What We Believe (Essential Doctrines)
We believe in one Eternal, Almighty God who has created everything, visible and invisible, for His pleasure and purpose.
(Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16; 1 Timothy 6:16)
We believe this One Creator God exists in an eternal communion of Three Persons- The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is God the Father’s only begotten Son, making Him fully God. We believe that he came down from heaven to save us, was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary, making Him fully man.
(Matthew 1:18; John 3:16; John 1:1, 14)
We believe he was crucified for our sake under Pontius Pilate and that he suffered death and was buried.
(Mark 15:25; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10)
We believe that he rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
(Luke 24:6; Acts 2:32; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
We believe He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
(Luke 24:51; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 10:12)
We believe He will come again, bodily, in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will never end.
(Matthew 24:30; Hebrews 9:28; Revelation 22:12)
We believe the Holy Spirit is the Lord God, separate from the Father and the Son in Person, but united to them completely in Deity.
(Matthew 28:19; John 15:26; 2 Corinthians 3:17)
We believe the Holy Spirit has spoken through the prophets and apostles, and that God’s message for us through them is preserved in the Holy Scriptures.
(Romans 15:25-27; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
We believe in one holy, universal Church, built on the foundation of the teaching of Christ’s apostles and consisting of all the faithful, both on earth and in Heaven.
(Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 2:19-21; 1 Timothy 3:15)
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
(Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21-22)
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
(1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Peter 3:13)
What We Believe (Concerning Gender, Marriage, and Sexuality)
Concerning gender, we believe…
… that in the beginning God created humanity male and female, and that these genders are determined by God and are expressed as a biological reality, and that this fact limits the number of possible genders to two only and that this establishes a divinely created order that applies to all people in all times and places. (Gen 1:27; Gen 5:2; Mt 19:4)
… that some people, because of our fallen nature, struggle with gender identity issues and suffer true turmoil and confusion because of this. Such a struggle neither validates a rejection of a person’s God-ordained gender nor places them outside of God’s reach for redemption. (Eph 2:3; Gal 5:17; Rom 5:8)
… that people struggling with gender identity issues should be shown the grace, mercy, and compassion that are found in Christ, and that the Church must come to their aid, sharing the truth in love, and helping them to walk through their difficulties. (Acts 17:30; Gal 6:1-3; Eph 4:15; Col 4:6)
Concerning marriage, we believe…
… that marriage was instituted by God from the beginning and was designed to reflect His Image which, at its core, is a Unity of Persons, and that marriage also serves the holy purpose of reflecting the relationship between Christ and His Bride, the Church. (Gen 1:27; Gen 2:22-25; Eph 5:31-32)
… that marriage is also the original context where God ordained that His image should be multiplied through pro-creation. While the fallenness of our world results in some married couples not being able to have children, it still stands that all children should be born to parents who are married. (Gen 1:28; Gen 2:24)
… that marriage according to God’s sovereign design is defined as the life-time union of one man and one woman which should be modeled and celebrated by God’s people. (Mt 19:6; Rom 7:2; Heb 13:4)
… that grace, mercy, and compassion must be shown toward those who have suffered brokenness in marriages that have not reflected God’s ideal, and that our goal in all times is to lead those who experience such brokenness into wholeness in Christ. (Gal 6:1-3; Eph 4:15)
Concerning sexuality, we believe…
… that sex is to be limited strictly to the marriage relationship, and that any departure from this is what the Lord has defined as sexual immorality, and, as such, is sin. Any person practicing sexual immorality in any form, including extra-marital heterosexual sex (adultery, ‘open marriage,’ pre-marital sex) and homosexual sex of any kind should be called to repentance. (1 Corinthians 6:13ff; Eph 5:19; 1Th 4:13)
… that sin is not in the struggle, but in the surrender to lust and/or sexually immoral acts. It is the Church’s calling to help people through their struggles, sexual or otherwise, in a gentle but uncompromising way, and people who struggle with self-control in their sexuality or who struggle with sinful sexual attraction should be lovingly, mercifully, and graciously called to surrender their sexuality to Christ. (Acts 17:30; Gal 6:1-3; Eph 4:15; Col 4:6)