STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Word of God
The Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, alone is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and having supreme authority in all matters of faith and life.
The Trinity
There is One living and true God, eternally existing in three Persons. They are equal in every divine perfection, and They execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
God the Father
We believe that God is the Eternal King. He is an infinite, unchangeable Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power, and love. From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory.
Jesus Christ
We believe that in the fullness of time, God honored His covenants with Israel and His prophetic promises of salvation by sending His only Son, Jesus, into the world. Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, as fully God and fully man in one person, He is humanity as God intended us to be. Jesus was anointed as God’s Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit, inaugurating God’s Kingdom reign on earth, overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation, preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead. Gathering His disciples, He reconstituted God’s people as His dying for the sins of the world; Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day, fulfilling the covenant of blessing given to Abraham.
In His sinless, perfect life, Jesus met the demands of the law and in His atoning death on the cross He took God’s judgment for sin which we deserve as lawbreakers. By His death on the cross, He also disarmed the demonic powers. His death on the cross also opened up healing as part of the gospel to be preached.
The covenant with David was fulfilled in Jesus’ birth from David’s house, His Messianic ministry, His glorious resurrection from the dead, His ascent into heaven, and His present rule at the right hand of the Father. As God’s Son and David’s heir, He is the eternal Messiah King, advancing God’s reign throughout every generation and throughout the whole earth today.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is sent from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit, as the abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide, indwells every believer in Christ and endows each believer with spiritual gifts for ministry to the family of God and the world.
We believe in the present ministry of the Spirit and in the exercise of all biblical gifts of the Spirit. We practice the laying on of hands for the empowering of the Spirit, for healing, for impartations of gifts of the Holy Spirit, and for recognition and empowering of those whom God has ordained to lead and serve the church. We also recognize that another of the two ways recorded in the Bible that God empowers people is through individual or corporate prayer and waiting upon God, and in this latter scenario there is no laying on of hands. We value both of these ways of receiving impartations and empowering experiences from God.
Salvation
The central purpose of God’s revelation in the Bible is to call all people into awareness of their sin, the availability of God’s marvelous grace, and the need for repentance and faith that results in complete forgiveness and fellowship with God. All people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under the judgment of God. Those who call on the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness, believe in His resurrection and receive Him as their Savior are granted salvation, forgiveness of their sin and are regenerated by the Holy Spirit into a new life in Christ. This act of salvation is based solely on the grace and mercy of God and is not the result of human deeds or goodness.