1. THE SCRIPTURES: We believe that both the Old and New Testaments are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. Through the providence of God, the Scriptures have been preserved. The Authorized King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation used for church functions. (Psalm 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).

2. GOD: We believe that there is only one true and living God existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each a distinct Person, but all of one essence and all having the same nature, perfections, and attributes, and each is worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience (Genesis 1:26; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 3:16–17; 28:19).

3. JESUS CHRIST: We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, shed His Blood on Calvary as a vicarious substitute, was buried, rose again bodily, and ascended to the Father according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18–25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 4:15).

4. HOLY SPIRIT: We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, very God, coexistent with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the chief agent in regeneration, the chief convictor of sin, and the chief comforter of the believer. Simultaneous with regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ. It is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. We are a non–Charismatic ministry (Matthew 28:19; John 16:7–11; Acts 5:3–4; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14 Ephesians. 1:17-18; 5:18; Romans. 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians. 4:7-12; 1 Corinthians. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22).

5. MAN: We believe that man is the direct creation of God—body, soul, and spirit—and is not in any sense the result of evolution, but is made in the image of God. Adam, the first man, sinned by disobedience. This act resulted in the fall of mankind and incurred both physical and spiritual death for all. Thus, man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26–27; Romans 3:10, 23; 5:12; Ephesians. 2: 1-3; 4: 17-19).

6. SALVATION: We believe that all who, in faith, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour are born again by the Holy Spirit and thus become the children of God. Salvation includes redemption, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. We believe that repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ are the essential conditions for appropriating the saving grace of God (Luke 13:3,5; John 1:12; 3:3; 17:17; Acts 20:21; Romans 8:29–30; Ephesians 2:8–9; 4:30; Titus 3:5).

7. SECOND COMING: We believe in the literal, visible, personal, pre–millennial, pre–tribulational return of Jesus Christ for His Church. At this event the dead in Christ and living believers will be translated to meet Him in the air. At the end of the seven year tribulation period, Christ will visibly descend with the saints to establish His earthly millennial kingdom (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Revelation 20:1–6).

8. PROVIDENCE: We believe in the providence of God, but that He is in no wise the author or approver of sin, nor the destroyer of the free will and responsibility of man (John 3:16; Romans 8:28–30).

9. THE PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER: We believe in the priesthood of all believers so that every Christian has direct access to God in prayer through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, and that there is no mediator between God and man other than Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:16; 1 Timothy 2:5; Revelation 1:6).

10. SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER: We believe that salvation is not only a gift from the Lord, but also is sustained by the Lord. The Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer and seals him in salvation for eternity. Therefore, since salvation is wholly of the Lord, apart from the works of man, we hold that the believer shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation. This security in no way gives professors in Christ a license to sin. It is our conviction that all who are preserved by God's eternal power should pursue holiness (John 10:28; 14:16–17, 26; Romans 6:22; 1 Corinthians 2:9–14; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 1:4; 1:13; 2:8–9; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24–25).

11. SATAN: We believe that Satan was originally created a perfect being. He rebelled against God. As a result, he became depraved, the Devil and adversary of God and His people, the leader of a host of angels who fell with him. Satan has been judged and defeated at the Cross and awaits his ultimate doom at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 14:13–14; Ezekiel 28:13–17; John 16:11; 1 Timothy 3:7; Revelation 20:10).

12. THE LORD’S DAY: We believe that Sunday is the Lord’s Day and is a Christian institution for regular observance of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private (1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).

13. CREATION: We believe the Triune God created the universe apart from preexisting materials. We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. We believe in this historicity of the first eleven chapters of Genesis (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 19:4; John 1:1–3; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16–17; Hebrews 11:3).

14. THE LOCAL CHURCH: We believe that the New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers with Christ as its Head and the Holy Spirit as its guide. New Testament churches promote God’s work by personal and corporate evangelism, and by cooperating with other local N.T. churches of like faith and practice for missions and many other joint efforts. The local church is governed independently from outside persons, bodies, groups, or authorities (Matthew 28:16–20; Acts 1:6–8; 6:3; 1 Corinthians 16:1; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 5:20a; 8—10; Ephesians 1:3–6, 22–23; Philippians 4:15–16).

15. ORDINANCES: We believe that the local church observes two ordinances—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that all who have received Christ as Lord and Saviour should be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit; that baptism is by immersion in the likeness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; and that the Lord’s Supper should be observed in remembrance of Him to show forth His death for our sins until He comes again. (Matthew 26:26–30; 28:19–20; Romans 6:3–6; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).

16. SEPARATION: We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God ( Romans. 12: 1-2; 14: 13; 2 Corinthians. 6: 14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).

17. ETERNAL STATE: We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life in Heaven, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment in Hell (Matthew. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13).

18. MISSIONS: We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are committed to world missions through prayer, sending, and giving for missionaries of like faith and practice (Matthew. 28: 19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians. 5:20).

The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.

SOME DISTINCTIVES
OF THIS LOCAL CHURCH

God's Word commands us to be holy, for He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). We are exhorted to be perfect even as our Father in Heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48), and to perfect holiness in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1). While we recognize that our earthly frame prevents us from achieving the standard God's Word establishes (1 John 1:8), neither are we free to alter or abandon that standard. The spiritual temperature of the assembly must be kept high.
We recognize that honest believers differ and that all of us are at differing levels of spiritual maturity both in terms of doctrinal understanding and practice. None of us have arrived (Philippians 3:13). For this reason, we must seek to apply Biblical principles in our relationships one to another in the church family: we must guard our attitude and not develop a judgmental, critical spirit (Romans 14:3,4); we must guard our actions because we will each give an account to the Lord (Romans 14:7-14); and we must guard our affections and exhibit love toward those who would disagree in matters of preference (Romans 14:15). As we seek the oneness in the congregation for which Christ prayed in John 17, we are to receive one another in love without strife, while we contend for the Faith without being contentious with the faithful (Romans 14:1).

It is in this spirit that the following are set forth as some of the distinctives of this local church.

Section 1 — Sanctity of Human Life

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well–being of the mother are acceptable While we view government programs in conflict with these standards as sinful, we also believe that the example of our Lord in Matthew 12:18–19 instructs that we as believers should not take these convictions “to the streets.” We do, however, recognize the God–ordained privilege and authority of government to use capital punishment where Biblically appropriate (Genesis 9:6; Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14–16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15–18; Luke 1:44; Romans 13:4).

Section 2 — Authority and Jurisdiction

God operates in this world through authorities and jurisdictions through which He has chosen to delegate His all–encompassing authority. The Lord Jesus Christ said to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. We believe our decisions and actions in every life situation should be governed by first determining the appropriate jurisdiction and authority, and then ordering our behavior according to the Scriptural requirements for each jurisdiction and authority. We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home; 2) the Church; and 3) the state, and by extension of these, employment. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the Church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. We further believe it is the duty of believers to respect, pray for, and serve those whom God has set in authority over them (Matthew 22:21; Matthew 28:18; Luke 7:6–9; Romans 13:1–7; Ephesians 5:22–24; 1 Timothy 2:1–4; Titus 3:1–2; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13–14).

Section 3 — Divorce

We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery. Remarriage would be permitted only after the death of the spouse. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may be forgiven and may hold positions of service in the Church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor, elder, or deacon. In addition, based on the statement of our Lord in Matthew 19:7–9, this church will not perform a remarriage of a person who has a living spouse (Malachi 2:14–17; Matthew 19:3–12; Romans 7:1–3; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6).

Section 4 — Giving

We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God established the tithe as a basis for giving but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the Church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9–10; Acts 4:34–37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6–7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17–18; 1 John 3:17).

Section 5 — Immorality

We stand against immorality as defined by the Word of God, including but not limited to the actions specified in the Ten Commandments, as well as any form of sexual immorality, drunkenness, and substance abuse. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8–9; Exodus 20:1–17; Leviticus 18:1–30; Proverbs 20:1; Proverbs 23:29–35; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 6:10; Romans 1:26–29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1–8; Hebrews 13:4; Revelation 21:8; 22:15).

Section 6 — Indebtedness

We believe that, as stated by missionary statesman Hudson Taylor, “Depend on it. God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so.” We therefore reject financial indebtedness in carrying out the work of God and of His Church and believe God is able to protect and direct His Church and glorify Himself through His provision (Proverbs 22:7; Romans 13: 8; Philippians 4:19).

Section 7 — Lawsuits Between Believers

We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the Church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the Church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that Christians retain the privilege of defending themselves in legal actions brought against them (1 Corinthians 6:1–8; Ephesians 4:31–32).

Section 8 — Music

We believe that God’s Word establishes clear standards with regard to music totally apart from personal tastes. We believe that Godly, triumphant, melodious, traditional music alone meets those Biblical standards and that only such music is acceptable for the worship and service of God. These standards exclude what is commonly known as Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), sensual techniques of performance, and any form of the rock beat (Ephesians 5:9–10, 18–19; Colossians 3:16–17; 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22).