STATEMENT OF FAITH AND DOCTRINE
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. There is only one God, but He exists eternally in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. He was born of the virgin Mary, and lived a sinless human life. He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose bodily from the dead after three days. He ascended to heaven where He is presently seated at the right hand of the throne of God from where He reigns over His kingdom. He will return again someday to take believers home to heaven with Him.
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He lives in every Christian from the moment of their baptism. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right.
The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is God’s inspired and authoritative word. The human authors wrote as they were guided by the Holy Spirit. Since God’s word is the only completely reliable and truthful authority, we accept the Bible as our manual for living and the basis for all we believe.
Salvation is offered to us through the grace of God in the person of our Savior Jesus Christ. We respond to that offer of grace by accepting Christ as our Lord. In doing so we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, repent of our sins, confess faith in Him, and are baptized by immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and to be added to the Church.
Christians are disciples of Christ who have accepted salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and are committed to following the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ in their daily life.
The Christian life is lived by faith and trust in Christ and fellowship with Him, for He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” The Christian life demonstrates itself in service to God and service to fellow men of all positions in life. It is summed up in the two great commandments: Love your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.
The Church, which is described in the Scriptures as Christ’s body, is composed of all people who have accepted Christ in faith and have surrendered their lives to Him in baptism.
The local church or congregation is a group of christians who meet in a particular location on a regular basis. Each congregation is independent and autonomous. The members of the local church meet on the first day of the week to worship God, to break bread in remembrance of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, for edification, to contribute to the work of the church and to have fellowship with one another. The local church is to carry out the work of evangelism, edification, benevolence and discipline under the oversight of Elders through Deacons, Ministers and Evangelists.