OUR BELIEFS

The following Statement of Faith was proposed to the congregation at our quarterly church conference on June 14, 2026. The elders hope to secure this statement through a congregational vote at our next quarterly church conference.

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I. The Scriptures 

The Bible is the very word of God, written by men who were prepared and superintended by the Spirit. The 66 books of the Bible are God’s conclusive, sufficient, and divine revelation to us. In its original manuscripts, the Bible contains truth without any mixture of error and is fully trustworthy. In its contents, the Bible reveals the character of God, the acts of God, and the promises of God by recording salvation history and by revealing eternal truths to finite men. Collectively, the Scriptures testify that Jesus is the Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. The Scriptures are both infallible and inerrant; they will therefore remain, to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, teaching, and thought should be tried. 

 

II. The Triune God 

There is only one true God. He is in Himself most holy and infinite, bound only by his own unchangeable nature. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. He lives eternally and rules the universe supremely. As the fount of all that is true, good, and beautiful he is worthy of our worship, obedience, and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each having the whole of divine essence yet undivided, each existing coeternally, and each executing distinct but complimentary offices in the great work of redemption. 

1. The Father is an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, knowledge, power and love. While perfect in grace and mercy he is also perfect in justice and wrath. We believe that He willfully concerns Himself in the affairs of men for their good, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through Jesus Christ. We believe that He orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace. 

2. Jesus, the Son, is the image of the invisible God, coequal, consubstantial (i.e. having the same substance, nature, or essence), and coeternal with the Father. He was with the Father in the beginning; all things were made through Him and for Him. He was born as a man of a virgin while remaining fully God. As the second Adam from above he came in perfect obedience to save those sons of the first Adam who put their trust in His substitutionary, propitiatory death on the cross. He was raised bodily as the firstborn from the dead, has ascended into heaven, and will make a personal, visible return to earth. 

3. The Holy Spirit is sent from the Father in the name of the Son to convict the world of sin, bring God’s people to repentance, and to bring to remembrance all that Christ has spoken to the church. We believe that He is the divine, supernatural, and sovereign agent in regeneration; it is His work to indwell, sanctify, instruct, enlighten, empower for service, and seal until the day of redemption all who believe on Jesus Christ. We believe He indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide. In all the divine attributes, He is coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal with the Father and the Son.

 

III. Creation

In the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, to create the world and all its creatures therein, all very good. All things were created by him and for him: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or authorities. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. Though insufficient for redemption, what can be known about God is plain to men because God has shown it to them through Creation, for his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. 

 

IV. Man 

After God had made all other creatures, He created man in his own image, male and female, as equal and complimentary image-bearers, distinct from one another in physiology, role, and function, with embodied, reasonable, and immortal souls. Adam & Eve were created with the capacity to transgress God’s commands as they had been given liberty of their own will, which was subject to change. 

 

V. The Fall of Man

God created man as upright, giving him righteous and achievable commands. Our first parents sinned by rejecting his good order, falling from their original righteousness and communion with God; we, in them, likewise fell and death came upon all mankind. By nature we now lack the holiness required by God; we are inclined to evil and justly condemned under God’s eternal wrath, without defense or excuse. 

 

VI. God’s Covenants

Though man brought himself under the curse by his fall, it pleased the Lord to voluntarily condescend to man by way of covenants in order to bless him and dwell with him again. These covenants are the foreshadow of, and progressively culminate in, the covenant given to men through our Lord Jesus Christ. This covenant in Christ will have its ultimate fulfillment in the resurrection of life whereby those who believe on the Lord Jesus will be raised on the last day to dwell with God perfectly for all eternity.

 

VII. The Way of Salvation 

The salvation of sinners is all of grace, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By the Father’s design, Jesus freely took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin, and was perfectly obedient to the Father in all things. By His vicarious, substitutionary death He made full atonement for our sins, breaking the curse. Having risen from the dead He is now enthroned in heaven, qualified to be our suitable, compassionate, all-sufficient Savior and Intercessor. 

 

VIII. Justification 

God justifies the one who places faith in Jesus. When God justifies, the believer is declared righteous, not according to any works of righteousness which we have done, but only through faith in Jesus’ redemptive work. His perfect righteousness is freely imputed (credited) to our account, declaring us simultaneously not-guilty and righteous. This brings us into a state of peace and favor with God. 

 

IX. The Freeness of Salvation 

The blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel of Jesus Christ; apart from Him, no one can come to the Father. The gospel is able to save the greatest sinner on earth, but man refuses the blessing of salvation, when by his own inherent depravity he voluntarily rejects the gospel, which brings upon him just condemnation. 

 

X. Grace in Regeneration 

In order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or born again. When God translates the sinner into a state of grace by His Spirit, He frees him from his natural bondage under sin, and by His grace alone enables him freely to will and to work that which is spiritually good. Even so, because of his remaining corruptions he does not will that which is good solely; he also wills that which is evil. The will of the regenerated man is not made perfect until he is transformed into a state of glory at the return of Christ.

 

XI. Repentance and Faith 

Repentance and faith are inseparable graces, accomplished in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God. Being deeply convinced of our guilt, of our helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God in humility, confessing our sins, and pleading for mercy. Simultaneously, we gladly rely on Jesus as the only and all sufficient Savior, yielding to Him as Lord. 

 

XII. God’s Eternal Purpose of Grace 

According to His eternal purpose, God graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners. It is a glorious display of God’s sovereign grace, being infinitely free, wise, holy and unchangeable. It excludes all boasting, and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of His free mercy. It is the foundation of Christian assurance. All who truly believe the gospel are of the elect.

 

XIII. Sanctification 

Though the sinner saved by grace has been given a new heart and has been declared righteous in God’s sight through the penal, substitutionary atonement of Christ, the believer must advance in holiness. This progress in righteousness is achieved by aid of the Holy Spirit through the continual use of appointed means, especially the Word of God, the church, and prayer. As the whole person grows in obedience and discipline the lusts of the flesh lose their appeal and an appetite for holiness grows.

 

XIV. The Perseverance of Saints 

Because salvation belongs to the Lord, those who have been purchased by his blood will never lose their salvation. God’s providence watches over their welfare, and they are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation. Only those who endure to the end are the true people of God, having their persevering attachment to Christ as the mark which distinguishes them from those who make superficial professions of faith.

 

XV. The Church 

The church universal is comprised of the Body of Christ from every tribe, tongue, people, nation, and age. The universal church finds expression and manifestation in the gathering of saints within local congregations of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. The local church is the venue for observing the two ordinances of Christ and is governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word. Each member of a local church is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its two scriptural offices are that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon, each exercising authority only as appointed by the authority of the congregation. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

 

XVI. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper 

Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as the Christ-ordained display of our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior. It symbolizes our death to sin, resurrection to a new life, and is required for church membership. By the Lord’s supper the members of the church receive the bread and the cup, proclaiming the good news of Jesus’ death on our behalf. We believe that these two ordinances should be solemnly and joyfully observed, administered by the church until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not believe these ordinances convey saving grace upon the recipient; they are means by which God reveals His gospel and by which He brings loving encouragement into the lives of His people. 

 

XVII. The Lord’s Day 

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is to be regularly observed through congregational worship and private devotion in commemoration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Public worship through the physical gathering of saints includes such exercises as the public reading of the Scriptures, preaching and hearing the Word of God, corporate prayer, teaching and admonishing one another through singing, as well as the administration of baptism and the Lord's supper. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be consistent with the Christian’s conscience under the lordship of Jesus Christ. 

 

XVIII. Marriage

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant love for a lifetime. It is the duty of Christians to marry in the Lord and not elect to be unequally yoked with those who reject Christ. This institution displays the covenant union between Christ and His church, providing for both man and woman the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

 

XIX. Family

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord to be shepherded, loved, and nurtured. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage through faithful devotion to one another. Parents are also charged with discipling their children through family worship, loving discipline, prayer, and by guiding them biblically through moral choices. Children are to honor their father and mother and to obey their parents in the Lord.

 

XX. Social Order

Christians should strive to make the will of Christ supreme in their own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. Christians should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. Civil government is ordained by God for the glory of his name and for the good order of human society but is not responsible for enforcing faith in Christ. As such, He has armed civil leaders with authority to defend and encourage those who do good while executing just punishment for those who do evil. Civil leaders are to be prayed for, honored, and obeyed except in matters opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of conscience and the King of kings. 

 

XXI. The World to Come 

Christians work and pray for the Kingdom of God, that it may come and that his will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age. At the last day Christ will descend from heaven for the final judgment to judge the living and the dead. A solemn separation will then take place as the dead are raised: the unrighteous will be resurrected to face God’s eternal wrath and punishment in hell, while those found righteous in Christ will be resurrected to eternal and perfect fellowship with God in a new heavens and new earth. This day is unknown to men, that they may shake off all carnal security, being always watchful, ever prepared to say, “Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly.”