What We Believe

How to Have New Life

No matter what you might have heard or believed, God loves and values each and every person. He is for you. That’s why God made a way for each of us to have a close, one-on-one relationship with him. That’s been his desire from the beginning of time.

Why We Need Saving

Our failures and shortcomings–whether accidental or on purpose, small or huge–keep us apart from God. (The Bible calls our failures and shortcomings “sin.”) No matter how hard we try, we can’t make up for them on our own. According to the Bible, the punishment for sin is death.

How We’re Saved

Instead of leaving us to live and die without him, God made a perfect way to reconnect with us: He sent his one and only son Jesus to rescue us. Jesus was God in human flesh, but unlike the rest of us, he never sinned. When Jesus hung on the cross and died, he willingly traded his own perfect life as payment for our sinful ones. When he was buried, our sins were buried with him. Jesus became the one and only doorway to God; he restored our ability to connect with God.

Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave. His return from death showed us three things:

1. We can trust Jesus. When he rose from the grave, he proved he was all he said he was: God’s son, with the power and authority of God.
2. We will have life after death. If God can resurrect Jesus, He can resurrect us too.
3. We’re free to hope. God must deeply love us to have given his son to suffer and die for us–especially when we don’t deserve it.

Believe Him. It’s good to know what Jesus did and to know how much God loves us. But knowing isn’t enough. Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God–that He lived, died, and came back from death to save you from your sins? Do you realize you’ve sinned and that you need him to forgive you of those sins? Do you know you need his power to continue to live free from sin for the rest of your life? You must believe it enough to act on it.

God has already taken the first step toward you. He wants to forgive you and help you live life his way. Now it’s your turn to take a step toward him. (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9-10, Romans 10:13)

God

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe who exists eternally as a Trinity of three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1:1, 26-27, 3:22, 
Psalm 90:2, 1 Peter 1:2-3, 
2 Corinthians 13:14

The Father

The Father is the first person of the Trinity who controls all things according to His purpose and for His glory.

Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 6:9, 7:11, 
John 1:12, Romans 8:15-16

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the fully divine and fully human Son of God who lived a sinless life and offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days, ascended to heaven’s glory and will return again to gather all who believe in Him.

Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 1:22-23, 
John 1:1-5, 14:10-30, 
Romans 1:3-4, Titus 2:13, 
1 Timothy 6:14-15, Hebrews 4:14-15,
1 Corinthians 15:3-4

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is present in every Christian convicting of sin, convincing of truth and conforming us to Christ’s image. After regenerating a person, He provides spiritual gifts, power for living and guidance in doing right.

2 Corinthians 3:17, Acts 1:8, 
John 4:16-17, 16:7-13, 
1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16,
Ephesians 1:13, 5:18, 
Galatians 5:25, Philippians 2:13

Human Beings

Human beings are created in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character, but are born with the fallen sin nature of Adam. Sin separates people from God and one another.

Genesis 1:27, Psalm 8:3-6,
Isaiah 53:6a, 59:1-2, Romans 3:23 

The Bible

The Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God and is therefore our authoritative and infallible guide in all things. It was written down by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It contains a record of God’s heart for people since the beginning of time and can give life and freedom to everyone.  The Bible is the basis for what we believe and the way we live.

2 Timothy 1:13, 3:16, 
2 Peter 1:20-21, Proverbs 30:5,
Psalm 12:6, 119:105, 160

The Church

God promises that where two or three of His followers gather together, He is present.  The Church is God’s idea, and He tells us to come together as the body of Christ. We have three purposes for coming together, worship, discipleship and evangelism.  As we come together to worship God, we get a sense of His presence, but we worship Him because He is our Savior and Lord. When we come together, we teach God’s Word (discipleship) so that we can be equipped for the work to which we are called.  When God’s Word is proclaimed, people who are present who do not have a relationship with God have an opportunity to hear the truth from God’s Word to evaluate their standing with God.

Matthew 18:20, Acts 7:48, Ezekiel 44:16, 

Hebrews 10:24-25, Romans 10:17

Marriage

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in an exclusive relationship; it is the only relationship appropriate for sexual intimacy.

Genesis 2:18-25, Matthew 19:4-6,
Romans 1:18-28, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, 7:1-3 

Salvation

Salvation is God’s free gift to us which we receive by trusting in Jesus Christ for forgiveness. We are born again by faith alone, not by any good works that we do.

Romans 5:1, 6:23, Titus 3:5,
Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 3:26, 
John 14:16, 1:12

Eternal Security

Eternal security is sealed by faith in Jesus Christ who died for all of our sins – past, present and future. Once we have been born again we cannot lose our salvation. We did not earn our salvation through good works and we cannot lose it through bad ones.

John 10:29, 2 Timothy 1:12, 
Hebrews 7:25, 10:10, 14,
1 Peter 1:3-5

Eternity

Eternity exists for all people who will either live forever in God’s presence in heaven or forever separated from Him in hell.

John 3:16, 4:17, 
Romans 6:23, 8:17-18, 
1 Corinthians 2:7-9, Revelation 20:15