OUR FAITH
1. THE TRINITY. There is only one true God. He exists eternally in Three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These Three Persons are equal in deity, power, and glory. God is the source of all that exists, both seen and unseen; He created it all. God animates all of life. He sustains it and holds it all together. God is infinite in love. God is absolutely good. God is perfect in all His judgments. God is righteous. God is Holy. God is pure. God is merciful. God is compassionate and kind. He is unchanging and does not lie. God is Truth. God is just. God governs and providentially directs all that exists. He will bring all things to their proper consummation in Christ Jesus, to the glory of His name. (Ps 18:2, 103:11-12, 104:1–35, 139:1–24; Isa 43:25; Matt 10:29–31, 28:19; Jn 10:30; Act 17:24–28; 2Cor 13:14; Eph 1:9–12, 4:4–6; Col 1:16–17; Heb 1:1–3; Rev 1:4–6.)
2. GOD OUR FATHER is our good and perfect Father, forever declaring His love and goodwill toward us. God is faithful. God is love. In love, He seeks and receives repentant sinners. He forgives and forgets sin. He is our Protector and Deliverer. His dwelling place is in Heaven. (Gen 1:26, Ps 68:5; Isa 64:8; Matt 5:45, 7:11, 23:9; Jn 3:17; Rom 8:15; 1 Pet 1:17; 1Jn 4:8.)
3. JESUS IS GOD, THE SON. He is Christ the Messiah, the Anointed One. Jesus was eternally pre-existent with the Father and the Holy Spirit before the universe was made. Jesus is the Word. By Him and through Him the universe was spoken into existence, beautifully arranged, and is sustained by His power. At God’s appointed time, Jesus was conceived by a miracle, born of a virgin, and entered the world as a man: God the Word became flesh as God the Son. He is fully God and fully Man. He lived a sinless life and offered Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners–Jesus died in our place. By His blood shed on the cross, He obtained for us eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. After three days, He was raised from the dead, and soon after that, He ascended to the right hand of God the Father. There, He ever-lives to pray and make intercession for us. One day Jesus will return to earth to reign in righteousness. Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature. He is perfect theology. He is Perfect. Jesus is the only way to the Father. Jesus is the Truth. Jesus is the Life. He is the Light of the world. (Mt. 1:18–25; 3:16-17; Lu. 1:26-35; Jn. 1:1–18; Jn. 6:69; Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:1–28; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:10–14; Eph. 1:7; Phil. 2:6–11; Col. 1:15–23; Heb. 1:2-3; 7:25; 9:13–15; 10:19; 1 Pet. 2:21–25; 1 Jn. 2:1–2.)
4. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. He is Who convicts the world of sin and leads us to the saving knowledge of Christ. At the moment of salvation, He marks our lives with a seal over our hearts, designating us as His children. God forever dwells within us. He is who regenerates us. We are baptized into the Holy Spirit, like being immersed in the Spirit, and we are to be continually filled with Him. The Holy Spirit desires to fill and empower us daily for godly living, ministry, and power-filled witness. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, Teacher, Advocate, and Enabler. He is the Spirit of Truth and Grace. He performs signs, wonders, and miracles. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit described in the New Testament are operative today and are to demonstrate the presence of the mighty Holy Spirit with us today. He is our Emmanuel, God today. The Holy Spirit empowers and edifies the Church to fulfill its calling to disciple all nations. (Mt. 3:11; Jn. 1:12–13; 3:1–15; Jn 14/16 Acts 4:29–30; Rom. 8:9; 12:3–8; 1 Cor. 12:12–13; 2 Cor. 1:21–22; Gal. 3:1–5; Eph. 1:13–14; 5:18.)
4. THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus’ coming to earth meant the Kingdom of God had come to earth. The Kingdom of God is God’s spiritual kingdom, planned before time began. The Kingdom of God exists wherever Jesus Christ is Lord and is manifestly demonstrated by the mighty power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who chooses to surrender to Jesus and His redemptive purpose becomes part of this glorious Kingdom. Since Jesus taught us to seek the Kingdom of God above and before anything else, His Kingdom and His presence through the Holy Spirit are our highest pursuit. It is the pursuit of an intimate relationship with God. (Matthew 3:2, 6:10, 6:33; Mark 1:15.)
5. THE WORD OF GOD. The sixty-six books of the BIBLE are God’s inspired and inerrant Word. The Bible is the final authority for all we believe and for how we are to live. It is absolute truth. It is the only book that is living and active and has inherent power to divide between truth and lies. (Mt. 5:18; Jn. 10:35; 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16–17; Heb. 4:12; 2Pet. 1:20–21.)
6. HUMANITY and THE FALL. God made man, male and female, in His image. Adam, the first man, and Eve the first woman, were created in the image of God, pure, without sin, in a perfect and intimate relationship with the Father. They disobeyed God and, as a result, died spiritually and experienced a separation from God because of this death. Through their disobedience, sin entered the world and into the human race. The far-reaching consequence is that all people are born sinners, spiritually dead, and separated from God. We are utterly helpless, unable to save ourselves or do anything about this spiritual deadness. (Gen. 1:1–3:22; Ps. 51:5; Isa. 53:5; Rom. 3:9–18; 5:12–21; Eph. 2:1–3.)
7. EVIL and SIN exist and are the problem facing humanity. Every person, in fact the whole planet, is affected by evil. Satan is EVIL personified. Originally, he was a great and good angel, but sin was found in his heart, and he rebelled against God. He was cast out of heaven, taking one-third of the angels with him in his rebellion. He works on the earth with his demonic host to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness, evil, wars, and unrest. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross of Christ. Satan’s end is coming soon. He will be cast forever into the lake of fire that has been prepared for him and his angels. SIN entered through one man, and as a result, all men fell. All men are born into sin and called sinners. Sin is missing the righteous standard of God. It is anything/everything against God, against Love. (Isa. 14:10–17; Ezek. 28:11–19; Mt. 12:25–29; 25:41; Jn. 12:31; 16:11; Eph. 6:10–20; Col. 2:15; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 12:7–9; 20:10).
8. SALVATION is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, alone. No law, rule, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required or accepted for salvation. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the saving grace of God sanctifies us, enables us to do what is pleasing in God’s sight, and works to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ. (Jn. 1:12–13; 6:37–44; 10:25–30; Acts 16:30–31; Rom. 3:1–4:23; 8:1–17, 31–39; 10:8–10; Eph. 2:8–10; Phil. 2:12–13; Titus 3:3–7; 1 Jn. 1:7, 9).
9. THE CHURCH is God’s primary instrument through which He is fulfilling His redemptive purposes on the earth. The Church is not an institution, nor is it a denomination. The Church is the Body of Christ, all who have been made alive by God’s Spirit in Christ Jesus. The Church is God’s living and breathing family on the earth. He has ONE family. We affirm the prophetic royal priesthood of all believers and the importance for every believer to be firmly planted in a local church family. Every single believer in Christ Jesus must be equipped to do the work of the ministry. God has given the Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for this very task. We believe women, no less than men, are called and gifted to proclaim the gospel and do all the works of the kingdom. (Mt. 16:17–19; Acts 2:17–18, 42; Eph. 3:14–21; 4:11–16; 1 Tim. 2:11–15; Heb. 10:23–25; 1 Pet. 2:4–5, 9–10).
10. SACRAMENTS. Water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the Church to be embraced and continued until Jesus’ return. They are not a means of salvation but are channels of God’s sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus. (Mt. 26:26–29; 28:19; Rom. 6:3–11; 1 Cor. 11:23–34; 1 Pet. 3:21.)
11. THE HEAVENLY MANDATE. God has called the Church to work together in unity and honor in preaching and demonstrating the gospel to all nations, in making disciples of all nations, and in remembering the poor by ministering to their needs, practical service, and by our generous and often sacrificial giving. This mandate is to every believer and is how we express the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Isa. 58:6–12; 61:1; Mt. 5:1–7:28; 28:18–20; Lk. 4:18; 21:1–4; Gal. 2:10; 1 Tim. 6:8)
12. THE PRESENCE OF GOD. God’s people have always been marked by His strong Presence. He is Emmanuel—God with us. In His Presence there is fullness of joy, regardless of our circumstances. In His Presence there is healing, deliverance, and salvation. And as we gather, He delights to meet with us and make Himself known. (Ex 29:45-46; Ps 16:11, Heb 4:16; Rev 21:3.)
13. PRAYER is simply waiting on, talking, and listening to God. It includes all our communication with Him. Prayer builds our intimacy with Him. By spending time with God, we become His intimate friend. God’s Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. We learn His will and access His power only through prayer. (Matt 6:9-13, 26:41; 1 Thes 5:16-18; Ps 27:14; Eph 6:18; Is 40:31, 41:1; Jn 15:15.)
14. WORSHIP. God seeks people who will worship Him in Spirit and truth. The core identity of the believer is “Worshipper.” It is why we were created. We worship Him passionately because of Who He is. We give Him praise for what He has done and is still doing. (Jn 4:23-24; Ex 34:14; 1 Chr 16:37; Neh 9:3; Ps 5:7, 22:27, 29:2, 45:11.)
15. REVIVAL AND REFORMATION. We are committed to ongoing personal revival through the renewing work of the Holy Spirit that affects individuals, families, our churches, cities, and the nations. Revival brings hearts into alignment with the Lord in every area of life. Reformation means to be reformed, made straight, or brought back to God’s original purpose, into oneness or wholeness as originally intended. (2 Chron 7:14; Tit 3:5; Ps 51:10, 119:88; Lam 5:21; Ez 9:9; Act 5:32.)
16. FAMILY. The Church is God’s family. God places people into His family, and by His design, the family grows and multiplies. God values family so much that He gave Jesus, His Son, for the salvation of every human being who ever lived and to bring them into His eternal, spiritual family. God welcomes everyone into His family. Within the biological-human family, God created man and woman to marry and enjoy each other, to love and commit wholeheartedly for life. And through God’s gift of sexual intercourse, a man and a woman become entwined in an unbreakable bond, the intimate one-flesh relationship. Sexual intercourse is a divine gift designed for us and purposed by God to be enjoyed inside the bounds of the marriage relationship. The fruit of this relationship is children. We partner with God in bringing forth children as we increase and multiply on the earth. Family is God’s gift and plan for humanity. (Gen 2:18-25; Ps 68:6; John 3:16.)
17. RELATIONSHIPS. God is relational and we are designed in His image. We are designed to be in a relationship with Him and with each other. God is love and is involved in all relationships based on true love. We value honest, authentic, and loving relationships that build strength into people’s lives. (Jn 13:35-36; 1 Jn 4:11; Matt 18:20.)
18. SERVANT-LEADERSHIP. Jesus is The Servant. He demonstrated servant leadership for us. He said, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matt 23:11). Every disciple of Jesus is called to this. We want everyone to grow into maturity for the building up of the family of God and for the advancement of His Kingdom. Jesus demonstrated servant leadership when He washed the feet of His disciples. Ministry is serving, and every believer is called to ministry. We honor all authority established by God, but we also honor all people as highly valued sons and daughters of the King of Heaven. We value everyone, giving dignity to everyone, as He does. Jesus gives the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers into the Church. These are who He set into the Church for the building up, training, equipping, and sending of all God’s people to do the work of the ministry. These are essential to a church’s growth and maturity. A church will remain immature, spiritually anemic, and impotent without these five gifts. (Jn 13:14-15; Eph 4:11-16; Matt 18:1-5; 20:25-28; Rom 1:11; 13:1-7; Phil 2:5-8.)
19. SENDING. The Father sent Jesus into the world, and He in turn sent us: “Go, make disciples of all nations.” We value winning people to Jesus, building them up, and sending them to live the call of God on their lives. Jesus’ mandate “Go, make disciples of all nations” means a church’s sending capacity is much more important than its seating capacity, buildings, budget, conferences, and celebrity. The programs it runs must be with this single aim: maturing, training up, and equipping every believer. People must be trained and equipped for the ministry. Ministry is every believer’s job. They must be sent out. This is the heavenly mandate. (Matt 28:19; Jn 20:21.)
20. PROPHETIC PEOPLE. God’s presence among His people has always been marked by prophecy. We have both the written Word, the Bible, and the “now” immediate word spoken by the Holy Spirit. We are to be people who hear and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Prophecy. This is the meaning of the New Covenant, to be people who “hear and obey.” (Deut 8:3; Joel 2:28; Matt 4:4; Jn 10:3-4; Act 2:17; Rev 19:10.