We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the 2nd person of the Trinity. We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was in the beginning with God and without Him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:2-3) Jesus Christ is the Messiah spoken of and promised in the Law, Prophets, and Writings. (Gen. 3:15, 12:3; Is. 28:16, 40:3-5; Ps. 2) Jesus lived a sinless life (1st Pet. 2:22; 2nd Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15) and preformed numerous miracles to show his power over nature, sickness, and even death. Jesus came to earth so that those who would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16)

                  Jesus’ earthly ministry was meant to lead Him to the cross. (Heb. 12:1-2) The cross is not a defeat; Satan did not win on Calvary. It was at the cross that Jesus paid the price of sin (1st Jn. 2:2; Heb. 10:12), purchased His bride (Eph. 5:25), satisfied the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9), and destroyed the power of Satan (Heb. 2:14). All that Jesus accomplished on the cross was not symbolic or figurative. Jesus’ sacrifice paid our penalty for sin by dying in our place. Jesus received the full penalty of our sin, drank the bitter cup of God’s wrath on our behalf, and paid for sin once and for all those who would believe. Jesus really was killed on the cross (Jn. 19:30), was buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb (19:42), rose again after three days (Lk. 24:5-6), appeared on numerous occasions to his disciples (Jn. 20-21), and ascended to heaven (Lk. 24:50-53) where he is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2) constantly making intercession on our behalf (Heb. 9:24). In doing all these things Jesus mediated a new covenant (Heb. 9:15), one not dependent on man’s ability to obey, but on his finished work and sovereign choice alone.                  

                  The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Trinity. He is seen in creation hovering over the face of the deep (Gen 1:2). The Spirit has worked in various ways throughout the Old and New Testament. The Spirit was a sign of God’s presence amongst His covenant people as seen in the Tabernacle. In the Old Testament the Spirit would also come upon a person for a certain period of time for a specific purpose (ex. judges, prophets, kings) and when that end was completed He would leave. The Spirit would also leave an individual because of the consequences of sin in some instances. David expresses genuine fear of such an occasion in Psalm 51:10-11. However in the New Testament, after Christ’s ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension, the Holy Spirit is given to the church as a helper as Jesus had promised (Jn. 14:26, Acts 2). This Holy Spirit is the promised seal of the New Covenant as the prophets had prophesied (Ez. 36:27, 37:14; Joel 2:28).

                  The Holy Spirit works in harmony with God the Father and God the Son to bring about the work of salvation in an individual. The Father wrote salvation's plan, the Son pays for sin, and the Spirit brings believers to new life. The Spirit testifies to the Son and no one can confess the Son without the Spirit at work. (1st Cor. 12:3) The Holy Spirit is given freely to all who come to know Christ and He will never leave us nor forsake us. He works in us to sanctify us and give life to our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11). There are fruits and works of the Holy Spirit, which serve as evidence of those truly saved by His grace. These are detailed in Galatians 5:22. However there are also sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are not all universally held by every believer. These gifts include prophecy, tongues, teaching, healing, and others of the like. (1st Cor. 12-13) We believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have not ceased after the early church period but have continued on to the present day. (1st Thess. 5:19) We also believe that much discernment must be used in the area of spiritual gifts. 

We believe that on the 6th day of creation God decided to make man in his image and likeness. God created them male and female, blessed them, and told them to be fruitful and multiply and rule over the other created things. (Gen. 1:26-28). God formed man out of the dust, breathed the breath of life into him, and placed him in the garden to work it. (Gen 2:7-15) The Lord God saw it was not good for man to be alone and He caused for Adam to sleep and fashioned a helper for him out of his rib. Adam and Eve together were meant to rule, care, obey, dwell, and be fruitful and multiply in the earth. The Lord had given everything to man except for one rule, they could not ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, Satan came and tempted Eve and she believed him instead of God and took of the fruit and ate it and gave some to her husband who was standing nearby (Gen. 3). Here everything changed, all of creation came up under a curse, and death entered the world.

                  We believe the effects of sin ruined man in such a way; that they could no longer dwell in the presence of God nor fulfill their purpose as image-bearers (Gen. 3:24). Adam and Eve’s sin was passed down to the rest of mankind, and therefore man is born with an inherited sin nature. (1st Cor. 15:22, Rom. 5:12) This doctrine is known as Original Sin. Man’s conscience, will, and mind are so ruined by the effects of the fall that they are inclined to evil (Is. 59:7, Rom. 3:10) and cannot be made right with God in their own (Eph. 2:1-10). Mankind was created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, but neither can be accomplished because of our hopeless estate being dead in sin. However, God in His mercy set about to redeem humanity and bring man back to what they were intended for by giving His Son Jesus to pay for our sins. 

                 We believe God in His very nature of being God is eternal. He has always been, always is, and always will be. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1) God revealed Himself in the beginning as both Creator and King of the Universe. As Creator of everything, He is outside of space, time, and matter. He works all things according to His purposes (Rom. 8:28; Eph. 1:9-11), indeed He sits in the heavens and laughs and does whatever He pleases (Ps. 2:4, 115:3). God exists as three persons in one. He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Mt. 28:19) There are not three different Gods, nor are the three persons of the Trinity indistinguishable from each other. The three persons work in complete unity and harmony, united as one.

                  God is omnipresent (Jer. 23:24), omnipotent (Mt. 19:26), and omniscient (Prov. 15:3; Heb. 4:13). He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Ex. 34:6). He is a jealous God (Ex. 34:14) and will not leave the guilty unpunished (Ex. 34:7). The attributes and characteristics of God could not be listed in their entirety. However, we believe that the sum total of His attributes can be faithfully expressed through three of His characteristics: Holy (1st Pet. 1:15-16), Righteous (Ps. 11:17), and Sovereign (1st Tim. 6:15; Acts 4:24; Rev. 6:10).

We believe the Church has been given certain sacraments (ordinances) to participate in public worship services. These ordinances include the Lord’s Supper (Lk. 22:14-23; Acts 2:41-47) and Believer’s Baptism (Acts 22:16). Baptism enters a new Christian into their public witness as a believer and identifies them with a body of believers. The Lord's Supper should be observed regularly and helps to remind believers of what Christ has done for them. The Supper also allows Christians to proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. 

We believe that during the time of the early church, God spoke through numerous men as chosen instruments to bring about the New Testament canon. While the original author’s creativity and cultural background was in no way violated, God carried them along by the Holy Spirit to produce the inspired and inerrant written Word of God. (2nd Pet. 1:21) We believe that all Scripture is God breathed and inspired by His Holy Spirit, thus all Scripture is without error and completly trustworthy. Through God’s revealing of Himself in the written Word of Scripture, God has specifically revealed Himself in ways that (through the regeneration of the Spirit) can lead to life, godliness, and the salvation of our souls. (2nd Pet. 1:3)