Jesus Christ
We believe that in the fullness of time God sent forth His eternal Son as Jesus the
Messiah, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. We believe that,
when the eternal Son became flesh, He took on a fully human nature, so that two whole,
perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one Person, without
confusion or mixture. Thus the Person, Jesus Christ, was and is truly God and truly
man, yet one Christ and the only Mediator between God and man Through him all things
came into being and were created. He was before all things and in him all things
hold together by the word of his power. He is the image of the invisible God, the
first-
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Through the proclamation of the gospel he persuades men to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord. By the same Spirit a person is led to trust in divine mercy. The Holy Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith, brings about the new birth, and dwells within the regenerate. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify the Son, who in turn came to glorify the Father. He will lead the Church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word. He is to be respected, honored, and worshiped as God the Third Person of the Trinity.
Man
We believe God made man—male and female—in his own image, as the crown of creation, that man might have fellowship with him. Tempted by Satan, man rebelled against God. Being estranged from his Maker, yet responsible to him, he became subject to divine wrath, inwardly depraved and, apart from a special work of grace, utterly incapable of returning to God. This depravity is radical and pervasive. It extends to his mind, will, and affections. Unregenerate man lives under the dominion of sin and Satan. He is at enmity with God, hostile toward God, and hateful of God. Fallen, sinful people, whatever their character or attainments, are lost and without hope apart from salvation in Christ.
The Gospel
We believe that Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news is revealed in his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the gospel, his resurrection is the power of the gospel, and his ascension is the glory of the gospel. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases his holy wrath. It also demonstrates his mysterious love and reveals his amazing grace. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men must be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege that redeemed sinners have of glorifying God because of what he has accomplished. Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, churches, and ministries to proceed from and be related to the cross.
Man’s Response to the Gospel
We believe that man’s response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in the free and unconditional election of God for his own pleasure and glory. It is also true that the message of the gospel is only effectual to those who genuinely repent of their sins and, by God’s grace, put saving faith in Christ. This gospel of grace is to be sincerely preached to all men in all nations. Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life, and saving faith is evidenced by kingdom service or works. While neither repentance nor works save, unless a person is willing to deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow Christ, he cannot become his disciple.
Man’s Inheritance Through the Gospel
We believe in salvation, the free gift of God, is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Anyone turning from sin in repentance and looking to Christ and his substitutionary death receives the gift of eternal life and is declared righteous by God as a free gift. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. He is justified and fully accepted by God. Through Christ’s atonement for sin an individual is reconciled to God as Father and becomes his child. The believer is forgiven the debt of his sin and, via the miracle of regeneration, liberated from the law of sin and death into the freedom of God’s Spirit.
Sanctification
We believe in the Holy Spirit is the active agent in our sanctification and seeks to produce his fruit in us as our minds are renewed and we are conformed to the image of Christ. Though indwelling sin remains a reality, as we are led by the Spirit we grow in the knowledge of the Lord, freely keeping his commandments and endeavoring to so live in the world that all people may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. All believers are exhorted to persevere in the faith, knowing they will have to give an account to God for their every thought, word, and deed. The spiritual disciplines, especially Bible study, prayer, worship and confession, are a vital means of grace in this regard. Nevertheless, the believer’s ultimate confidence to persevere is based in the sure promise of God to preserve his people until the end, which is most certain.
Empowered by the Spirit
We believe that in addition to effecting regeneration and sanctification, the Holy
Spirit also empowers believers for Christian witness and service. While all genuine
believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at conversion, the New Testament indicates
the importance of an ongoing, empowering work of the Spirit subsequent to conversion
as well. Being indwelt by the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit are theologically
distinct experiences. The Holy Spirit desires to fill each believer continually with
increased power for Christian life and witness, and imparts his supernatural gifts
for the edification of the Body and for various works of ministry in the world. All
the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in the church of the first-
The Church
We believe that God by his Word and Spirit creates the Church, calling sinful men out of the whole human race into the fellowship of Christ’s Body. By the same Word and Spirit, he guides and preserves that new redeemed humanity. The Church is not a religious institution or denomination. Rather, the Church universal is made up of those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It also exists to serve him by faithfully doing his will in the earth. This involves a commitment to see the gospel preached and churches planted in all the world for a testimony. The ultimate mission of the Church is the making of disciples through the preaching of the gospel. When God transforms human nature, this then becomes the chief means of society’s transformation. Upon conversion, newly redeemed men and women are added to a local church, in which they devote themselves to teaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer.
All members of the Church universal are to be a vital and committed part of a local
church. In this context they are called to walk out the New Covenant as the people
of God, and demonstrate the reality of the kingdom of God. The ascended Christ has
given gift ministries to the church (including apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors
and teachers) for the equipping of Christ’s body that it might mature and grow. Through
the gift ministries, all members of the Church are to be nurtured and equipped for
the work of ministry. Women play a vital role in the life of the church, but in keeping
with God’s created design they are not permitted “to teach or to exercise authority
over a man” (1 Timothy 2:12 ESV). Leadership in the church is male. In the context
of the local church, God’s people receive pastoral care and leadership and the opportunity
to employ their God-
Christian Conduct
We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and the well-
The Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church, baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water into the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Consummation
We believe that the Consummation of all things includes the visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the Consummation, Satan with his hosts and all those outside Christ are finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment, but the righteous, in glorious bodies, shall live and reign with him forever. Married to Christ as his Bride, the Church will be in the presence of God forever, serving him and giving him unending praise and glory. Then shall the eager expectation of creation be fulfilled and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God who makes all things new.
Christ’s Commission to Make Disciples of All Nations
We believe that the commission given by the Lord Jesus to make disciples of all nations
is binding on His Church to the end of the age. This task is to proclaim the Gospel
to every tribe and tongue and people and nation, baptizing them, teaching them the
words and ways of the Lord, and gathering them into churches able to fulfill their
Christian calling among their own people. The ultimate aim of world missions is that
God would create, by His Word, worshippers who glorify His name through glad-