Core Values
Community
We believe that church should be a safe, sharing, hope-filled community whose members are well trained to serve others, particularly those who are hurting. We will always value people higher than programs, land or buildings (Matthew 11:28-30; Acts 2:44-47; Romans 15:13; Ephesians 4:3).
Excellence
Since God gave his very best—Jesus, our Savior—we too will maintain the highest standards of excellence in all that we do for his glory (1 Peter 1:19; Colossians 3:17, 23-24; Luke 16:10).
Grace
We are motivated to serve our gracious God from hearts of love and gratitude rather than guilt and fear (Romans 6:14; Ephesians 2:8-9; 3:17-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 2 Timothy 1:7).
Harmony
We believe that God does not value one gender, ethnicity or social class above another, and we will seek to worship and live in peace together with all people (Galatians 3:28; 1 Samuel 16:7; James 2:1-9; Ephesians 3:6; Romans 12:16a).
Instruction
We believe that practical, biblical teaching and preaching will produce a mature and healthy church as people actively respond in obedience. We want to know the deep things of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Corinthians 2:10).
Missions
We will support worldwide missions with our prayers, encouragement and financial help, and we will seek to send out short-term and career missionaries to the harvest fields (Matthew 9:36-38; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 13:1-3).
Outreach
All lost people matter to God and we will persistently pursue them with the gospel in a spirit of respect and unconditional love. We will not seek to take away members from existing, Bible-believing churches (Luke 19:10; 2 Peter 3:9; Romans 2:4b).
Prayer
Believing that God answers prayer, we will rely on personal and group prayer in the planning and execution of all church ministries, and we will pray regularly for the salvation of the lost and the spiritual growth of believers (Matthew 7:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Philippians 4:6-7).
Relevance
We will evaluate our ministries regularly in order to remain culturally relevant and in order to maximize ministry efficiency and effectiveness, yet we will never compromise our doctrine (1 Chronicles 12:32; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
Reproduction
We will seek to reproduce ourselves by encouraging and supporting the development of new churches whether near or far (Mark 1:38; Acts 1:8).
Service
We believe that all members possess God-given passions, talents and spiritual gifts and that each should be actively involved in the service of the church for the benefit of all (1 Corinthians 12:4-7; Ephesians 4:11-16; Romans 12:4-8).
Stewardship
We believe that everything we are and have, including our talents, time and treasures, are given to us by God and that we are to invest them for his kingdom and glory. Regarding tithes and offerings, we are committed to give regularly, cheerfully and generously according to our ability in response to God’s grace in giving us his Son (1 Chronicles 29:11- 16; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 16:1-2; 1 Peter 4:10-11; 2 Corinthians 8:3, 7-9, 12; 9:7-11).
Worship
We believe that our worship should be directed at God. It is not a stage performance or a form of entertainment, but rather an act of personal sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2; John 4:23- 24).
Our Beliefs:
The Bible
We believe that God inspired the sixty-six original writings of the Old and New Testament and that they contained no errors. The great Bible translations we have today, therefore, serve as our final authority for living (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 12:6).
God
We believe that God has always existed in tri-unity. God is one, yet he exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are equally God, and they differ only in the specific roles they assume (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 10:30; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:3-14).
Jesus
We believe that Jesus has always existed as God (John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:6-8); that he was physically born of a virgin in perfect humanity (John 1:14; Matthew 1:20-23); that he lived a sinless life on earth (Hebrews 4:15); that his death on the cross was sufficient for all sinners (Romans 5:8; 1 John 2:2; John 3:16-18); that his physical body rose from the dead to live again (1 Corinthians 15:3-8); that he presently intercedes for believers from heaven, serving as our Advocate against Satan, our accuser (1 John 2:1; Hebrews 7:25; Revelation 12:10); and that he will personally return to the earth to judge unbelievers and bless believers (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; Matthew 25:31-34, 41).
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). He is, therefore, a person and not simply a force. He convicts men of their sin (John 16:8-11). He regenerates men, for they are unable to regenerate themselves (John 3:5-6; Titus 3:5). He places believers into union with Christ and with all other believers (Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 12:13). He continuously indwells those who have believed in Jesus (Romans 8:8-9; John 14:16-17). He seals believers, marking them as children of God and preserving them for heaven (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30). He fills and controls yielded believers day by day (Ephesians 5:18), and he teaches believers God’s truths found in the Bible (1 Corinthians 2:11-13; John 14:26).
Man
We believe that every part of man is marred by sin, including his mind, will and emotions. Man is unable, therefore, to become righteous on his own, needing instead for God to make him righteousness (Romans 3:23; 5:12; Isaiah 64:6; Titus 3:5).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is received only by God’s grace through man’s faith. It is a free gift that man cannot earn by his own good deeds (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is received by personally believing that Jesus died in our place so that we can be forgiven of the sin that would otherwise keep us out of the presence of a holy God (John 1:12; Romans 10:13). As new Christians we are changed by the Holy Spirit and immediately welcomed into the family of God (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:16). God sometimes disciplines his children, but we can never lose our status as children or our gift of salvation (John 5:24; 10:27-29; Hebrews 12:5-8). We are to serve God out of love, and our good deeds are the reflection of an unseen faith (James 2:17; John 14:15).
The Church
We believe that the true church consists of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior (Ephesians 5:23). On earth the church gathers locally for instruction from the Bible, worship, fellowship, service, prayer and evangelism (Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24-25).
Ordinances
We believe that in obedience to God the church should observe two ordinances instituted by Jesus: water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These ordinances are outward symbols of an inner reality. They do not earn God’s grace or salvation (Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:35-38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Spiritual Gifts
We believe that the Holy Spirit immediately gives every new believer one or more spiritual gifts to be used in God’s service (1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:7-13). We believe that certain lesser gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1, 5, 19), though commonly expressed in the formative years of the early church, are not normative expressions of the Spirit’s work today (Hebrews 2:3-4).
Satan
We believe that Satan, also called Lucifer, is real. He rebelled against God; brought sin into the universe; tempted angels and man to rebel with him against God; and now works with limitations to oppose God here on earth. God will punish him in the end, and Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire forever (Job 1:6-7; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-15; Matthew 4:1-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
Angels
We believe that angels are spiritual beings created by God to serve him, praise him and serve the needs of believers (Hebrews 1:13-14; Revelation 7:11-12). We believe that there are some angels who serve God and some who rebelled against him. Those angels who rebelled now serve Satan, and they will suffer his same future judgment (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4; Luke 15:10).
The Future
We believe that Jesus will personally return for believers in order to take them to heaven and also that he may come at any time. We believe that he will come for us sometime before a 7-year, worldwide tribulation and that he will return with all believers following this period of tribulation to set up a 1000-year, earthly kingdom over which he will reign as King (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Zechariah 14:1-9; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:10). Following this millennium all believers will live eternally with God in their perfect resurrected