We believe that the sacred Scriptures (those sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation) in their original manuscripts are:

1. Wholly and verbally inspired and contain no errors of fact, doctrine, or judgment.¹
2. The final revelation of God to man.²
3. The necessary and sufficient guide in all matters of faith and conduct.
4. Understandable by mankind in general, through the illumination of the Holy Spirit.³

¹II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:21  ²Rev. 22:18-19  ³I Cor. 2:10-16; John 16:13

We believe there are three persons in the Godhead, but that they are one in substance, so that each is as eternal and divine as the others¹.
¹Matt. 28: 19; John 1:1-2; 14: 9-11; Gen. 1:2.
We further believe God is primarily revealed in the Scriptures as: Spirit,¹ possessor and giver of life,² self-existent,³ infinite,⁴ immutable,⁵ eternal,⁶ omnipresent,⁷ omniscient,⁸ omnipotent,⁹ holy,¹⁰ just,¹¹ and good (extending mercy, love, and grace).¹²

¹John 4:24  ²John 5:26; John 1:4  ³Ex. 3:14  ⁴Psalms 145:3  ⁵Mal. 3:6  ⁶Psalms 90:2; Gen. 21:33  ⁷Psalms 139:8  ⁸Psalms 147:5  ⁹Matt. 19:26  ¹⁰I Peter 1:16; I John 1:5; Lev. 11:44-45  ¹¹I Peter 3:18, Psalms 89:14  ¹²John 1:17; I John 4:8-21; I Peter 5:7; Rom. 2:4

1) God the Father.
We believe the Scriptures reveal God the Father as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,¹ the Father of the nation of Israel,² and the Father of those who through faith have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.³ We believe He elects and draws the unbeliever so that he/she might be saved.⁴
We further believe:

1. He, in his infinite grace, sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins,5 whom He also raised from the dead.6
2. He reveals His eternal power and Godhead to all men.7
3. He is the Righteous Judge8 who disciplines His own sons.9

¹Eph. 1:3  ²Ex. 4:22  ³Eph. 2:18-19; John 20:17  ⁴Eph. 1:3-6; John 6:44, 65  ⁵Rom. 5:8  ⁶I Cor. 15:15  ⁷Rom. 1:18-20  ⁸I Peter 1:17  ⁹Heb. 12:5-11; John 15:1-2

2) God the Son.
We believe God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the Creator of all.¹ He became a man,² born of the Virgin Mary, conceived in her through the Holy Spirit. He is the perfect Redeemer³ to those who accept Him by faith.⁴ He died a physical death, was buried, and arose bodily on the third day. He ascended to the right hand of the throne of God to become the believer’s faithful High priest,⁵ the only mediator between God and man.⁶

¹John 1:3; Col. 1:16  ²John 1:14; Heb. 2:17  ³I Peter 1:17-19  ⁴Eph. 2:8-9  ⁵Heb. 2:17-18; Heb. 6:19-20  ⁶I Tim. 2:5

3) God the Holy Spirit.
We believe God the Holy Spirit is a person, not an influence. He inspired the Holy Scriptures. He convicts men of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come.¹ He is the effective agent of the new birth² and indwells every believer at the time of salvation. While there is no need to seek a separate experience with special manifestations, every “born again” child of God needs and may expect His controlling and enabling ministry day by day.³

¹John 16:7-11  ²John 3:3-8  ³Gal. 5:22-24; Eph. 5:15-21

We believe the Genesis account of the creation of heaven and earth, and all contained therein, is to be accepted literally and historically.¹ In the creation, God formed man of the dust of the ground and created man in His own image and likeness (moral and spiritual)² and gave him dominion over all the creatures of the earth. Man did not develop from a lower stage of creation to a higher stage of perfection over a period of time.

¹Gen. 1-2; Heb. 11:3  ²Gen. 1:26-27, 2:7

We believe God created man in His own image and likeness,¹ but that when man sinned, he fell under the penalty of spiritual and physical death, thus losing all spiritual life,² and becoming dead in trespasses and sin.³ Man then became subject to the power of the Devil and fleshly evil.⁴ Thus, death and sin come to all men by birth as well as by their own actions.⁵

¹Gen. 1:26-27, 31  ²Rom. 5:12; Gen. 3:19  ³Eph. 2:1  ⁴Eph. 2:2-3; II Cor. 4:4  ⁵Rom. 5:12; Psalms 51:5

We believe Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary,¹ conceived in her through the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way, as no one else was or ever shall be born of a woman.²

¹Matt. 1:16-25; Isa. 7:14  ²Luke 1:26-38; John 1:14

We believe Jesus Christ died a physical death,¹ was buried,² arose bodily on the third day, and ascended to the right hand of the throne of God.³

¹John 19:30-34  ²I Cor. 15:3-4  ³Mark 16:19

We believe in salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ,¹ who died and shed His blood as man’s substitutionary sacrifice. As such, salvation is freely offered to all.² A person who repents and receives Jesus Christ is justified in the sight of God through that faith in Him³ and is “born again” into the family of God.⁴ This salvation, being by the grace of God and through one’s faith, cannot be earned by one’s own works.⁵ Thus, a truly “born again” person is eternally secure in Christ; nothing can separate him or her from His love.⁶

¹Eph. 2:8-9  ²John 3:14-18  ³Gal. 2:16  ⁴John 3:1-18  ⁵Titus 3:5-6  ⁶John 6:39-40; 10:28-29; I Peter 1:2, 4-5; Rom. 8:33-35, 38, 39

We believe in the immortality of the soul. Those who die without repenting, God will punish eternally in Hell according to their deeds.¹ On the other hand, believers in Christ will be eternally rewarded in heaven according to their deeds.² We further believe the unrepentant and the believer alike will be conscious of their respective rewards.³

¹Rev. 20:10-15; Matt. 25:46  ²I Cor. 3:14-15  ³Luke 16:23-31

We believe in:

1. The personal, glorious, bodily, visible, future, premillennial, and imminent coming of Christ.¹ It will consist of two phases: 1) when He comes in the air for His saints,² and 2) when He comes to the earth with His saints.³
2. His millennial reign. Following the tribulation, those believers He has raised from the dead along with those believers raptured (caught up) will rule with Him over this world.³
3. His final judgment. It will take place after the millennium, when Christ will judge the wicked dead and usher in the eternal state.⁴

¹Acts 1:11; Matt. 24,25  ²I Thess. 4:13-17  ³Rev. 20:1-6  ⁴Rev. 20:7-15; Rev. 21:1-5

Scripture speaks of both the local church and the universal Church. The invisible Church or universal Church is the Body of Christ, consisting of all believers.¹ We believe the local church is composed of believers who fellowship together in the Gospel.² Every local church has the right to self-government.³ Church leadership is vested by Scripture in the elders, assisted by the deacons.⁴ The local church may cooperate with other true churches in carrying out the mission of the Church,⁵ which is embodied in the great commission.⁶ The local church and its ministry are to be supported as defined in I Corinthians.⁷

¹Eph. 1:22, 23; Col. 1:18, 24  ²Acts 2:41-47  ³Acts 20:17-32  ⁴I Tim. 3:1-14; I Peter 5:1-5  ⁵II Cor. 6:14-18  ⁶Matt. 28:18-20  ⁷I Cor. 16:2; I Cor. 9:13-14

We believe there are two ordinances: Baptism and The Lord’s Supper. The ordinance of baptism is water baptism, of a professed believer, in the name of the triune God.¹ We hold that the mode of baptism is not the essential consideration; however, the mode of baptism practiced by this church is immersion. The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper commemorates Christ’s death until He comes again.² Through it, believers, after solemn self-examination, remember and proclaim Christ’s death for their sins by the breaking of bread and drinking of the fruit of the vine.³

¹Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:26-39; Mark 1:10-11  ²Matt. 26:26-29  ³I Cor. 11:23-25

We believe in the miracles of the Bible. We believe there is an economy of divine power whereby often, even in miracles, natural forces are used.¹ We also believe there are miracles performed through the immediate agency of God, without the use of natural forces.² We further hold that the miracles of Christ demonstrate His divine power and office.³

¹Exodus 14:21-22  ²Gen. 1:1 to 2:25; John 1:3  ³John 3:2; Acts 2:22

We believe Satan is a personal being¹ who, having sinned against God, lost his former glorious state.² He is the head of a demonic force,³ which opposes all of God’s purposes.⁴ Satan is a defeated foe, having been conquered at the Cross of Calvary.⁵ His final judgment is still to come.⁶ He will then be eternally punished in the lake of fire together with his evil emissaries and those human beings who follow him. Therefore, Satan is unable to resist the authority of Christ, exercised by the Church, to bring men from the power of Satan to God.⁷

¹Job 1:6-7; Luke 4:1-13  ²Isa. 14:12-14  ³Eph. 6:11-12  ⁴Luke 4:1-13; I Peter 5:8  ⁵Heb. 2:14  ⁶Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10-15  ⁷Matt. 16:18-19; Acts 26:18

We believe the Bible defines sin as any transgression of the Law of God by thought, action, activity, or behavior; such sin separates man from God.¹ We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity in spite of their sinful state.

¹Isaiah 59:2; James 1:15; James 4:17; John 3:16

This Statement of Doctrine and Practice does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of church doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, the Elders are the church’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.¹

¹Acts 15:6; Acts 15:22; Acts 20:17-28; Philippians 1:1