What We Believe

Love God -- Love People -- Make Disciples

Encounter Jesus -- Know Christ -- Reflect Him

It is important to point out that the sum of our beliefs cannot be contained in such a limited space, but we have attempted to communicate some of the most important basic things for you to understand, and to know where we are coming from as we teach, speak, and worship.

We believe that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), but that He reveals Himself in three persons, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, the theological word for this is Trinity.
We believe that God spoke all things into existence (Genesis 1-2). God is holy (Deuteronomy 32:4; Leviticus 11:45; 1 John 1:5). God is love (1 John 4:16; Exodus 34:6-7). God is impartial (Colossians 3:25;  Romans 10:10-13).

God the Father is often who we think of when we read “God” in the Bible. We see God the Father specifically in Matthew 3:17, He speaks at Jesus’ baptism. He is the One to Whom Jesus prays (Matthew 26:39-44; John 17). Jesus spends a great deal of time talking about the Father in John 13-16), it is the Father’s will and glory for which Jesus lives.

We believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:19; Luke 1:26-33). Jesus was fully human and fully God (Hebrews 1:2-3, 4:14-16; Colossians 1:15-20. John 1:1-18). Jesus is sinless (1 Peter 1:18-20). Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for our sins (Colossians 2:13-15; Romans 3:25; 1 John 4:9-10). Jesus was crucified and raised, thus defeating sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Jesus is the way to The Father and eternal life (Acts 4:12; John 14:1-7). Jesus prays to God the Father for us (Romans 8:32-34).

The Holy Spirit convicts mankind of their sin (John 16:8). It is the Spirit that indwells us and gives us the ability to produce fruit of righteousness and gifts us to accomplish what God has set for us (John 14:16-17; Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11). The Holy Spirit prays to God the Father for us (Romans 8:26-27).

We believe that all Scripture, though physically written by humans, was inspired, or prompted, by the Holy Spirit. Through Scripture God reveals Himself, His plan, His character, and His will for our lives (2 Timothy 3:16-18). While God reveals Himself to us in a variety of way, Scripture is what we believe carries authority, and the standard to which all other things must be measured.

We believe The Church to be the people of God worldwide, our congregation is just a small part of The Church. Christ instituted The Church to carry-out His mission in the world. We are called to hold each other accountable (Mattthew 7:1-6; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13), to help each other in need (Galatians 6:9-10), and to spur each other on to love and good works (Hebrews 10:23-25).

Human beings were created as male and female and in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:4-25). That image bearing capacity became marred when the first man and woman (Adam and Eve) sinned, we call this “the fall,” furthermore, death, disaster, and pain entered the world because of their sin (Genesis 3). God has been working to restore the image bearing capacity of mankind ever since “the fall” (Genesis 4-Revelation 22). Since God is Holy He cannot be in the presence of unholiness, which is exactly what sin is, throughout the Old Testament (Genesis-Malachi) animal sacrifices were made to atone for mankind’s sins. But Jesus came as the final atonement, to redeem mankind once and for all (see the passages about Jesus as our atoning sacrifice).
Jesus calls us to believe in Him as the sinless Son of God, to be baptized, and to live a life of obedience—all of which are a part of discipleship. Through believing and being baptized we accept God’s grace and forgiveness (Mark 16:16; John 3:1-15; Acts 2:37-39). Through living a life of obedience we begin to live out the image bearing capacity, albeit still imperfectly (Colossians 3; Roamans 7:14-25). God has provided all that is necessary for our forgiveness and has prepared good works for us, we simply have to respond and obey (Ephesians 2:8-10). We believe the life we are called to as Christians is a life of discipleship (Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 14:25-33).
Robert Mullholland defines discipleship as, being conformed to the image of Christ, for the sake of others. J.K. Jones explains discipleship this way, “God the Holy Spirit takes the initiative, through various means, in cooperation with our response, changes us to look like God the Son, in order to serve others, to the glory of God the Father.”
As we discussed characteristics that make up a disciple, we came up with a list of twelve characteristics/habits that we believe to be non-negotiable for a disciple, that list is below. To learn more about discipleship contact one of the ministers or elders.

Disciples Love -- Disciples Serve -- Disciples Pursue -- Disciples Disciple
Disciples Forgive -- Disciples Pray -- Disciples Study -- Disciples Commune
Disciples Obey -- Disciples Follow -- Disciples Bless -- Disciples Worship