Teachings and Beliefs

Briefly summarized, we believe that… … The only true God is the God of the Bible- the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. …The Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God.  As the very word of God, it is completely reliable and timelessly relevant.  It provides us with everything we need to know for life and salvation! …Humans are not the product of evolution but are the crown of God’s creation as uniquely intelligent and spiritual beings. …All people are born sinful since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.  Our sinfulness manifests itself in the evil that permeates our thoughts, attitudes, desires, words, and actions.  This sinfulness not only hurts others, it hurts us, and it separates us from a holy God.  It should lead to eternal separation from God in hell. …Jesus Christ is God’s Son and the world’s only Savior, who came down to earth and was made human in order to be our substitute. Because our holy God demands that we be holy, and we have failed miserably, God sent his Son to live a holy life for us.  God gives us this holiness (the Bible often calls it “righteousness”) as a gift.  God also sent his Son to suffer and die on the cross in our place and for our sins.  God gives us forgiveness as a gift as well, because his Son has paid the price for our sins.  Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can be sure we have been saved from sin and will live forever with God- another gift from God through Jesus! …Simple faith receives the gift of salvation.  All who trust in Jesus as their Savior have the gift of salvation.  Our good intentions and efforts are unnecessary for salvation.  However, from genuine faith flows a desire to please God out of thankfulness and love, rather than a sense of obligation or duty. …The mission of the church is to proclaim the good news of salvation from sin through faith in Jesus alone. … All our beliefs, teachings, and practices as individual Christians and as a church body are to be based on God’s word- the Bible.