GOD
We believe in the one true and living God, the Creator of all things. God is eternal, existing from everlasting to everlasting. This one true God consists of three: the Father, the Word (or Son), and the Holy Ghost, Who together in perfect unity are one. We are to have no other gods before Him.
SCRIPTURE
We believe the Word of God as found in the sixty-six (66) books from Genesis to Revelation is infallible and inerrant and perfect; it is the plenary and verbally inspired words of God to men. We believe God has also preserved every single word through the ages.
CREATION
We believe all things were created by God the Father. We believe that the Word (the Son of God) was with God and that all things were made by and through Him and that without Him was not anything made that was made. We believe that the Spirit of God moved upon Creation and was also instrumental in bringing man to life. The original Creation was completed in six literal days.
CHRIST JESUS
We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the virgin-born, sinless Son of God. We believe that Jesus is from everlasting, that Jesus is before all things, and that from the beginning Jesus was with God and was God. Jesus is the First and the Last, the Author and Finisher of our faith, and the Almighty. Without ceasing to be God, Jesus became flesh. Jesus is the only Saviour, the Head of the church, and the only Mediator between God and man.
HOLY GHOST
We believe that the Holy Ghost is God. The Holy Ghost reproves the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Ghost indwells all believers, bearing witness that they are sons of God, and is the earnest of their salvation, sealing them unto the day of redemption. It is God’s will to pour out His Spirit on all of us in these last days, enduing us with power that we might be more effective witnesses. The Holy Ghost also imparts spiritual gifts, but does so as He wills.
SATAN
We believe that Satan is a created being. Iniquity was found in him, being lifted up in pride; he rebelled against God and was cast out from his position in Heaven. Satan tempts man and is a murderer, the father of lies, and the accuser of the brethren. Satan is to be resisted by us but not feared. We look forward to the day when he will be thrust through with the Sword coming out of Christ’s mouth, trampled under our feet, and cast into the lake of fire.
THE FAMILY
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel for sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. She is the gatekeeper of her home (Prov. 31:27) looking out for all who live inside of it.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18-25; 3:1-20; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Josh. 24:15; 1 Sam. 1:26-28;
Ps. 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Prov. 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31;
Eccl. 4:9-12; 9:9; Mal. 2:14-16; Matt. 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Rom. 1:18-32;
1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Tim. 5:8,14; 2 Tim. 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7.
THE CHURCH
We believe the local church is composed of members who have been saved and baptized according to the command of Christ, and have voluntarily united together for the purposes of worship, fellowship, service, and observance of the ordinances of baptism and communion. We believe all true believers will be taken up at the rapture, just prior to the tribulation. (Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 1:15; Acts 2:41-43; Acts 11:15; Acts 20:28; I Corinthians 15: 51-58; Ephesians 1:12-14; Ephesians 5:25-30; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Timothy 3:4-15)
SIN
We believe all men were born with an inherited sin nature received from our common ancestor, Adam. We believe that because of his nature, man is a sinner by choice, and he is totally incapable of reforming himself or ceasing from his sin by his own power. We believe the only hope of deliverance for man is a total change of heart concerning his sinful condition and inability to change it, and a turning to Jesus Christ as the only Saviour. We believe that only through the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross can a man be delivered from his sin. We believe that all those who reject Jesus Christ as their Saviour are already condemned to an eternity in the lake of fire. (Genesis 5:1-5; Acts 4:19; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:10-23; Romans 5:6-12; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6; Revelation 20:11-14)
END TIMES
We believe in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures in their grammatical and historical context. We believe in the pre-tribulational rapture of the church saints, followed by the seven-year tribulation. We believe in the pre-millennial return of Christ to the earth and His literal rule of 1,000 years. Following this one-thousand-year reign is the Great White Throne judgment and then the new heaven and new earth. (I Corinthians 15:51-58; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Thessalonians 5:1-9; Revelation 19-22)