What We Believe

The Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there, he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Scriptures

The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God, a revelation to man, and the rule of faith and conduct. It is superior to conscience and reason, but not contrary to reason. (2 Timothy 3:15-16, 1 Peter 1:23-25, Hebrews 4:12)

The One True Godhead

The triune Godhead is comprised of three (3) separate and distinct personalities, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, who are eternally self-existent, self-revealed and function as one entity. Jesus Christ, who is God manifested in the flesh, is the second member of the Godhead, co-equal and co-eternal with The Father and The Holy Spirit.

Man, His Fall and Redemption

Man was created good and upright, for God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness”. But, man, by voluntary transgression, fell and his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ the Son of God (Genesis 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21).

The Salvation of Man

 (a) Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus Christ became sin and sickness, providing both salvation and divine healing for all mankind (Psalm 103:3), being justified freely by His Grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. For by grace, we are saved through faith. “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart–that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” We also believe salvation is available for all who believe. (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:8-10; John 3:16; Acts 16:31).

(b) The evidence of Salvation. The inward evidence to the believer of his salvation, is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness. “And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us” (1 John 3:23).

(c) Faith and Works. Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ and not by human works; however, our works will determine the rewards in eternity. While salvation is not by our works, true salvation will result in godly works. (Romans 10:9-10, II Cor. 5:10, James 2:17).

Believer’s Baptism in Water

The ordinance of baptism by a burial with Christ should be observed as commanded in the Scriptures by all who have really repented and in their hearts have truly believed on Christ as Savior and Lord. In so doing, they declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and that they have also been raised with Him to walk in the newness of life. Baptism doesn’t save a person but merely pictures the work that Christ has done in their hearts. (Matt. 28:19; Acts 10:47, 48; Romans 6:4).

The Lord’s Supper.

“And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” Believers are encouraged to partake of the Lord’s Supper as often as they wish in remembrance of Jesus. (1 Cor. 11:24; 25, 28 Luke 22:14-20).

Holy Spirit Baptism.

Believers in Christ receive the Holy Spirit the moment they put their faith in Christ. (Romans 8:9) However, the Holy Spirit can be resident in a person’s life and not be president. All believers in Christ must surrender full control of their life to the Holy Spirit to receive an enduement of power for Christian living and ministry. The Holy Spirit bestows gifts and empowers believers for victorious and effective living. When we put our faith in Christ for our salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells us. When we surrender to the Holy Spirit’s control, He baptizes us with fire. (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8; I Cor. 12:1-31) When we walk with Him, he daily fills us to overflowing. There is one baptism in the Holy Spirit but there are many filings. (Acts 1:8; 10:44-46; 19:2,6)

The Work of the Holy Spirit

The evidence of the Spirit-filled person is His power working in them and through that person, as well as the Fruit of the Spirit being made manifest in that person and through them for the glory of God, the edification of the Body of Christ, and the furtherance of God’s Kingdom. We believe in the present-day ministry of the Holy Spirit and that all of the gifts of the Spirit, including the “sign gifts,” are valid and in operation until we see Jesus face to face. (Galatians 5:16-17, 22-26; I Cor 1:8; 13:8-13)

The Ministry of Believers.

The Ministry is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in Heaven. It is the command of Jesus that every disciple of Jesus Christ make disciples. This means the normative practice of every believer in Christ is to share their faith locally and abroad. We believe in the practice of meeting needs and sharing Christ locally and around the world, preaching the Gospel to every person until Jesus comes again. (Ephesians 1:22; 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23 Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8).

Blessed Hope.

 Jesus is coming again to gather all His Saints to Heaven (I Cor. 15:51-52; I Thess. 4:16-17; and II Thess. 2:1).

The Lake of Fire.

Those who have not accepted the redemptive work of Jesus Christ will suffer eternal separation from the Godhead. The devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life, shall be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. This is the second death, the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10-15).

The Millennial Reign of Jesus

The return of our Lord Jesus Christ with His Saints from Heaven to rule and reign for one thousand years on earth as the Scriptures promised (Romans 11:25, 27; 2 Thess. 1:7; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-7). After this, there shall be a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21).

The Sacrament of Marriage

“Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife…”, “…For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,” Each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.”, “Finally the time came for him to marry her.”. It is our sincere belief that marriage, as ordained by God, is defined as being between one biological man and one biological woman. No other marriage will be performed or condoned. (Jeremiah 29:6; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:2; Genesis 21:21; Genesis 29:21; 1 Corinthians 7:36, 39; Genesis 2:23-24; Ephesians 5:22-23, 25, 28-29, 31, 33)

Grace and Restoration

We are a house of grace. We believe grace should be extended to every person in the same manner Jesus has extended His grace to us. This means we accept people as they are showing them grace and love while at the same time not compromising Scriptural integrity concerning what the Bible calls sin. (John 8:10-11; I Peter 4:10-11)

Further, we believe if a believer has fallen, they can and should be restored to full fellowship through a biblical restoration process. Our church will be a haven for those who are in need of biblical restoration. (Galatians 6:1)

Statement on marriage, sexuality and gender: