Statement of faith
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments only, to be the plenarily, verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original manuscripts, authoritative, infallible, and God-breathed; and that they are the only supreme and ultimate authority for faith and practice: (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Matt. 5:18; I Cor. 2:10-13).
The Godhead
We believe in the one triune God, existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, eternal in being, identical in essence, equal in power and glory, and having the same divine attributes and perfections, yet exercising them in varied offices (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:7-12; John 16:7; II Cor. 13:14).
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (Matt. 1:18-20; John 1:1,2,14,18; Luke 1:35). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who receive Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood (Rom. 3:24-26; 4:25; I Cor. 15:3-4; II Cor. 5:21).
We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord Jesus Christ and that our redemption and salvation are guaranteed to us by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead; in His bodily ascension into heaven; and in His present life there for us as High Priest and Intercessor (Matt. 28:5-6; I Cor. 15:12-19; Acts 1:0; Heb. 4:14-16; 7:23-25; 9:24; I John 2:1-2).
We believe in the "blessed hope" which is the personal, visible, pretribulational, premillenial, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:51-53; I Thess. 4:14-17; Titus 2:13; I John 3:2-3).
The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the personal, pretribualtional, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His own (the rapture of the Church); We further believe in His subsequent, personal, premillennial return visibly to the earth to establish His kingdom and to reign for a millennium over the entire earth from the throne of David (II Sam. 7:12-16; Zech. 14:4-11; Luke 1:30-33; Acts 15:14-18; I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:51; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:6).
The Personality of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, equal with the Father and the Son, and of the same substance and nature; that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; that He bears witness to the truth; that He witnesses to, sanctifies, and helps the believer; that He baptizes the believe into the Church, the Body of Christ; that He indwells the believer permanently; that He seals the bleiever unot the day of redemption; that He bestows spiritual gift(s) upon each one; and that He fills for service those yielded to Him. We believe that certain of the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit to teh Church such as apostleship, prophecy, and tongues were temporary; needed only in the infancy of the church and are not to be expected today. We believe that the Holy Spirit testifies concerning Jesus Christ and never leads any person, at any time, contrary to the teaching of the Bible (John 3:8; 24:26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Acts 5:1-4; I Cor. 12:4-13; I Cor. 13:8-11; Eph. 4:30; 5:16).
The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; and that all mankind, having inherited a sinful nature, have become willful sinners with the first expression of personal choice, and are totally unable to regain their former position, and are without excuse before God (Gen. 1:26; 3:1-24; Rom. 3:23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-16, 12).
The Salvation, Regeneration, and Eternal Security of the Believer
We believe that salvation is a gift of God brought to men by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. Salvation is solely though faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins and, being a gift, is not earned by any works whatsoever. All those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are immediately regenerated and become sons of God (Eph. 1:7; 2:8-9; John 1:2; 3:5-7).
We believe that the Scriptures teach that regeneration, or the new birth, is that change wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit by which a new nature and spiritual life, not before possessed, are imparted, and the person becomes a new creation in Christ jesus, and that without it salvation is impossible (John 3:3-6; II Cor. 5:17; I Peter 1:23; Titus 3:5).
We believe that the salvation of every believer is secure of all eternity from the moment of regeneration. This security is guaranteed to each believer by the keeping power of God, the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit, the interceding ministry of Christ, and by the fact that the life received is eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1,29,30,38,39; Eph. 4:30; Heb. 7:25).
Sanctification
We believe that immediate, positional, sanctification is the act of God whereby believers are, at the time of regeneration, eternally set apart as belonging to Him by redemption, thereby being placed in the family of God as children, joint heirs with Jesus Christ (I John 3:1; Rom. 8:14-17; I Cor. 1:2; Heb. 10:10-14).
We believe that progressive sanctification is the process by which, according to God's will, we are made partakers of His holiness. Progressive sanctification begins in regeneration, progresses if the believer is yielded to the Holy Spirit's control, and is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, self-examination, watchfulness, and prayer (I Thes. 4:3; 5:23; Prov. 4:18; I John 2:29; Phil. 2:12-13; Eph. 6:18; John 17:17).
We believe that ultimate sanctification will be the portion of every believer when finally in the presence of the Lord, complete and entire, with soul and spirit united in the resurrected body free from every trace of effect of sin and rebellion (I John 3:2; I Cor. 15:52-54; Eph. 4:30; 5:27; Phil. 4:20-21).
Separation
We believe in the biblical doctrine of separation which encompasses three (3) things: (1) the separation of the local church from all affiliation and fellowship with those who deny the verities of the "faith once delivered to the saints," such as those of the Neo-Orthodoxy and New Evangelical persuasion; (2) the separation of the individual believer from all worldly practices that may dishonor the Savior; and (3) the separation of church and state (II Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Cor. 6:14-7:1).
The Eternal State
We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do, at death, immediately pass into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body, at His coming (the Rapture) when soul and body, reunited, shall be with Him forever in glory; but that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery unto the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and body, reunited, shall be cast into the lake of fire from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; I Thess. 4:13-18; II Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 14:9-14; 20:11-15).
The Church
We believe in the Church - a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the Head (Matt. 16:16-18; I Cor. 12:12-13; Gal. 3:27; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27).
We believe that the local church is a visible expression of the Body of Christ and is a congregation of believers in Jesus Christ, immersed upon a credible confession of faith, and associated together by covenant for worship, exhortation, evangelism, the observance of the ordinances, and fellowship. We believe that the local church is the center of God's program for this age, and that every Christian is bound by Scripture to give wholehearted cooperation to the ministries of the local church (Acts 2:41-47; 14:27; 20:17; I Tim. 3:1-16; Titus 1:5-11; I Cor. 3:10-17; 5:1-15; 11:2; Heb. 10:25).
The Church's Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted two (2) ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which are to be observed by all believers until His return.
We believe that baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in Christ, in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit to show forth by solemn and beautiful symbolism, the believer's identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection; and that it is a Scriptural prerequisite to church membership (Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:36; Rom. 6:3-5; I Pet. 3:21; Acts 2:38-41).
We believer that the Lord's Supper is the partaking of unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, as symbols of Christ's body and blood, commemorating His suffering and death for us and our continual benefit therefrom; that participation should be limited to those who have united to the local church by baptism and testimony, or to those who are baptized members of churches of like faith and practice, and that participation should be proceeded by careful self-examination (I Cor. 11:23-32; 5:1-5; Matt. 18:15-17).
The Great Commission
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned the Church to take the Gospel to the world, and that evangelism at home and abroad should be primary in the program of the local church (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)
The Responsibility of Believers
We believe that all believers should seek to walk in the spirit, not bringing reproach upon their Lord and Savior, exercising Christian liberty regulated by love, separated from worldly pleasures and practices, and separated from any association with apostate groups (Rom. 12:1-2; Gal. 5:25; 6:16; II Cor. 6:14; 7:1; I Cor. 8:1-13; Rev. 18:1-14).
We believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures, and to assume responsibility for the propagation of the Gospel to all the world (Matt. 28:19-20: Acts 1:8).
We believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to remember the work of the local church and its extension ministries in prayer, to support it with their tithes and offerings as the Lord prospers them, to participate in all regular services of the church as the Lord enables, and to voluntarily submit to the watchcare and discipline of the local church (I Cor. 16:2; Heb. 10:19-25; 13:17-18).
Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of creation; that it is to accepted literally and not figuratively; that the six (6) days of creation in Genesis, chapter one, were solar (twenty-four hour) days, that all animal and vegetable life was made directly, and God's established law is that they bring forth only "after their kind"; that man was created directly in God's own image and after His own likeness and did not evolve from any lower form of life; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race (Gen. 1:1-2; 25; Heb. 11:3; Col. 1:16-19; Ps. 33:6-9; Neh. 9:6; Rev. 4:11; Ex. 20:11; 31:17; Gen. 1:11; 12, 21, 24, 25; Gen. 1:26).
Angelology
We believe God created a great host of spiritual beings called angels who were sinless, are immortal, and have personality (Ps. 148:2,5; Luke 20:36; Ps. 89:7).
We believe that Lucifer, who was the highest angel in rank, is the originator of sin, and that he led a great number of the angels to follow him in his fall, some of whom are now active as his agents in increasing ungodliness on this earth, while others are imprisoned until the day of judgment (Is. 14:12; II Pet. 2:4; I Tim. 4:1).
We believe that Satan (formerly Lucifer) is now the prince and god of this world, but that his final doom, along with the fallen angels, is certain in the lake of fire (John 16:11; II Cor. 4:3-4; Rev. 20:10).
Church Covenant
Having been led, as we believe by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savoir and, on the profession of our faith, having been baptized by immersion in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, walking together in brotherly love, as become members of a Christian church. We will remember to pray for each other, to exercise care for each other, and watchfulness over each other, and to admonish and entreat other as occasion may require.
We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
We will work together for the continuance of faithful, biblical ministry in this church, as we sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines. We will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all the nations.
We will engage in family and private devotions, educate our children in the Christian faith, and seek the salvation of our family and friends.
We will seek to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, remembering that as He is holy we too are called to be holy.
We will, when we remove from this place, as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.