THE SIMPLE VERSION
We believe in God. He’s created everything, including you and me. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, and worthy to be loved with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Only when we know and love God like this (as our Father) do we discover who he really is and who we really are.
We believe in Jesus, who is God in flesh. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross for our sins, and supernaturally rose from the dead. This earns him the right to be leader and lord of our lives. (Also, this world
hasn’t seen the last of him.)
We believe in the Holy Spirit, God’s presence and power who fills every believer. He comes to shape our character and equip us to serve others and influence the world. When he’s filling us and flowing through us, look out: big things are bound to happen.
We believe all human beings are spiritually lost, wandering around trying to make sense of this life and consistently messing it up. Only through Jesus can we be found, and this is very much what God wants. If we submit to Jesus’ leadership in our lives, we’ll be rescued and transformed; if we continue on our own path, we’ll end up separated from God forever. That’s something God does not want, which is why Jesus came.
We believe God has given us a book (the Bible) that is true and can be trusted. It was written by men but inspired by God – and every part of it points to Jesus. When the dust settles, the Bible is our statement of faith.
TRINITY
There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal.
We believe in the church. It’s a community where people can find Jesus and follow him fully. The church isn’t perfect, but Jesus its leader is. God didn’t design us to do life in isolation, so he created this whole “church” thing. We have a much better chance of succeeding in our spiritual journey when we’re surrounded by others moving forward in theirs. The church was God’s original idea, and he’s still totally committed to it – and so are we.
We believe that God is infinitely creative, so we express our faith in infinitely creative and different ways. We’re Spirit-led being and mission-minded without diluting the message of Jesus. We’re not scared of culture or seduced by it. Our approach to church isn’t traditional, but our commitment to Jesus shapes everything we believe, say, and do.
THE LONG VERSION
The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant.
2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26
There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal.
I John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11
Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless
life, performed miracles, died on the cross for mankind and thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father and will return again in power and glory.
John 1:1,14, 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6; 1 Timothy 2:5
Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) in the virgin Mary’s womb; therefore, He is the Son of God.
Matthew 1:18, 25; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:27-35
Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Genesis 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21
Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
John 6:44, 65; Matthew 19:28; Titus 3:5
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ: His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts.
Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22
Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow
Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation.
Acts 2:21, 3:19; I John 1:9
Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to
complete the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of the
Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a Godly life.
I Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; II Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18, II Thessalonians 2:1-3, Romans 8:29, 12:1-2, Hebrews 2:11
The Blood that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100% sufficient
to cleanse mankind of all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness
and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death.
I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 5:9; John 1:29
Christians are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them
by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to him thus making Jesus the
Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when
He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead; and that to ascertain it with regard to
ourselves demands and deserves the utmost diligence.
John 1:12; John 14:17, 23; John 15:4; Romans 8:11; Revelation 3:20
Given at Pentecost, it is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the Church to preach the Gospel throughout the whole earth.
Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5,2:1-4, 17, 38-39, 8:14-17, 10:38, 44-47, 11:15-17, 19:1-6
The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the
church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel.
The Bible’s lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various
combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in
their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used
in violation of Biblical parameters.
Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11, 12 :4-8; Ephesians 4:16; I Timothy 4:14; II Timothy 1:6-7; I Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; I Peter 4:10
The church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the church as a member of the body of believers. There is
a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23
Water Baptism:
Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48
The Lord’s Supper:
A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.
(Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25).
Marriage:
We believe marriage is defined in the Bible as a covenant, a sacred bond between one man and one woman instituted by and publicly entered into before God. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
(Matthew 19:4-6; Genesis 2:24).
Healing of the sick is illustrated in the life and ministry of Jesus, and included in the commission
of Jesus to His disciples. It is given as a sign, which is to follow believers. It is also a part of Jesus’
work on the Cross and one of the gifts of the Spirit.
Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16; I Corinthians 12:9, 28; Romans 11:29
It is the Father’s will for believers to become whole, healthy and successful in all areas of life. But because of the fall, many may not receive the full benefits of God’s will while on Earth. That fact, though, should never prevent all believers from seeking the full benefits of Christ’s provision in order to better serve others.
• Spiritual
John 3:3-11; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 10:9-10)
• Mental and Emotional
II Timothy 1:7, 2:11; Philippians 4:7-8; Romans 12:2; Isaiah 26:3).
• Physical
Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:17; I Peter 2:24).
• Financial
Joshua 1:8; Malachi 3:10-11; Luke 6:38; II Corinthians 9:6-10; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Psalm 34:10, 84:11; Philippians 4:19)
Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His
death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; they that are
saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation.
Luke 24:16, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; I Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21
Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; II Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; I Peter 1:4
After living one life on earth, the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to Hell where they will be eternally tormented with the Devil and the Fallen Angels.
Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8
Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His
Kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures
Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; II Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7