1. Holy Trinity

We believe in the one living and true God, both holy and loving, eternal, unlimited in power, wisdom, and goodness, the Creator and Preserver of all things. Within this unity there are three persons of one essential nature, power, and eternity-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

(Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10,11; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22; I Corinthians 8:6).

2. The Father

We believe the Father is the Source of all that exists, whether of matter or spirit. With the Son and the Holy Spirit, He made man, male and female, in His image. By intention He relates to people as Father, thereby forever declaring His goodwill toward them. In love, He both seeks and receives penitent sinners. 

(1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; Malachi 2:10; Ephesians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; Genesis 1:26)

3. The Son of God

We believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, truly God and truly man. He died on the cross and was buried, to be a sacrifice both for original sin and for all human transgressions, and to reconcile us to God. Christ rose bodily from the dead, and ascended into heaven, and there intercedes for us at the Father’s right hand until He returns to judge all humanity at the last day. 

(Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31,35; John 1:14; Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22; Acts 2:22; 10:38; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Acts 1:9,11; 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3)

4. The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is of the same essential nature, majesty, and glory, as the Father and the Son, truly and eternally God. He is the Administrator of grace to all and is particularly the effective Agent in conviction for sin, in regeneration, in sanctification, and in glorification. He is ever present, assuring, preserving, guiding, and enabling the believer. 

(Genesis 1:1-2; John 14:26; Genesis 2:7; John 20:21-23; Matthew 3:16-17; Luke 1:35; II Corinthians 13:14; I Corinthians 2:11)

5. The Scriptures Inspired

The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man – the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct 

(2 Timothy 3:15-17; I Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).

6. Marriage and the Family

We believe that every person is created in the image of God, that human sexuality reflects that image in terms of intimate love, communication, fellowship, subordination of the self to the larger whole, and fulfillment. God’s Word makes use of the marriage relationship as the supreme metaphor for His relationship with His covenant people and for revealing the truth that this relationship is of one God with one people. Therefore, God’s plan for human sexuality is that it is to be expressed only in a monogamous lifelong relationship between one man and one woman within the framework of marriage. This is the only relationship which is divinely designed for the birth and rearing of children and is a covenant union made in the sight of God, taking priority over every other human relationship. We adhere to the teachings of Scripture regarding gender identity, sexual conduct, and the sacredness of marriage, and believe that sexual relationships outside of marriage and sexual relationships between persons of the same sex are immoral and sinful.

 (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16;
Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.)

7. Sin

We believe that through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin entered the world and all creation suffered its consequences. The effects of sin include disruption of the relationship between God and humanity, deterioration of the natural order of creation, and exploitation of persons by evil or misguided social systems. The whole of creation groans for redemption. Each person is born with a proclivity toward sin, manifested in an inordinate orientation toward self and independence from God, leading to deliberate acts of unrighteousness. The residual effects of Adam and Eve’s disobedience include a marred human nature from which arise involuntary shortcomings, faults, infirmities, and imperfect judgments, which should not be accounted the same as willful sin. However, as manifestations of the fallen nature of humanity, these shortcomings of God’s holiness still necessitate the merits of the atonement, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, and the self-control of the believer. Willful sin results when a morally accountable person chooses to violate a known law of God, using freedom of choice to please self rather than obey God. The consequences of willful sin include a loss of fellowship with God, a self-absorption with one’s own interests rather than love and concern for others, a bondage to things which distort the divine image, a persistent inability to live righteously, and ultimately everlasting misery and separation from God. The atoning work of Christ is the only remedy for sin, whether original, willful, or involuntary. 

(Genesis 2:15-17; 3:6-7; Romans 5:12-19).

8. Repentance and Salvation

We believe that for men and women to appropriate what God’s prevenient grace has made possible, they must voluntarily respond in repentance and faith. The ability comes from God, but the act is the individual’s. Repentance is prompted by the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. It involves a willful change of mind that renounces sin and longs for righteousness, a godly sorrow for and a confession of past sins, proper restitution for wrongdoings, and a resolution to reform the life. Repentance is the precondition for saving faith, and without it saving faith is impossible. Faith, in turn, is the only condition of salvation. It begins in the agreement of the mind and the consent of the will to the truth of the gospel, but issues in a complete reliance by the whole person in the saving ability of Jesus Christ and a complete trusting of oneself to Him as Savior and Lord. Saving faith is expressed in a public acknowledgment of His Lordship and an identification with His Church. 

(Psalm 107:2-3; Lamentations 3:55-60; John 3:16-17; Galatians 3:13-14; Ephesians 1:7-9; Colossians 1:13-14; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 9:15; 1 Peter 1:18-19) 

We believe that adoption is the act of God by which the justified and regenerated believer becomes a partaker of all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of a child of God. The only hope of redemption for man is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God. 

Conditions to Salvation 

Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life 

(Luke 24:47; John 3:3;
Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7).

The Evidence of Salvation

The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12).

9. Grace: Prevenient, Justification, Sanctification

Grace is defined as “the undeserved, unmerited, and loving action of God in human existence through the ever-present Holy Spirit.” Grace pervades all of creation and is universally present. Grace is not a gift that God packages and bestows on us and creation. Grace is God’s presence to create, heal, forgive, reconcile, and transform human hearts, communities, and the entire creation. Wherever God is present, there is grace! Grace brought creation into existence. Grace birthed human beings, bestowed on us the divine image, redeemed us in Jesus Christ and is ever transforming the whole creation into the realm of God’s reign of compassion, justice, generosity, and peace. One dynamic or expression of God’s grace is prevenience or “preventing” grace. Prevenient grace includes, according to Wesley, “all that is wrought in the soul by what is frequently termed ‘natural conscience,’ … all the ‘drawings’ of ‘the Father,’ the desires after God, … that ‘light’ wherewith the Son of God ‘enlightened everyone that cometh into the world,’ showing every man ‘to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with his God;’ all the convictions which his Spirit from time to time works in every child of man.” While taking the seriousness of human sin and brokenness seriously, Wesley believed that God’s
grace prevents the destruction of the divine image in us. Prevenient grace is present in all creation – in the natural order, in human conscience, in the relationships and heritage into which we are born. Love of family, the Christian community, the sacraments, creation itself, the pangs of guilt, the pull toward a vision of what can be all expressions of God’s prevenient grace.

(John 6:44-65; Romans 3:9-12; Ephesians 2:1-5; Philippians 2:13)

 We believe that when one repents of personal sin and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, that at the same moment that person is justified, regenerated, adopted into the family of God, and assured of personal salvation through the witness of the Holy Spirit. We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby a person is accounted righteous, granted full pardon of all sin, delivered from guilt, completely released from the penalty of sins committed, by the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by faith alone, not on the basis of works. 

(Romans 5:1; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Genesis 15:6; Romans 5:15-17; Romans 3:21-31; Romans 4:2-5) We believe that sanctification is that work of the Holy Spirit by which the child of God is separated from sin unto God and is enabled to love God with all the heart and to walk in all His holy commandments blameless. Sanctification is initiated at the moment of justification and regeneration. From that moment there is a gradual or progressive sanctification as the believer walks with God and daily grows in grace and in a more perfect obedience to God. It is followed by lifelong growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

(Romans 12: 1,2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 12:14; Romans 6:1-11;
8:1,2,13; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:12,13)

10. The Gifts of the Spirit

We believe that the Gift of the Spirit is the Holy Spirit himself, and He is to be desired more than the gifts of the Spirit which He in His wise counsel bestows upon individual members of the Church to enable them properly to fulfill their function as members of the body of Christ. The gifts of the Spirit, although not always identifiable with natural abilities, function through them for the edification of the whole Church. These gifts are to be exercised in love under the administration of the Lord of the Church, not through human volition. The relative value of the gifts of the Spirit is to be tested by their usefulness in the Church and not by the ecstasy produced in the ones receiving them. 

(1 Corinthians 14:1, 14:12; 1 Timothy 4.14; Romans 1.11; Acts 8:18; Ephesians 4:7; 2 Timothy 1:6; Isaiah 11:2; 1 Corinthians 2:12-14, 14.22; Romans 11:29; Hebrews 2:4; I Corinthians 12:4-11; Romans 12:6-8; I Timothy 4:14)

11. The Church

We believe that the Christian Church is the entire body of believers in Jesus Christ, who is the founder and only Head of the Church. The Church includes both those believers who have gone to be with the Lord and those who remain on the earth, having renounced the world, the flesh, and the devil, and having dedicated themselves to the work which Christ committed unto His church until He comes. The Church on earth is to preach the pure Word of God, properly administer the sacraments according to Christ’s instructions, and live in obedience to all that Christ commands. A local church is a body of believers formally organized on gospel principles, meeting regularly for the purposes of evangelism, nurture, fellowship, and worship

(Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 2:20-22; Hebrews 10:24-25; Colossians 3:16; Romans 12:5; Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:12; James 5:14)

12. The Sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

We believe that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the sacraments of the church commanded by Christ and ordained as a means of grace when received through faith. They are tokens of our profession of Christian faith and signs of God’s gracious ministry toward us. By them, He works within us to quicken, strengthen, and confirm our faith. We believe that water baptism is a sacrament of the church, commanded by our Lord and administered to believers. It is a symbol of the new covenant of grace and signifies acceptance of the benefits of the
atonement of Jesus Christ. By means of this sacrament, believers declare their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ’s death and of our hope in His victorious return, as well as a sign of the love that Christians have for each other. To such as receive it humbly, with a proper spirit and by faith, the Lord’s Supper is made a means through which God communicates grace to the heart. 

(Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47, 48; Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29)

13. The Second Coming of Christ

We believe that the certainty of the personal and imminent return of Christ inspires holy living and zeal for the evangelization of the world. At His return He will fulfill all prophecies made concerning His final and complete triumph over evil. 

(Mark 13:32-34; Revelation 7:9-10; James 5:7; John 14:3)

14. The Resurrection of the Dead

We believe in the bodily resurrection from the dead of all people- of the just unto the resurrection of life, and of the unjust unto the resurrection of damnation. The resurrection of Christ is the guarantee of the resurrection which will occur at Christ’s Second Coming. The raised body will be a spiritual body, but the person will be whole and identifiable. 

(John 11:25-26; John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:26-27; 50-57; Philippians 1:20-21; Philippians 3:20-21; Hebrews 2:14-15; Isaiah 25:8; Isaiah 65:20)

15. Judgment

We believe that the Scriptures reveal God as the Judge of all and the acts of His judgment are based on His omniscience and eternal justice. His administration of judgment will culminate in the final meeting of all persons before His throne of great majesty and power, where records will be examined, and final rewards and punishments will be administered. (Matthew 12:36-37; John 5:21-25; Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 20:12-25; 1 John 2:1-2; Matthew 7:1-52; 2 Peter 3:10-13)