We believe the Scriptures to be the inspired and inerrant Word of God. They are revelation from God to man, the infallible rule of faith and conduct.
[II Tim. 3:16; I Peter 2:2]
We believe in one God, eternal and self-existent, self-revealed, and manifested to man as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin, Mary. We believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and shed His blood as a sacrifice for our sins; He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High.
We believe in the personal, literal second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to judge both the quick and the dead. We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit to glorify Christ, to convict men of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to empower the believer.
[Deut. 6:4, Mark 12:29, Isa. 43:10-11, Matt. 28:19, John 1:1, 14, Mat. 1:18, Luke 1:26-27, Luke 2:7, I Tim. 2:5, I Pet. 2:24, Heb. 9:11-14, I Cor. 15:3-8, Acts 2:32-36, Heb. 10:12, I Thess. 4:16, Heb. 9:27, I Cor. 15:51-52, Rev. 20:11-15, Acts 24:15, John 15:26, John 16:8, 14, Acts 1:8]
We believe that man was created in the image of God but fell into sin. We believe that man can be justified only by grace through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that water baptism identifies us with the death and burial of Christ, and that we should arise to walk in newness of life. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all the dead. We believe in everlasting blessedness for the believer, with judgment and everlasting punishment for the unbeliever.
[Gen. 1:26-31; Gen. 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12-21] [Eph. 4:11-12; Rom. 3:24-28] [Rom. 6:3-9; I Pet. 3:21] [Acts 24:15; I Cor. 15:35-44; Rev. 20:11-15] [Mat. 7:21-23; Rev. 20:11-15; John 5:29]
We believe that the true Church is composed of such persons who, through saving faith in Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe that Christ wants the members of His Church to carry the Gospel into all the world. We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is God’s instrument to establish and extend God’s Kingdom until the literal coming of Christ to reign over all the earth. We believe the church to be more than just a building or a gathering of people. It is a body, living in relationship and harmony under direction of the head, Jesus Christ. We believe that in all matters concerning the Body of Christ, in its direction, discipline, ministry, and functioning that specific guidance and instruction, revelation, and discernment of truth from falsehood, is available by the leading of the Holy Spirit who enables us to know spiritual things by the Spirit.
[I Pet. 2:4-5; Eph. 2:19-22.] [Mat. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8] [Rev. 11:15] [I Cor. 6:15; II Cor. 1:1; Rom. 16:5; I Pet. 2:4-5; Eph. 2:19-22; I Cor. 12:12-31; Rom. 12:4-5; Eph. 4:11-16] [Acts 13:1-3; I Tim. 1:18; Rom. 8:14; I Tim. 5:22; John 16:13-15; I Cor. 5:3]
We believe that the Holy Spirit is at work today within the church through His gifts, fruits, and anointed ministers. We believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to every believer and need to be activated and exercised to fulfill their divine purpose of blessing the Body of Christ.
We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit wherein the Spirit is sent to gift each believer with their own private prayer/praise language used to edify themselves, and that such a baptism empowers the believer to be effective for Christ. We believe in divine healing of the body as part of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. This healing can be received and ministered to others by various gifts
[Acts 2:39; Rom. 12:6-8; I Cor. 12:1-11; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 4:11; I Cor. 12:28.] [Acts 2:39; II Tim. 1:6.] [Acts 1:8; Acts 2:39; I Cor. 14:2; Jude 20; I Cor. 14:18; Acts 19:1-6.] [I Cor. 12:8-10; Mat. 8:16-17; I Pet. 2:24]
We believe in the full function of the five-fold ministry which was
given to perfect and equip the saints so they can enter into the
work of their ministry, thereby edifying the whole Body of Christ.
We believe in the present-day ministries of the apostles and
prophets, which Christ has set in the church as foundational and
revelational ministries. We believe these two ministries will be
restored to function in full power and authority before the literal
second coming of Christ.
[Eph. 4:11-16; I Cor. 12:28] [Eph. 2:20; Acts 3:21]
We believe in church discipline administered within the
relational group in a spirit of meekness and confidentiality. The
purpose of such discipline is the restoration of the one subject to
the discipline and/or the purification of the relational group. The
steps of discipline are one-on-one private confrontation, private
confrontation with witnesses, and, finally, exposure to the
relational group for judgment leading to restoration or
separation.
[Mat. 18:15-20; Gal. 6:1; Rom. 16:17; II John 9-11; I Cor. 5; II
Cor. 2:6-8; I Tim. 5:20]
The Church, by its very composition, is a membership
organization. The local church is the manifestation within our
society of The Church. Each local church exists for an express
purpose in God’s plan. Individual members of the Body of Christ
will wish to associate with our congregation as members. All
believers are members of The Church. The Lord will call some
individuals as members of a local congregation. As members of
this local congregation, they are given into the care and oversight
of the leadership which must give an account to God for their
souls. The eldership team of the local congregation shall have the
right to determine who may attend church meetings and functions.
This church is owned by the Lord Jesus Christ who has entrusted
the care of the flock to the leadership He has raised up here. It is
not a place of public accommodation, nor is it a public institution,
and its property is not a public place but is, rather, private
property belonging to this church.
[Acts 20:28-31; II Peter 2:1-3; I Tim. 1:20; 6:5; I Cor. 5:1-13; II
Thess. 3:6-15; II John 9-11; II Tim. 3:1-5; Titus 3:10-11; Rom.
16:17]
Repentance is a gift from God. It is simply not true that a person
can repent at any time. Repentance is dependent upon the
convicting action of the Holy Spirit in the lives of sinners and
believers. The conviction of the Holy Spirit, which often
accompanies the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will
result in the revelation of the sinfulness of self which should lead
to Godly sorrow. Remorse, or worldly sorrow, is a feeling of deep
regret, hopelessness, or even despair. It does not lead to
constructive change. On the other hand, Godly sorrow, which
may at times be mistaken for worldly sorrow, produces
repentance which causes us to turn away from sin and
selfishness and to receive faith for change. Worldly sorrow is
destructive, but repentance is life-giving. Repentance changes
the way we feel and act about sin, self, and God. Repentance is a
total change of heart, mind, attitude, emotions, will, action, and
lifestyle flowing form the turmoil and sorrow of Holy Spirit
conviction of sin.
[II Cor. 7:10; Psalms 51; Acts 11:18; II Tim. 2:25; Gen. 6:3; Rom.
1:18-32; Mat. 9:12-13]
We believe as members of the same body of Christ, baptized by
one spirit into one body, that we must endeavor to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace and that we should not bring a
lawsuit against another Christian individual or ministry unless all
scriptural principles have been complied with through efforts of
mediation. We believe that all such disputes should be resolved
within the Body of Christ without taking them before unbelievers
for judgment.
[I Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:3-6]
We believe that God speaks today. We believe that hearing from
God, both individually as members and corporately as a church
and association of churches, through prophecy or any other
biblical means chosen by God to communicate, is essential to our
faith and walk with God. Prophecy and prophetic utterance are
only one method of discerning God’s will and direction, and it is
recognized that none of the methods or channels of prophecy will
always be 100 percent accurate and actions should not be taken on
the basis of prophetic words alone without other confirmation. We
believe that prophetic presbytery serves the purpose in the Body
of Christ in activating, establishing, releasing, commissioning, and
ordaining gifts to their office, function, and place of relationship
and/or leadership.
[I Cor. 14:3, Eph. 4:11; Eph. 2:20; I Tim. 4:14; Acts 13:1-3; Titus
1:5; Rom. 12:6; I Pet. 4:10; I Cor. 14:39; I Cor. 14:1; I Thess.
5:19-21; I Tim. 5:22; II Tim. 1:6]
We believe in two primary New Testament ordinances: Baptism
by immersion and The Lord’s Supper. However, we do not
believe that the administration of such ordinances is limited to
ordained or licensed ministers. We believe in the priesthood of
believers.
Ordination and licensing in this church is a separation and
recognition of a specific gifting of God. We believe that God calls
men into specific ministries as apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors, and teachers. God calls and man can only recognize the
call and acknowledge it. Ordination is based on that recognition
of God’s gifting. Individuals called to a specific office by God, and
ordained or licensed by this church, will have the right to
participate in the traditional sacramental and ordinal functions of
the church such as marriage, funerals, baptisms, and the like.
They shall also be expected to function in the spiritual giftings of
their office and to demonstrate the reality of their calling.
This church is a non-sacramental protestant church. We reject
the efficacy of ritual and the concept of a separate priestly class.
We recognize the priesthood of believers and the serving
ministry of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher
with government by elders. As such, we recognize that those
called to those offices will function in a manner to lead by
example in prayer, worship, teaching, laying on of hands, and
prophesying and that such actions on the part of those ordained
and licensed by this church are equivalent to the sacramental
function of the priesthood in traditional sacramental churches.
We believe that the scriptures are clear concerning helping those
in need. We are commanded to do good to all people as we have
opportunity, with a special emphasis upon caring for those who
profess to be fellow Christians, especially those of our own
fellowship of believers. We are commanded to be generous and
willing to share, laying up treasure for ourselves in the coming age
by our kindness and generosity in this life. This is true for the
church as an organization as well as for the individual members of
the church. Therefore, in accordance with the biblical commands,
as a fundamental aspect of the practice of our faith, we will share
of our material goods with those in need and will minister to them
to the best of our abilities, whatever the need.
[Prov. 25:21; Is. 58:10; Gal. 6:10; 1 Tim. 6:18-19; Heb. 13:16]
God has entrusted the church the solemn Biblical responsibility of
being the conscience of society, culture, and government. As such,
the church has a duty before God to speak to the issues that arise
from and relate to society, culture, and government. Specifically,
the church, in the tradition of the prophets, is required to call
government to account before God for the actions taken by the
government with the view toward keeping the government in its
proper role and relationship as a steward under God of the
resources of the nation. The church has a divine mandate to
practice its religion as dictated by God. The earth is the Lord’s and
the fullness thereof. The church is the blood-bought bride of Christ
of whom Jesus is the head, the Lord, and the only master. As such
we categorically reject any and all claims by the state to headship
or sovereignty over the church. When earthly governments leave
their God-ordained sphere of responsibility and seek to restrain,
hamper, or limit the church’s obedience to Christ in all areas of
life, then the church must and will obey God rather than man and
must also confront the government with its error and call it back to
its proper place under God.
[I Kings 18:18; II Chron. 15:1-4; Matt. 5:13-14; Acts 12:23; I
Sam. 15:14-35] [Exodus 8, 9, 10; Daniel 3, 6; Acts 4:19; 5:29]
The need for deliverance manifests by an inability to be free from a
bondage: e.g., mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual normally
associated with demon activity. It is God’s desire to bring
deliverance to His people. We have been granted the authority, in
the name of Jesus, to bring deliverance to others. We must
understand that our warfare is with the forces of evil, our weapon
is the word of God, our authority and power is from Jesus Himself,
and that the battlefield is in the spiritual realms.
[Job 5:19, Psalms 91:3, II Timothy 4:13; Hebrews 2:15; II Peter
2:9] [Mark 16:17, John 14:12; I Cor. 12:8-11] [Eph. 6:12] [Mark
16:17, Acts 1:8] [Eph. 6:10-18, II Cor. 10:3-5, Rom. 8:9, Gal.
5:22-23]
We believe in the creation and God as the Creator. We believe that
God created man and that He created them male and female. As
such, He created them different to complement and complete each
other. God instituted monogamous marriage between male and
female as the foundation of the family, the basic structure of
human society.
