What We Believe

The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and patience.

THE SCRIPTURES INSPIRED The scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct (2Timothy 3:16; 1Thessalonians 2:13; 2Peter 1:21).

THE GODHEAD Our God is one, but manifested in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being coequal (Deuteronomy 6:4; Philippians 2:6). God the Father is greater than all, the sender of the Word (Logos) and the begetter (John 14:28; John 16:28; John 1:4). The Son is the Word flesh-covered, the one begotten, and has existed with the Father from the beginning (John 1:1, 14, 18).  The Holy Spirit proceeds forth from both the Father and the Son and is eternal (John 14:16; John 15:26).

THE DEITY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God (John 8:58; 10:37, 38; 20:30-31).
MAN, HIS FALL AND REDEMPTION Man is a created being, made in the likeness and image of God, but through Adam’s disobedience, sin came into the world.  The Bible says “…all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” and “…There is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:23, 10). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to undo the works of the devil and gave His life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man to God (2Corinthians 5:18; 1John 3:8).

THE SALVATION OF MAN Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the law, and is made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God (Romans 10:4, John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8-10).

ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH

1. Baptism in water is a direct commandment of our Lord and is for believers only. The ordinance is a symbol of the Christian’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:36-39).
2. Holy Communion was instituted by our Lord and is for believers only. The ordinance symbolizes the physical body of Christ that was broken for us, and the blood of Christ that was shed for us (1Corinthians 11:23-26; 1Peter 2:24).

THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY GHOST The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers and is received subsequent to the new birth.  This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance (Matthew 3:11; John 14:16, 17; Acts 2:1-4; Acts 2:38-39; Acts 10:45-46; Acts 19:1-7).

SANCTIFICATION The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe in the doctrine of sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of the new birth and continuing until the consummation of salvation at Christ’s return (Hebrews 12:14; 1Thessalonians 5:23; 2Peter 3:18; 2Corinthians 3:18).

THE CHURCH The church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 1Corinthians 12:27-28).

THE FIVE-FOLD MINISTRY A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry provided by our Lord for two purposes: (1) Equipping the saints for works of ministry, and (2) the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12).

DIVINE HEALING Healing is for the physical ills of the human body and is produced by the power of God through the prayer of faith, and by the laying on of hands. It is provided for in the atonement of Christ and is the privilege of every member of the Church today (James 5:14-15; Mark 16:18; Isaiah 53:4- 5; Matthew 8:17; 1Peter 2:24).

THE RESURRECTION OF THE JUST AND THE RETURN OF OUR LORD  “…This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). His coming is imminent. When He comes, “…The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…”  (1Thessalonians 4:16, 17).
Following the Tribulation, He shall return to earth as King of kings, and Lord of lords, and together with His saints, who shall be kings and priests; He shall reign a thousand years (Revelation 5:10; 20:6).

HELL AND ETERNAL RETRIBUTION The one who physically dies without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the lake of fire and, therefore, has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting. The lake of fire is literal. The terms ‘eternal’ and ‘everlasting’, used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in the lake of fire, carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as when used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of saints in the presence of God (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 19:20).

THE GREAT COMMISSION Jesus has given the Church, the body of Christ, the responsibility to proclaim the gospel of Christ to our generation, and to teach and make disciples of all nations. As a result, we are to baptize those that believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. We are also to cast out devils and heal the sick in Jesus’ name (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18).