The Bible
We believe the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is God’s revelation to us, written by human authors who were supernaturally guided by the Holy Spirit. As the very word of God, it is without error in the original manuscripts, and serves as our supreme and final authority in all matters about which it speaks. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
​
The Trinity
We believe God is One, the only God, eternally existing in three equal persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each completely and fully God. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 3:21-22; 2 Cor. 13:13; Eph. 4:4-6)
God the Father
We believe the Father is fully God, and His fatherhood is eternal and personal. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of all who believe in Christ. (Gen. 1:1; Matt. 6:9; 2 Cor.1:3; Eph. 4:6)
God the Son
We believe Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is fully God and fully man, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He lived a sinless human life, and offered Himself as the perfect, complete sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He physically rose from the dead, demonstrating His victory over sin and death, and ascended to heaven where He is at the throne of the Father, interceding for us. One day, He will return to earth to reign as King of Kings. (Matt. 1:18-25; John 1:1-2, 14; 3:16-18; Acts 1:9-11; Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:20; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:20; Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 4:14-15; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)
God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is equal in deity and person with the Father and the Son. As the living Spirit, He moved the human authors of the Bible to write God’s Word. He makes people aware of their need for Jesus Christ, performs the miracle of new birth, and comes to live in every Christian the moment they trust in Jesus Christ. He unites all Christians into the one Body of Christ, providing each of them with power for service, spiritual gifts, understanding of spiritual truths, and comfort in life’s trials. (Jn. 3:3-8; 14:16-17; 16:7-11; Acts 5:3-4; Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 2:13; 12:11-13; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
Human Beings
We believe all people are created in the image of God, to be like Him in character. However, we are all marred by sin, both from Adam’s original sin as well as our own sinful acts. Our sin alienates us from God, makes us liable for His judgment, and ultimately results in eternal death apart from God’s salvation. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 1:18-23; 3:23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:18-19; 1 Pet. 1:15-16)
Salvation
We believe salvation is God’s gracious gift, offered to all people, which we must accept. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ alone can we be forgiven for our sin, overcome our alienation from God and be saved from God’s judgement. The moment we turn from our self-ruled life to Jesus Christ, in faith, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one places his or her faith in Christ, and it can never be lost or taken away. At salvation, we are justified by God, meaning that we are declared positionally righteous before God because of our identification with Jesus Christ. (Jn. 1:12-13; 6:37-40; 10:28-29; Acts 16:31; 2 Cor. 5:18-19; Eph. 1:7, 13; 2:8-9)
Spiritual Transformation
Before salvation, we were enslaved to sin, but at salvation the dominant power of sin in our lives is broken. Beginning at salvation, the Holy Spirit begins to progressively work within believers to make us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives. Spiritual Transformation is a process of cooperating with God’s sanctifying work in our lives by our obedience to Christ and deepening our relationship with Him, which includes listening, serving, and practicing spiritual disciplines. It is God’s will that we continually grow over the course of our lives until we get to heaven and are then made perfect in Christ. (1 Cor. 6:11; Rom.6:1-8, 39; 1 Thess. 5:23; Phil 1:6, 2:13)
Eternity
We believe people were created to exist forever, and we believe in the bodily resurrection of all people. Unbelievers will be raised to exist eternally separated from God by sin in Hell, and believers will be raised to exist eternally with God in heaven, through forgiveness of sin and salvation. (Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46; John 5:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:13-14)
The Church
We believe the Church is the Body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that it is expressed in local churches made up of followers of Christ. It was created by God to display His glory on the earth by reaching out to people who do not know Him, lifting up worship to Him, loving one another as His family, growing in maturity to be like Christ, and serving others in His name. We believe that the Church is the primary instrument through which God is working in the world today. The Church celebrates baptism and the Lord’s Supper until Christ returns. (Matt. 26:26-29; 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 12:27; 2 Cor. 6:18; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:10; Col. 1:18; 1 John 3:14-18)
Missional Focus
We believe that Christ sends his redeemed people into the world as the Father sent him, and that this calls for a similar deep and costly penetration of the world. We need to break out of our ecclesiastical ghettos and permeate non-Christian society. In the Church’s mission of sacrificial service, evangelism is primary. World evangelization requires the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world. The Church is at the very center of God’s cosmic purpose and is His appointed means of spreading the gospel. A church which preaches the cross must itself be marked by the cross. It becomes a stumbling block to evangelism when it betrays the gospel or lacks a living faith in God, a genuine love for people, or scrupulous honesty in all things, including promotion and finance. The church is the community of God’s people rather than an institution, and must not be identified with any particular culture, social or political system, or human ideology. (John 17:18; 20:21; Matthew 28:19,20; Acts 1:8; 20:27; Ephesians 1:9,10; 3:9-11; Galatians 6:14,17; 2 Corinthians 6:3,4; 2 Timothy 2:19-21; Philippians 1:27)