STATEMENT OF FAITH:
We
are a part of the Evangelical Free Church of America, which is an
association of autonomous churches united around these theological
convictions:
GOD
We believe in one God,
Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing
in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God
has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and
to make all things new for His own glory.
THE BIBLE
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and
New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally
inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original
writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the
ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor
should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it
teaches, obeyed in all that is requires,
and trusted in all that it
promises.
THE HUMAN CONDITION
We believe that
God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by
Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by
choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God's
saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
JESUS CHIRST
We believe that Jesus Christ is God
incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures.
Jesus-Israel's promised Messiah-was conceived through the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified
under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and
Advocate.
THE WORK OF CHRIST
We believe that
Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on
the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His
atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for
salvation.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that
the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ.
He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him
they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the
family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides,
equips and
empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
THE CHURCH
We believe that the true church comprises all who
have been justified by God's grace through faith in Christ alone. They
are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the
Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership
should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two
ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which visibly and tangibly
express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when
celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and
nourish the believer.
CHRISTIAN LIVING
We
believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His
sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and
others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one
another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With
God's Word, the Spirit's power, and fervent prayer in Christ's name, we
are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ's
commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing
witness to the gospel in word and deed.
CHRIST'S RETURN
We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of
our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to
God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the
believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
RESPONSE AND ETERNAL DESTINY
We believe that God
commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in
repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will
raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to
condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to
eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new
earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.