ESSENTIAL BELIEFS

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 We believe in God Almighty. He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe. He is holy love which means that He is both set apart from us as well as committed to us and present with us. He exists eternally in three persons referred to in church history as the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These are co-equal persons and are one God.

We believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God who was and is the Word made flesh to dwell among us. He is co-equal with the father. Jesus’ conception was miraculous; He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven and will return in victory and judgment. 

The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every follower of Christ from the moment of conversion. He provided the follower with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in making wise choices. He gives every believer spiritual gifts to bless others. As followers of Christ, we seek to live under his control daily.  

The Bible is God’s complete and comprehensive revelation of Himself to humanity. Although God is constantly revealing himself even today, His revelation will never divert from what has already been revealed in the Bible. It is the story of redemption from start to finish. The Bible is God-breathed and is therefore inerrant in truth and meaning, making it fully reliable for teaching, training, rebuking, and instructing in righteousness. 

Salvation is the beginning point and continual process of our eternal life relationship with God that brings about connection, healing, and development. Salvation is available to anyone who follows Christ by believing in their hearts and confessing with their lips that Jesus is Lord. Salvation is the work of the Father, by the sacrifice and victory of the Son, which is prompted, in the human experience, by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the (only) Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him. 

All people are created in the image of God. The introduction of sin into the human experience caused a break in the relationship between God and people. This is the human reality. This break in relationship, brought on by human sin, causes many harmful wounds in the human experience. This break in relationship is the situation that makes Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and continuous reality so important. Without Christ, humanity is separated from God with no eternal hope. When the relationship is brought together through Christ, human beings can live a life of eternal hope. Either way, human beings are eternal beings. We will exist eternally either with God (in Heaven) or separated from Him (in Hell).   

The church is the body of Christ. It is made up of all believers and is continually growing as God adds to its members. Christ is the head, and He values all its members. As individuals, and as a local assembly, we have the opportunity to be fitted together and function as a vital part of the church.