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Summary of Faith:
- God is bigger and better and closer
than we can imagine.
- The Bible is God’s perfect guidebook for
living.
- Jesus is God showing himself to us.
- Through His Holy Spirit, God lives in
and through us now.
- Nothing in creation “just happened.” God
made it all.
- Grace is the only way to have a
relationship with God.
- Faith is the only way to grow in our
relationship with God.
- God has allowed evil to provide us with
a choice, God can bring good even out of
evil events and God promises victory
over evil to those who choose him.
- Heaven and hell are real places. Death
is a beginning, not the end.
- The church is to serve people like Jesus
served people.
- Jesus is coming again.
Full Statement of Faith:
• In essential beliefs — we have unity.
“There is one Body and one
Spirit...there is one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, and one God and Father of
us all...” Eph. 4:4-6
• In non-essential beliefs — we have
liberty.“Accept him whose faith is weak, without
passing judgment on disputable
matters... Who are you to judge someone
else’s servant? To his own master he
stands or falls... So then each of us
will give an account of himself to
God... So whatever you believe about
these things keep between yourself and
God.” Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22.
• In all our beliefs — we show charity.
“...If I hold in my mind not only all
human knowledge but also the very
secrets of God, and if I have the faith
that can move mountains — but have no
love, I amount to nothing at all.” 1 Cor.
13:2 (Ph)
IN THE ESSENTIALS WE BELIEVE:
1. ABOUT GOD
We believe that there is one, true, holy
God, eternally existing in three
persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit
–each of whom possess equally all the
attributes of deity and the
characteristics of personality, while
executing distinct, but harmonious
functions. We believe that God the
Father concerns Himself mercifully in
the affairs of men, that He hears and
answers prayers, and that He saves from
sin and death all who come to Him
through Jesus Christ. We believe that
God the Father is the head of the
Trinity. These three are co-equal and
are one God. (GENESIS 1:1,26,27, 3:22;
DEUT. 6:4; PSALM 90:2; MATTHEW 7:7-11;
28:19; 1 PETER 1:2; 5:7; ROM. 1:18-20; 2
CORINTHIANS 13:14)
2. ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only
begotten Son, conceived by the Holy
Spirit. We believe that Jesus is the
second Person of the Trinity who was
united forever with a true human nature
by virgin birth. We believe in His
sinless life, miracles and teachings. We
believe that He voluntarily died on the
Cross to be our substitute, paying the
penalty for our sins, rose from the dead
in the same body, though glorified and
ascended into heaven. We believe that He
is at the right hand of the Father and
He is the only Mediator between God and
Man. He will come again to earth,
personally and visibly to fulfill God’s
eternal plan. (MATT. 1:18-24, 20:28;
LUKE 1:26-38; JOHN 1:11-14, 20:28; ACTS
1:11; ROMANS 4:25; 1COR. 15:3-5; 2
COR.5:21; HEBREWS. 1:1-4, 4:14-15, 9-28)
3. ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the personality and
present ministry of the Holy Spirit.
That He has been sent by the Father to
be the Comforter, to convict men of
their sin, to testify to the world of
Jesus Christ, and to empower the
believer to walk a victorious Christian
life. We believe that the Holy Spirit
indwells every believer in Christ at the
moment of salvation. He provides the
Christian with power for living,
understanding of spiritual truth, and
guidance in doing what is right. He
gives every believer a spiritual gift
when they are saved. As Christians, we
seek to live under His control daily.
(JOHN 1:1; LUKE 12:12; JOHN 3:3-6; JOHN
14, 15-16; ACTS 1:8; ROMANS 8:9,16; 1
COR. 3:16; 12:1-30; EPHESIANS. 1:13-14,
5:18; GALATIANS 5:25 )
4. ABOUT THE TRINITY
We believe that there is one living and
true God, eternally existing in three
persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
that they are co-equal in every divine
and perfect attribute of deity, and that
they have distinct but harmonious roles
in the work of creation, providence and
redemption. (GENESIS. 1:1,2,26; DEUT.
6:4; MATT. 3:16, 28:19; JOHN 1:1-14; 1
JOHN 5:7; GAL. 4:4-6)
5. ABOUT THE BIBLE
We believe that the sole basis of our
belief is the Bible, composed of the 66
books of the Old and New Testaments. We
believe that Scripture in its entirety
originated with God, and that it was
given through the instrumentality of
chosen men. We believe that the Bible is
the Word of God, fully inspired and
without any error, written under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We
believe it is God’s truth to man and has
supreme authority in all matters of
faith and conduct. (EX. 24:4a; PSALM
119:105,160, PROVERBS 30:5; MATT. 5:18;
2 TIM 3:16; 2 PETER 1:19-21)
6. ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS
People are made in the spiritual image
of God, to be like Him in character.
People are the supreme object of God’s
creation. Although every person has
tremendous potential for good, all of us
are marred by an attitude of
disobedience toward God called “sin”.
This attitude separates people from God
and causes many problems in life.
GENESIS 1:27; PSALM 8:3-6; ISAIAH 53:6a;
ROMANS 3:23; ISAIAH 59:1, 2
7. ABOUT CHRISTIAN CONDUCT
We believe that the Bible is the final
authority in all matters of faith and
conduct. Believers that have a
relationship with God are ultimately
responsible to Him. Believers need to
submit to the authority of leaders that
God has placed over them. We are
committed to the truth that believers
are to live for the glory of God with
the goal of being conformed to the image
of Christ. We are to honor God by
obeying His Word, loving and serving
others, sharing the gospel with the
lost, and being faithful with our
resources. (MATT 25:21; JOHN 13:34-35,
14; ROM 10:14-15, 12:1-2; 1 COR. 4:2;
Eph 4:13)
8. ABOUT SALVATION
We believe that since Adam and Eve
sinned, all people are sinners both by
nature and by choice. Human sinfulness
separates people from Holy God.
Salvation is God’s free gift to us but
we must accept it. We can never make up
for our sin by self-improvement or good
works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ
as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone
be saved from sin’s penalty. When we
turn from our self-ruled life and turn
to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal
life begins the moment one receives
Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
Jesus paid the penalty for all human sin
by his suffering on the cross and offers
forgiveness and eternal life to those
who trust in Him as their personal
Savior and Lord. (JOHN 1:12-13; JOHN
3:3, 16, 17; ACTS 20:21; ROMANS 6:23;
EPHESIANS 2:1-9; Titus 3:5)
9. ABOUT ETERNAL SECURITY
Because God gives us eternal life
through Jesus Christ, the true believer
is secure in that salvation for
eternity. If you have been genuinely
saved, you cannot “lose” it. Salvation
is maintained by the grace and power of
God, not by the self-effort of the
Christian. It is the grace and keeping
power of God that gives us this
security. (JOHN 10:29; 2 TIMOTHY 1:12;
HEBREWS 7:25, 10:10, 14; 1 PETER 1:3-5
10. ABOUT ETERNITY
People were created to exist forever. We
will either exist eternally separated
from God by sin, or eternally with God
through forgiveness and salvation. To be
eternally separated from God is Hell. To
be eternally in union with Him is
eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real
places of eternal existence. (JOHN 3:16;
14:17; ROMANS 6:23; ROMANS 8:17-18;
REVELATION 20:15; 1 COR. 2:7-9)
11. ABOUT 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 (wherein a
person is completely lowered under the
water) of a believer into water in the
name of the Triune God, symbolizing the
believer’s union with Christ’s death,
burial, and resurrection. We believe
that Communion (The Lord’s Supper) was
instituted by Christ for commemoration
of His death and spiritual
self-examination of His people. We
believe that these two ordinances should
be observed and administered until the
return of the Lord Jesus Christ. (MATT
26:26-28, 28:18-20; MARK 1:8-11; LUKE
22:14-20; ACTS 2:41, 42, 8:12; ROM.
6:3-5; 1 COR. 11:23-32)
12. ABOUT LAST THINGS
We believe in the visible return of the
Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the
establishment of His kingdom. We believe
in the resurrection of the body, the
final judgment, the eternal happiness of
the believer. Those who follow Christ
will enjoy eternal life in heaven. Those
who chose to reject Jesus and live their
own way will be separated from God and
will be eternally punished in hell.
(MATT 16:27, 24:31-46; MARK 9:43-48;
JOHN 14:3; ROMANS 14:10-12; 2 THESS.
1:7-10, HEBREWS. 10:27; 2 PETER 2:4-10)
13. ABOUT CHURCH COOPERATION
We believe that local churches can best
promote the cause of Jesus Christ by
cooperating with one another in a
denominational organization. Such an
organization, whether a regional or
district conference, exists and
functions by the will of the churches.
Cooperation in a conference is voluntary
and may be terminated at any time.
Churches may likewise cooperate with
interdenominational fellowships on a
voluntary, independent basis. (1 COR
8:9-13; 16:13-16; GAL 5:22-26; EPH
4:1-3; JAMES 3:5-8)
14. ABOUT RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
We believe that every human being has
direct relations with God, and is
responsible to God alone in all matters
of faith; that each church is
independent and must be free from
interference by any ecclesiastical or
political authority. The church has
specific functions and roles in society,
which are ordained by God and therefore
must have freedom to exercise religious
liberty. Therefore Church and State must
be kept separate as having different
functions. (ACTS 5:29, 20:28-32; ROMANS
14:7-9; 1 COR 3:16; 1 TIMOTHY 2:5; COL.
1:18; ROMANS 14:11-12)
We believe this Statement of Faith to be
an accurate summary of what Scripture
teaches. All members shall refrain from
advocating doctrines that are not
included in this Statement of Faith in
such a manner as to cause dissentions
and divisions.
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