We believe in one God, who lives eternally in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image..." Genesis 1:26, NIV
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only..." John 1:1 & 14, NIV
Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father..." John 14:9, NIV
"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" Hebrews 9:14, NIV
"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." Galatians 4:6, NIV
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." Matthew 28:19, NIV
We believe the Holy Bible is God's own words to us, as given to holy men. We believe the Bible is infallible and unbreakable.
"All your words are true;all your righteous laws are eternal." Psalm 119:160, NIV
"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21, NIV
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV
We do not debate which Bible translation is "best", because we believe that it is God Himself who preserves His Word, whatever translation is used.
God said, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11, NIV
We believe that all people are sinners by nature and in practice, and separated from God because of that sin.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23, NIV
"But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe." Galatians 3:22, NIV
"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separate you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:1-2, NIV
We believe that God Himself, in the Person of Jesus, the Son, took on human flesh and was born of a virgin.
"But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." Lk. 1:30-35, NIV
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14, NIV
We believe that when Jesus was on the earth, He was in all points tempted, as we are, but never sinned.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:15-16, NIV
We believe that Jesus gave Himself a blood sacrifice for our sins when He died on the cross, and that His blood is the atonement for the sins of the whole world.
"Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest
[Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God." Hebrews 10:11-12, NIV
"And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood." Hebrews 13:12, NIV
"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." I John 2:2, NIV
We believe that Jesus physically and literally came back from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion, showing Himself alive to many witnesses.
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep." 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, NIV
We believe that no amount of good works or religious deeds can earn eternal life.
"Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent." John 6:28-29
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast" Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV
We believe that eternal life is offered freely to any who will receive Jesus.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18, NIV
"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 4:21-22
We believe in a literal hell, a place of fire and torment that was prepared by God for the devil and his demons, where unbelievers will be cast at the end of their lives on earth.
"And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelation 20:10, NIV
"The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:13-15, NIV
We believe that once a person has believed in Jesus, they are held eternally by God's promise, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." John 6:37, NIV
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24, NIV
Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:38-39, NIV
We believe that once a person has trusted in Jesus as Savior, they become God's child, and are expected by God to develop a personal relationship with Him.
"Yet to all who received Him [Jesus], to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." John 1:12-13, NIV
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!" Hebrews 12:5-9, NIV
"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory." Romans 8:15-17, NIV
We are non-denominational, but not anti-denominational. We believe that all who have come to Jesus are a part of the Body of Christ, and each member of the Body is necessary to the health and well-being of other members, whether other members realize it or not.
"Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." Romans 12:3-5, NIV
"...God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." I Corinthians 12:24-26, NIV
We believe in a literal "Rapture" of the children of God. That is, we believe that Jesus Himself will meet us in the clouds, raising the dead and lifting the living believers, instantly and bodily, to Himself.
"According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." 1st Thessalonians 4:15-18, NIV
We believe that Jesus is literally and physically returning to the earth to establish His kingdom, and those who have received Jesus will live with Him forever.
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:1-5, NIV
