We consider the following to be essential beliefs:

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TRINITY

God

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. God is personal and is involved in and cares about our daily life. He eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal, each possessing the attributes of deity.

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Genesis 1:1, 26-27; Psalm 121; Psalm 139; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14

 

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, was miraculously conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, so He was both fully God and fully human. He lived a sinless life on earth and voluntarily paid for our sin by dying on the cross in our place. He rose physically from the dead, thereby demonstrating His power over sin and death. He ascended to heaven and will return to earth as judge of the living and the dead. 

Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14-30; Philippians 2:6-11; 1 John 4:2-3, 15; Hebrews 1:1-4, 4:15; Romans 1:3-4; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Acts 1:9-11; Titus 2:13

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The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is present in the world to convict us of sin, guide us into truth, and remind us of what Jesus taught. He lives in every Christian, empowering us to live the Christian life and become more like Christ. He gives each Christian spiritual gifts, which we are responsible to use to serve Christ and build up His Church.

John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-16; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4; 1 Cor. 12:1-13; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:22-25; Romans 12:4-8

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SALVATION BY GRACE

Salvation is a gift from God, which must be accepted individually by repentance and faith. This must take place on this side of eternity. Salvation happens when a transfer takes place from trusting in our own human effort or knowledge to trusting solely upon what Jesus Christ has done.

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Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6; Titus 3:4-7; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1-2

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AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE

The Bible is God’s Word to us. Human authors, under the inspirational guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote the Bible. It is the source of truth and the final authority for Christian belief and practice.

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Psalm 119:105, 160; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21, 3:15-1

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CHURCH

The community of all true believers is Christ’s body on earth—the Church. Christ desires that each believer be connected with a local church, because the Church is God’s primary way to accomplish His purposes on earth today. The purpose of the Church is to share the gospel and nurture Christians to maturity in Christ.

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Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 4:4-16; Hebrews 10:23-25; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Romans 12:4-8

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HUMANITY

Humanity was created by God and bears the image of God, though we were formed out of dust. Every human life has value, because God made us in His image and loves us. We were created to enjoy fellowship with God. But having defied God by choosing to go our own way, our sinful disobedience separates us as unholy people from a holy and perfect God. This situation is only remedied through personal acceptance of what Jesus Christ has done for humanity through His shed blood on a Roman cross. There is no other remedy to this hopeless situation.

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Genesis 1:26-27, 3:8-11; Luke 13:34; John 3:16; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6, 59:2; Rom. 3:23, 6:23; 1 Tim 2:5-6

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COMPASSION

God calls all Christians to show compassion to those in need and to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

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Exodus 34:6; Deuteronomy 15:7; Psalm 82:3-4; James 1:27, 2:15-16

 

ETERNITY

Each human being has a soul that was designed to live forever. We will either live in eternal union with God (heaven) or be eternally separated from God, the source of all life (hell). Eternal life with God begins the moment we receive Christ into our lives by faith.

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John 3:16, 6:40, 11:25-26, 14:1-3; Romans 6:23, 8:17-18; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Matthew 13:37-43

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STEWARDSHIP

Everything we are is because of God, and everything we own belongs to God. Temporary material things are not worth living for. We will be held accountable regarding whether we have invested our life, talents, time, and resources in things of eternal value.

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Psalm 24:1; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; Malachi 3:10; Matthew 23:23; Matthew 25:14-30; Acts 2:44-45

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