Statement of Faith

In Essential Beliefs – We are called to live in unity

“There is one Body and one Spirit … there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

I believe that we are to bear with one another in love and endeavor “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3) In other words, cultural, racial, political, denominational, generational, or geographical differences should not in any way limit our love for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ or keep us from the unity in which God wants us to live.

In Non-Essential Beliefs – We can live in liberty

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters … Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls … So then each of us will give an account of himself to God … So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.” (Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22)

In All Our Beliefs – We are called to show genuine love

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” (I Corinthians 13:2)

Statement of Faith

1. I believe that the Bible is the uniquely inspired, authoritative Word of God and is the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct.

2. I believe in the Triune God; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These Three Persons are the One God, eternal, omnipotent, and omnipresent.

3. I believe the Lord Jesus Christ, through the incarnation, became man without ceasing to be God, fully human and fully divine. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He preached the good news to the poor, proclaimed freedom for the prisoners, gave sight to the blind, and released the oppressed. He perfectly fulfilled his earthly mission, being crucified for the redemption of all humankind. He was dead and buried and rose again on the third day, defeating death and the devil. After his resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples and many others and ascended to the right hand of God the Father. He will return the same way he left to judge the living and the dead according to the Scriptures.

4. I believe God created human beings in his image to be in fellowship with Him. Our first parents, however, sinned resulting in the consequent sin and separation of all humanity from God. Humankind is helpless to remedy their predicament. Only through Christ’s death on the cross can we by grace be reconciled to God, receive forgiveness, new birth, and life everlasting.

5. I believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, through whom all believers are regenerated, making it possible for the believer in Christ to live a godly life in this present fallen world. The Holy Spirit is given to the Church to produce both fruit and gifts in its members. I believe that all Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit upon their regeneration and that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are valid and should be active in today’s church.

6. I believe in the spiritual unity of all true believers in Christ and that these believers, who are committed to Jesus Christ as Lord, are thus recognized as His Church. We practice the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper and await the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, in which He will personally and visibly return from heaven to judge the living and the dead, and although no man can know the day, hour, or year, His return is imminent.

And finally, I borrowed this from Pastor Mark Driscoll. I couldn’t say it any better.

I worship a perfect man, but I am not a perfect man. I preach from a perfect book, but I am not a perfect preacher. I follow a perfect leader, but I am not a perfect leader. One day I will be perfect, but that day is not today. The path to my eventual perfection is filled with stumbling over my continual imperfection. That’s God’s perfect plan for this imperfect man.