Our Beliefs

Often times we hear additional messages, ideas, and beliefs that get associated with the Christian message which are not core to faith in Jesus. What is core, however, is called orthodoxy. These orthodox beliefs are the basis of reality and have been tested through generations and generations of followers of Jesus.

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Who is God?

We believe in one God who created everything. He is infinite, perfect, and beyond our ability to fully comprehend him. We trust in the mystery of the Trinity, which is to say he is one God who exists in three equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

Who is Jesus?

We believe Jesus Christ is God who, in his grace, came to earth as a human being in an actual time and place in history. He is both fully God and fully human. We believe that a woman named Mary, who was a virgin, gave birth to him, and he lived a sinless life. He died on a cross as a sacrifice to cover the sin of the world, and he rose from the dead (physically) and ascended into heaven where he continues his ministry to us. There he is our mediator and intercessor with the Father until he returns at the end of this age.

 

Who is the Holy Spirit?

We believe that the Holy Spirit is God at work in the world today. He reveals the goodness and truth of Jesus, convicts us of our sin, and transforms us into new creations when we believe in him. For followers of Jesus, he provides us his Holy Spirit as a gift to live in us, to guide us, to teach us, and to empower us to live in the power and humility of Jesus.

 

What is the Bible?

We believe the Scriptures (the entire Old and New Testaments) are the inspired word of God. He speaks to us through them as he reveals to us his character and his will for the salvation of the world. We believe they are without error, as God has preserved them throughout the ages to be his final authority for all faith and life.

 

Who are we?

We believe human beings were created by God in love as ones who are made in his image and likeness. Our sin has resulted in both physical and spiritual death, and we desperately need to be made completely new by his saving grace.

 

What is salvation?

We believe that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection provide the only possible way for our salvation, and we are completely and forever saved only by God’s grace. Only as one receives this good and perfect gift from God—by repentance and faith in Jesus—is someone born of the Holy Spirit and made a child of God.

 

We have an enemy?

We believe that Satan is a created being who sinned through pride, and, along with his fallen angels, has become the enemy of God and God’s people.

 

Who is the Church?

We believe that God’s Church is made up of all of his people who have been born again through a saving faith in Jesus. We are different parts of one body—the Body of Christ—and Jesus is the head.

Furthermore, we believe that a local church is a local body of believers who join together for worship, to serve one another with gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit, and to bless the world. We believe the local church is the tangible, present expression of God’s universal Church, and that we fulfill the purpose of the universal Church in the world.

 

What about baptism and communion?

We believe that baptism with water and holy communion are incredible blessings we must participate in while we wait for Jesus to return, and that both of these are designated only for the community of faith.

 

What—or who—is our source of hope?

We believe that Jesus himself—the same Jesus who lived and walked in 1st-century Palestine—will return soon, and that this great anticipation should encourage his followers to live a godly and fruitful life. Jesus described his followers as the “salt” and “light” of the earth, and our faith and hope in him should impact every part of our lives and bless our society.

 

Where does all this lead?

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all who die. We believe those who reject Jesus receive the tragedy of eternal separation from him, but those who have received God’s gift of salvation through Jesus experience blessings forever in the wonderful presence of God.