What We Believe About God
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As followers of Jesus, we affirm both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.
There is one God, who has always been. He exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God created everything, and He maintains it according to His will. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
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Jesus, though He lived on Earth as a real man, has always been fully God as well. His mother was a virgin when Jesus was born, and throughout his life He never sinned. He performed real miracles. (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35)
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When Jesus was executed on the cross, He died in our place for our sin, making a way for us to live spiritually in fellowship with God. (Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
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After being brought back to life by the Father, the Son went up to heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 7:25, 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2)
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On a day known only to the Father, Jesus will return to earthly time and space in a shocking and awe-inspiring way to call His followers to Himself forever. (Mark 13:32, 2 Timothy 4:1)
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What We Believe About the Scriptures
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The Bible is God’s unfailing and authoritative written Word, complete and without error. It is true for all people in all places at all times. (Matthew 5:18, Luke 21:33, John 5:39, 16:12-13, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21)
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God made us to worship Him with our whole lives. Everything we do, no matter what it is, should be done to please Him. He has outlined what pleases Him (and what doesn’t) in the Scriptures. (Micah 6:8, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Timothy 3:14-15)
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Faith is built in people who read God’s Word and hear His voice. We are meant to teach people what it means and how to apply it to their lives. (Romans 10:17, 1 Timothy 4:13, 2 Timothy 2:2,)
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Regular reading of the Scriptures is vital for believers. That’s how we know about God and who He is, and how we learn what He wants from and for us. (Psalm 119:105, Matthew 4:4, Colossians 3:16, Hebrews 4:12)
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What We Believe About Humanity
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God created humans to somehow resemble Himself. We are not God (and never will be God); but, God’s image on us makes all human life sacred, spiritual, and priceless.
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When the first humans rebelled against God in their hearts, something happened that affected all of humanity. From that point on, everyone has been born separated from God. This means that everything we are and all that we do is less than what God intended, and that there is no possibility of communion with Him except for the Way He has provided in and through Jesus. (Genesis 1:26-28, Romans 5:12-21)
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What We Believe About Salvation
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All people are spiritually dead until they enter a right relationship with the Father through saving faith in Jesus Christ, by the work of the Holy Spirit. All people who do not know God, whether they are “good” or “bad” by human standards, are cursed with life apart from Him and to eternal punishment. Physical death is not the end of a person. The Spirit lives in all Christians, and enables them to live according to God’s will. (Romans 3:22-24, Ephesians 2:1-3)
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One day, those who know Christ will be welcomed by the Creator for all eternity, and those who do not will suffer eternally separated from God. (Matthew 25:30-34)
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Salvation isn’t earned, it is a free gift. God’s people are those who are brought to life spiritually and allowed to participate in community with Him and to do good works in obedience to His leadership. (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 15:16)
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Humans aren’t saved without their knowledge. The only appropriate response to spiritual salvation is the abandonment of one’s values, beliefs, direction, and control and the adoption of God’s, which are presented to us in the Scriptures. (Acts 2:38, Ephesians 4:17-32)
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Since saved people don’t do anything to earn their salvation, there’s nothing they can do to lose it. Sure, you can disobey God and disappoint Him. He will discipline those who follow Him. Even then, those who are saved will always be saved. (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5)
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God uses means to communicate the message of his glory and the good news of salvation. All believers need to be constantly telling the people around them that God is in charge, and to be demonstrating that reality in their everyday lives. The message is pretty simple: that God has provided a way (Jesus) for people to be forgiven of sin and brought into relationship with Him. (Mark 16:15, Luke 6:46, Acts 4:12, James 1:22-25)
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God uses the spreading of that message and the examples set by obedient believers to show people who He is and to save them. His Holy Spirit communicates with people through us. (Matthew 28:18-20)
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What We Believe About the Church
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Those who are alive in Christ experience a unique spiritual unity. Something about the Spirit living in us makes us family. He is the basis of our community. (1 John 1:3, 7, 1 Corinthians 12)
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God gives individual believers different spiritual gifts. These are the roles they tend to embody as they participate in and take care of the church. (1 Corinthians 12, 14)
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Believers have a heritage of unity and meeting together. The first church committed themselves to putting Jesus’ teachings into practice and encouraging others to do the same. They spent time together eating and enjoying each other’s company and talking to God through prayer. (Acts 2:42-47)
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Churches must be concerned about right understanding of the Christian faith. God does not change, nor does truth. How we communicate that truth must, however, change according to the cultural and sub-cultural context in which we minister. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
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Indigeneity is a beautiful and vital part of God’s kingdom. Believers everywhere should be able to worship in a way that is appropriate to their culture. No one should have to learn to operate in another culture in order to participate in the Church. (Acts 15, 1 Corinthians 7:18-19)
While it may be more spiritually safe to teach people to follow Jesus from within a church setting, we respect the existing social structures in which people move and relate. Indigenous expressions of church require local implementation of universal truth. (Acts 10:24-27, 16:31)
We believe that there can never be too many churches. Planting new churches allows for new expressions of Christianity that are accessible to all people. (Matthew 9:16-18) Churches should send out and support godly believers to obediently participate in what God is doing locally, domestically, and globally. (Acts 1:8, 13:1-3)