Tenets of Faith

We hold the following to be true. Though a person does not need to understand all these truths in order to come to Christ, these truths are foundational to the Christian faith and necessary in order to advance in the way of the Lord. To abandon any one of these truths is to do grave injury to one’s ability to walk as a Christian:

1. The Scriptures Are Inspired
The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are inspired of God and are the church’s infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct (I Thess. 2:13; Tim. 3:15-17; II Pet. 1:21).

2. The One God
There is one God, revealed to man in Trinitarian existence as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10,11; Matt. 28:19; Luke 3:22; I Tim. 2:4).

3. The Deity Of The Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare His virgin birth (Matt. 1:23, Luke 1:31, 35), His sinless life (Heb. 7:26; I Pet. 2:22), His miracles (Acts 2:22; 10:38), His substitutionary work on the cross (I Cor. 15:3; II Cor. 5:21), His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matt. 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Cor. 15:4), and His exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9,11; 2:33; Phil. 2:9-11; Rev. 1:1-3).

4. The Fall Of Man
Man was created good and upright. However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:17; 3:6; Rom. 5:12-19).

5. The Salvation Of Man
Man's only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Rom. 10:13-15; Eph. 2:8, 4:24; Tit. 2:11, 3:5-7)

6. The Ordinances Of The Church
(a) The Ordinance of baptism by immersion in water is taught in scripture (Man. 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47, 48; Rom. 6.4). Persons accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior may be baptized by complete immersion in water. This is the outward expression of faith showing an inward work by the Spirit and reveals to the world the believer’s sincere desire to follow after Christ and His teachings.

(b) The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine, is taught in Scripture (1 Cor. 11:26; II Pet. 1:4).

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7. The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit
All believers are entitled to and should receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit according to the pattern found in the Scripture. (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8, 2:4).

8. The Operation Of Spiritual Gifts And The Reality Of Divine Healing
Spiritual gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit operate in the church for its edification as well as for the purpose of confirming the message of the gospel (I Cor. 12:1-31; Isa. 53:4).

9. The Physical Return Of Jesus Christ
At the time of God the Father’s choosing, Jesus Christ will physically and literally return to earth to usher in the final era of history and a news heavens and a new earth. (Zech. 14:5; Man. 24:27, 30; I Thess. 4).

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10. Eternal Existence After Death
Every person will, following their death, experience either eternity in heaven or eternity in hell (John 3:16; Rev. 20:11-15).

11. The Church Needs Christian Government
The church needs Christian government that all things within the church, including the church service, be done decently and in order. No person practicing sin may serve in any leadership capacity as long as they persist in such practice. (I Cor. 14:40; I Cor. 6:9-10).

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12. Rules For A Christian Walk Are Of God And Not Of Man
The Scriptures clearly teach the Christian is to be guided by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; Acts 8:39, 10:19, 13:2, 16:6; Rom. 8:14).

13. The Christian Called To A Walk Of Holiness
The Scriptures teach when an individual receives Jesus Christ into his or her life he or she becomes a new creature. This change in his or her life is patterned after our Lord Jesus Christ (11 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24,1 Pet. 1:16).

14. The Christian Walk Is Maintained By Strength From Jesus Christ And The Holy Spirit
(Phil. 4:13; John 16:13; Acts 4:8, Isa. 25:5-6, 40:31, Eph. 3:16)

15. Marriage and Human Sexuality
Marriage is the union of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. Any sexual practice that occurs outside of this unique marriage relationship is sin and endangers the practitioner’s eternal salvation. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 1:26-32; I Cor. 6:9-10). It is the responsibility of Christian believers and leaders to handle the issue of divorce and remarriage with great care.