Who We Are & What We Believe

Mission Statement

Our mission is to bring people into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and help them become his fully devoted followers.

Our Vision

We are striving to be a community of Christ followers made new in God's love so that His good may be known and experienced throughout the world.

More about us

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What We Believe

We believe the Bible, a closed canon of 66 books, to be the only inspired written

revelation of God. Men "were carried along by the Holy Spirit" to write the words of

Scripture. These original writings (autographs) were without error; the copies and

translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent they faithfully represent the

original manuscripts. The Bible is God's infallible (true/reliant) and authoritative standard

for Christian faith, thought and practice. Responsible reading and interpretation of the

Bible must be done in light of its intended purpose of revealing God's will for the

redemption of sinful people through his Son Jesus Christ. We are mindful of the

responsibility and honor that is ours to "correctly handle the word of truth" (Psalm

119:105,160, II Timothy 2:15, II Timothy 3:14-17, II Peter 1:19-21).

We believe in the one, true and living God, the Creator, Ruler and Sustainer of the

universe (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4, John 1:3, Colossians 1:16), who has eternally

existed in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-

17, Matthew 28:19, John 1:1, John 10:30, Galatians 4:4-6, Hebrews 9:14).

We believe in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God (John 1:1), who was conceived by the

Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, took on human nature yet was without sin (Matthew

1:18-25, John 1:1-3, Philippians 2:7, Hebrews 4: 15). Jesus is fully God and fully man

(John 10:30, 38, Hebrews 1:3).

We believe in the deity and person of the Holy Spirit, who convicts men of their sin and

need for salvation (John 16:7-8), draws them to the Savior, causes them to be born again

spiritually (regeneration) (John 3:5, 6:63), indwells every true believer and fills each one

as he/she surrenders to his will (John 7:38-39, I Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 1:13-14,

5:8). He bestows spiritual gifts to serve God through his church (I Corinthians 12) and

provides guidance, power and understanding of spiritual truth (John 16:13-15, Acts 1:8,

Romans 8:1-16,26-27, Galatians 5:16-25).

We believe that man was created in the image of God as male and female (Genesis 1:27).

All human beings are equal in value and designed for relationship (fellowship) with God

and each other (Galatians 3:28, I John 1:3-4). Man sinned (Romans 5:12, 18) and thereby

incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death (separation from God); everyone

is born with a sinful nature (Genesis 2:17, Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:10-23, Romans 6:23,

Ephesians 2:1-3).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified under Pontius Pilate and died for

sinners (Isaiah 53, Romans 5:6-8, I Corinthians 15:3, I John 2:2) as a representative and

substitutionary sacrifice (II Corinthians 5:21, I Peter 2:24, I John 4:10), and that all who

place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are justified (declared righteous) by grace alone

on the basis of his shed blood (Acts 13:39, Romans 3:24, 4:24, 5:1,9, Ephesians 2:8-9,

Hebrews 9:22).

We believe that salvation is God's gift (which cannot be merited by anyone through

his/her own effort), and everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ should desire to

respond with a life characterized by gratitude and good works (Ephesians 2:10). After

trusting in Christ, we must choose to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as he transforms us

to Christlikeness (Ephesians 4:11-13, Philippians 2:12-13, Colossians 1:28-29). A

believer loves God by walking in obedience (holiness) to the commands of God

contained in Scripture and will persevere in it by faith in God's keeping power

(Ephesians 1:4, II Timothy 1:9, I Peter 1:2,5,14-16). In the world but not of it (John

15:19, 17:14), we must relate to the world as both aliens/strangers (Hebrews 11:13-16)

and as ambassadors/witnesses (Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 5:18-20) to make Christ known

among the nations (Matthew 28:18-20) as we "act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly

with our God" (Micah 6:8).

We believe in the bodily resurrection (John 20:11-29, Acts 1:3, 3:15, I Corinthians 15:3-

8) and visible ascension of Jesus Christ to the right hand of the Father in heaven (Luke

24:51, Acts 1:9-11, Ephesians 1:20-22, Hebrews 1:3) where he rules his kingdom (I

Corinthians 15:24-28, Philippians 2:9-11), intercedes as High Priest for his people

(Romans 8:34, Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:25) and prepares a place for each of them (John 14:1-

4).

We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians

1:18), described as the "body of Christ" (I Corinthians 12:12-27), and is composed of all

those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior (John 1:12, 3:16-18, Acts 16:31,

Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:1-10). The purpose of the Church is to join God in bringing

the gospel to all people groups (Matthew 28:18-20, Revelation 7:9).

We believe in the holy ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. These two

ordinances are direct commands to believers from Jesus. Baptism is an initiatory rite to

the Christian faith (Matthew 28:19, Acts 8:34-39, Romans 6:3-4), and the Lord's Supper

is an ongoing memorial and proclamation of Christ's death for our sins until he returns

(Luke 22:19-20, I Corinthians 11:23-29).

We believe in the existence of immaterial spiritual beings who were created by God.

Angels are sinless, ministering spirits whom God sends to serve the Church (Hebrews

1:14). Demons are fallen angels (II Peter 2:4) who chose to join Lucifer (Satan), a fallen

angel himself, in his rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:11-19). Cast out

of heaven, Satan and his demons malevolently oppose God's work on earth until they are

"thrown into the lake of fire" (Ephesians 6:11-12, Revelation 12:7-17, 20:10).

We believe in "the blessed hope"-the imminent, visible return of Jesus Christ to Earth

(Matthew 24:27, I Thessalonians 4:16-17, Titus 2:13). For all people there will be a

resurrection of the body into the spiritual world and a judgment that will determine the

fate of each individual (I Corinthians 15, II Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20:11-15).

Believers will enjoy everlasting life in the presence of their Lord and will be rewarded for

works done in this life (I Corinthians 3:8, Ephesians 6:8). For rejecting Jesus Christ

unbelievers will be condemned to everlasting, conscious punishment, forever separated

from him (Matthew 25:46, Revelation 20:15).

Baptism

What do we believe?
Baptism is a public profession of your faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  When you are baptized, you are giving testimony to the fact that you have put aside your old sinful life and have accepted the life that Christ has given you through His death and resurrection.  In short, you are telling the world that you are dead to sin but alive in Christ!  In baptism you have announced to the church that you are making a commitment to God to become a fully devoted follower of Christ. 

Who should be baptized?
All those who have trusted Christ as their Savior should be baptized.  Remember, this is a public statement of your trust in Christ.  If you do not believe in Jesus, you would have nothing to profess.

Why should we be baptized?
We are to be baptized because we are to be obedient to Christ.  Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28:18-20 to "make disciples" and to "baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all I have commanded you, and I will be with you always, even to the very end of the days."  There are numerous other accounts in the Bible where we see those who believe in Christ being baptized (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8; 19:5).  The precedent was set by Christ and his apostles and is still an important step toward Christian maturity.

If you are interested in being baptized, please fill out an information card on Sunday morning, or E-mail Nancy and request information about the next baptism celebration.