament, not as a law but in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom all the feast pointed. (1 Cor. 5:7-8; Zech 14:16-19