Two statements of belief stand out as the foundation on which the church rests. From these two
statements other doctrinal points and core values flow.

Authority of Scripture
We believe the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments have their origin with God and reveal what is needed for equipping us to live faithful, fruitful and fulfilled lives for God’s glory (2 Timothy 3:16-17). More than a rule book, Scripture is God’s love letter to all people. It gives witness to God and to who we are as His creation. Scripture is the holy word of the living God, leading the Christian into deeper intimacy with God, in Christ, through His Spirit and drawing non-Christians to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior from sin.

Scripture teaches one eternal, all-powerful, holy and loving God who is revealed in three persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father created all there is. The Son redeems those who believe in Him as their personal Savior and the Spirit sustains those who believe. The Spirit also convicts the world of its sin as the gospel is presented
(John 16:7-9).

Lordship of Christ
Scripture also teaches that Jesus Christ is God’s Son who entered the world through a miraculous virgin birth. As God in human form He was both fully human and fully divine. Being divine, He lived a perfect life (met every one of the Father’s standards). Being human, He was fully identified with all of humanity. The fully divine and human Christ is the only one able to offer His life as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sin. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead marked His triumph over sin—a triumph He now shares with all who believe that He is who He claims to be and did what He claims to have done (Romans 3:21-26; 4:23-25). His resurrection also provides us with the certainty that those with faith in Christ will also one day rise as He did (Rom 6:4). Apart from Christ every person who ever lived or ever will live falls short of God’s standard of perfection (called sin). For this reason every person who ever lived or ever will live needs to answer the question Jesus asked of His disciples, “Who do you say I am” (Mark 8:29)? Those who recognize the person of Jesus and the work He did on our behalf in dying for our sins, those who “profess with the mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead” (Romans 10:9-10), will find their offenses against God forgiven as they are “born anew” into a new life and a new way of living energized by the permanent indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-21). This new way of living is a life lived under the loving rule of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Master while we become His disciples. All who believe in Christ are permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are called to rely upon His help to daily grow in a lifestyle that imitates the One who gave them this life—that is Jesus. This lifestyle is one characterized by a growing reliance on and obedience to Christ (discipleship), zeal to speak about God’s good news of salvation (evangelism), and a heart to express Christ’s love in tangible ways (compassion). This is the fruit of new life in Christ; it is our calling to be and make disciples.

Our life together flows out of our life in Christ. Once called to be and make disciples we express our new life and call through the church, which is Christ’s body. As the church we celebrate the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper believing them to be visible signs of an invisible grace. As the church we use the gifts He has given each individual to corporately be God’s expression of grace through Christ in our world. Our unity is an essential part of our witness to the world and our life as disciples. Bound together by His Spirit we seek to help one another become better connected to Christ, Christ’s community, and Christ’s cause.