We feel it’s important to define the beliefs we hold but also to define how we hold them. The wrong attitude can turn truth from a bridge into a barrier. Beliefs matters. They form a core feature of our identity, a foundation for our behavior, an adhesive for our community, and a guideline for our teaching. We encourage unity on essential beliefs, liberty on non-essential beliefs, and charity (love) in all things.
Our essential beliefs are centered on the person of Jesus Christ the Son of God, whom we know as the one who
saves us from the power of sin and death,
fills us with the power of the Holy Spirit,
heals us from disease and distress, and who will return as
king over a new heaven and a new earth.
We take the Bible seriously, regarding it as uniquely inspired by God and ultimately authoritative as a standard for belief and conduct. The Bible is the source for all of our teachings, the broad strokes of which have been shared by followers of Jesus for many centuries.
We believe in one true God–-eternally existent in three persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, and in his virgin birth, sinless life, death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead.
We believe that all people stand separated from God by sin and are in need of a Savior.
We believe that every person can receive forgiveness and reconciliation with God only through repentance and faith in Jesus’ death on the cross.
We believe that Jesus can empower believers with the Holy Spirit and that an initial infilling overflows the boundaries of human language in the form of speaking in tongues.
We believe that the Holy Spirit lives inside every believer and can transform the individual in a way that increasingly represents Jesus in moral purity, ethical integrity, and love for others.
We believe that eternal life in heaven is available for all those who trust in Jesus as Savior.
We believe that everyone who received Christ’s offer of salvation is a part of the worldwide Church, regardless of denomination or tradition. The purpose of the church is to bring the good news about Jesus to the world, to help those who follow Jesus to grow in this relationship, to help believers express their devotion to God through worship, and to express God’s love and compassion for the world through service. These larger purposes are represented in some specific practices:
Water Baptism – When a person expresses a newfound faith in Christ, we follow the biblical teaching and baptize the individual in water by immersion. This practice signifies their identification with Jesus’ death and resurrection and stands as a public witness of their faith. Water baptism events are held as necessary throughout the year.
Communion – Most of our weekly Sunday events will end with all of us sharing a small portion of juice and bread of some sort. This ancient Christian practice recalls Jesus’ death and looks forward to his return.
