What we believe
Salvation
We believe that Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. The Salvation invitation is always open to "whoever believes" (John 3:16; Revelation 22:7). God is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance: (2 Peter 3:9). God desires to save all who will receive Him. However, although Salvation is available to all, God's universal call is not irresistible. Romans 3:23 tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and that the "wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). It is true that God "desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4), but Salvation of the individual depends upon their response to the call of God. Because of man's sinful nature, God requires certain things from s in order to restore our fellowship with Him. The requirements are repentance, faith, and professing that He is Lord. Paul, in Acts 17:30, tells us that God "now commands all men everywhere to repent". Therefore, every individual must repent of their sins, and with faith ask Christ into his/her heart to be their Lord and Savior. We believe John 14:6 clearly states that Jesus is the ONLY way in which man can be saved, and there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ. In its broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. REGENERATION requires repentance, which is a genuine turning from sin toward God. JUSTIFICATION occurs when the believer turns from sin and accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior and is forgiven of their sins and its punishment while being restored in God's favor. SANCTIFICATION is an act of Goad at the moment of salvation where the believer is set apart from the evil of the world.
Baptism
We believe that Baptism is the process in which a believer is FULLY SUBMERGED in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism signifies the act of dying to your sinful nature and coming up out of the water as a new creature in Christ. Baptism is the outward sign of inward change and therefore is required of an individual once they have repented of their sins and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Trinity
We believe that there is only one true God who reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God, the FATHER, reigns in Heaven overall that He has created. He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. God is Father in truth to all those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ is the SON of God. In His incarceration as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind, yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whom the reconciliation between God and man is affected. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
The HOLY SPIRIT is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, he enables men to understand truth. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement. He calls men to the Savior, and effect regeneration. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes believers in to the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
Rapture
We believe in a literal rapture of the church that will take place when Jesus descends from Heaven to call His children home. In Acts we are given the words of angels of Christ's eventual return to earth as He ascended into Heaven. "This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into Heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into Heaven" (Acts 1:11). Jesus Himself had given testimony to His return when He said, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that "the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. An the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (Thessalonians 4:16-17). 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 confirms this by telling us that "we shall not all sleep, but will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet."
Eternal Security
We believe that the Bible teaches that salvation is conditional and that the security of the believer is conditional. In John's first letter he wrote, "Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father." On one occasion, Jesus said, "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saves" (Matthew 10:22). To the church of Thyatira, John had written, "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations" (Revelation 2:26). A believer is a participant with God in his own salvation. This is why is it expedient for each to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).
The Lord's Supper
The Lord's supper commemorates the death of Christ for our sins. The use of bread which He made the emblem of His broken body, and the cup, the emblem of His shed blood. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.
Heaven & Hell
We believe the Scriptures teach of a literal Heaven and a literal Hell. Heaven is a place for all those who have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, to live with God for eternity. Heaven is a place of inconceivable blessing and unbroken joy. The Bible says, "So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (Isaiah 51:11). "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4). Each believer will receive a new body in Heaven, one that will never die or suffer sickness" (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). The city that descends out of Heaven is described in Revelation 21:16-27 as a place that is built with only the most precious of stones (walls of jasper and streets of gold). Jesus even called Heaven a paradise (Luke 23:43). Even with the vivid pictures that describe Heaven, the Bible tells us, "Eye has not seen, not ear heard, not have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
We believe that Hell is a literal place, originally prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), where those who reject Christ will end up. In Mark 9:46-48, Hell is described as a place where the fire is not quenched. Jesus describes Hell as a fiery furnace, and in Revelation 19:20, Hell is described as a "lake of fire burning with brimstone". Mark 9:46 also tells us that Hell is a place where the work will never die. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, we see that Hell is a place where painful memories will forever be present. Everyone who ends up in Hell will remember the opportunities that were wasted that could've spared him or her from end up in Hell (Luke 16:25). The most terrifying aspect of Hell though is its duration. Hell is eternal. Those who end up in Hell will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10). Although the Bible exhausts the human language in its description of Hell, be we cannot begin to comprehend the magnitude of the torment that will exist for those who reject Christ. As awful as Hell is, it is comforting to know that Jesus does not wish for anyone to go there. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that, "The Lord...is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance". Through His sacrifice on Calvary, every individual has the ability to bypass Hell and go to Heaven to spend eternity with God.
Divine Healing
We believe that God is the great physician, capable of healing all those who are brought before Him. The Bible tells us that if there are any sick among you, they should call the elders of the church to lay hands. We believe that God, through the prayers of the faithful, is the one performing the healing and not the individual man.
Eschatology
We believe that Jesus is coming again, that all will be raised from the dead, and that all will be judged. Although we all believe in these events, we differ in the details surrounding these events. We believe that Christ will come and 'rapture' the saints (the dead in Christ will rise and be caught up with the living saints to meet the Lord) and that seven years with His saints for a thousand years, at the end of which the wicked will be raised and judged. The main thought which should prevail is any discussion or study regarding the end time events is that we are to be 'ready'.
We believe that Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. The Salvation invitation is always open to "whoever believes" (John 3:16; Revelation 22:7). God is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance: (2 Peter 3:9). God desires to save all who will receive Him. However, although Salvation is available to all, God's universal call is not irresistible. Romans 3:23 tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and that the "wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). It is true that God "desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4), but Salvation of the individual depends upon their response to the call of God. Because of man's sinful nature, God requires certain things from s in order to restore our fellowship with Him. The requirements are repentance, faith, and professing that He is Lord. Paul, in Acts 17:30, tells us that God "now commands all men everywhere to repent". Therefore, every individual must repent of their sins, and with faith ask Christ into his/her heart to be their Lord and Savior. We believe John 14:6 clearly states that Jesus is the ONLY way in which man can be saved, and there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ. In its broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. REGENERATION requires repentance, which is a genuine turning from sin toward God. JUSTIFICATION occurs when the believer turns from sin and accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior and is forgiven of their sins and its punishment while being restored in God's favor. SANCTIFICATION is an act of Goad at the moment of salvation where the believer is set apart from the evil of the world.
Baptism
We believe that Baptism is the process in which a believer is FULLY SUBMERGED in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism signifies the act of dying to your sinful nature and coming up out of the water as a new creature in Christ. Baptism is the outward sign of inward change and therefore is required of an individual once they have repented of their sins and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Trinity
We believe that there is only one true God who reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God, the FATHER, reigns in Heaven overall that He has created. He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. God is Father in truth to all those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ is the SON of God. In His incarceration as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind, yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whom the reconciliation between God and man is affected. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
The HOLY SPIRIT is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, he enables men to understand truth. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement. He calls men to the Savior, and effect regeneration. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes believers in to the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
Rapture
We believe in a literal rapture of the church that will take place when Jesus descends from Heaven to call His children home. In Acts we are given the words of angels of Christ's eventual return to earth as He ascended into Heaven. "This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into Heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into Heaven" (Acts 1:11). Jesus Himself had given testimony to His return when He said, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that "the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. An the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (Thessalonians 4:16-17). 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 confirms this by telling us that "we shall not all sleep, but will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet."
Eternal Security
We believe that the Bible teaches that salvation is conditional and that the security of the believer is conditional. In John's first letter he wrote, "Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father." On one occasion, Jesus said, "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saves" (Matthew 10:22). To the church of Thyatira, John had written, "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations" (Revelation 2:26). A believer is a participant with God in his own salvation. This is why is it expedient for each to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).
The Lord's Supper
The Lord's supper commemorates the death of Christ for our sins. The use of bread which He made the emblem of His broken body, and the cup, the emblem of His shed blood. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.
Heaven & Hell
We believe the Scriptures teach of a literal Heaven and a literal Hell. Heaven is a place for all those who have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, to live with God for eternity. Heaven is a place of inconceivable blessing and unbroken joy. The Bible says, "So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (Isaiah 51:11). "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4). Each believer will receive a new body in Heaven, one that will never die or suffer sickness" (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). The city that descends out of Heaven is described in Revelation 21:16-27 as a place that is built with only the most precious of stones (walls of jasper and streets of gold). Jesus even called Heaven a paradise (Luke 23:43). Even with the vivid pictures that describe Heaven, the Bible tells us, "Eye has not seen, not ear heard, not have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
We believe that Hell is a literal place, originally prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), where those who reject Christ will end up. In Mark 9:46-48, Hell is described as a place where the fire is not quenched. Jesus describes Hell as a fiery furnace, and in Revelation 19:20, Hell is described as a "lake of fire burning with brimstone". Mark 9:46 also tells us that Hell is a place where the work will never die. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, we see that Hell is a place where painful memories will forever be present. Everyone who ends up in Hell will remember the opportunities that were wasted that could've spared him or her from end up in Hell (Luke 16:25). The most terrifying aspect of Hell though is its duration. Hell is eternal. Those who end up in Hell will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10). Although the Bible exhausts the human language in its description of Hell, be we cannot begin to comprehend the magnitude of the torment that will exist for those who reject Christ. As awful as Hell is, it is comforting to know that Jesus does not wish for anyone to go there. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that, "The Lord...is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance". Through His sacrifice on Calvary, every individual has the ability to bypass Hell and go to Heaven to spend eternity with God.
Divine Healing
We believe that God is the great physician, capable of healing all those who are brought before Him. The Bible tells us that if there are any sick among you, they should call the elders of the church to lay hands. We believe that God, through the prayers of the faithful, is the one performing the healing and not the individual man.
Eschatology
We believe that Jesus is coming again, that all will be raised from the dead, and that all will be judged. Although we all believe in these events, we differ in the details surrounding these events. We believe that Christ will come and 'rapture' the saints (the dead in Christ will rise and be caught up with the living saints to meet the Lord) and that seven years with His saints for a thousand years, at the end of which the wicked will be raised and judged. The main thought which should prevail is any discussion or study regarding the end time events is that we are to be 'ready'.