There is only one living and true God. He is Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of all things. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

The Father is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, and all-wise. God is sovereign over all creation and Father to those who place their faith in Jesus Christ. In Him, we have our being. He is loving, gracious, merciful and just. (Genesis 1:1, 26, 27; 2:7; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. Sent by the Father, He joined us here on earth, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, becoming fully man while remaining fully God. He lived a perfect, sinless life while on earth. He died on the cross to pay for the sins of the world, was buried and rose victorious over sin and death on the third day. He is now seated at the right hand of God, will return to earth to rescue His church, and reign over His new creation. (Matthew 1:22, 23; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 4:14, 15; John 1:1 - 5; 14:10 - 30; 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4; Romans 1:3, 4; Acts 1:9 - 11; 1 Timothy 6:14, 15; Titus 2:13; Rev. 21:1 - 5)

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He brings awareness of our sin and our need for Jesus. The Holy Spirit lives in each person at the moment of salvation. He provides the believer power for living, understanding of spiritual truths, guidance to do what is right in our daily walk, and a spiritual gift to serve the church. (2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7 - 13; 14:16, 17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18)

Definition - The gifts of the Spirit are gifts of grace granted by the Holy Spirit that are designed for the edification of the church, which can be divided up as gifts of speaking and gifts of serving.

The gifts can be divided into two categories: gifts of speaking and gifts of serving (1 Pet. 4:11). The categories aren’t precise since those who speak also serve those whom they address, and those who speak serve as they minister. Gifts of speaking include apostleship, prophecy, teaching, evangelism, exhortation, discerning spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues. Gifts of service include leadership, helps, mercy, giving, faith, healing, and miracles. Several truths should be communicated about spiritual gifts.

1. The gifts are to be exercised under the lordship of Christ (1 Cor. 12:1–3). Attention should not be centered on our gifts or our experiences but the supremacy of Christ in all things. People may claim wonderful experiences, but if they aren’t living under Christ’s lordship, their gifts mean very little.

2. The gifts are given for the edification of the church (1 Cor. 14:1–40; Eph. 4:11–16). The gifts are not given for self-edification or self- esteem, but to build up and strengthen the church. The focus of the gifts is corporate and not individualistic. We see in Ephesians 4 is that the aim of the gifts is the maturation of the body of Christ. The Lord wants the church to be stable and strong, able to resist false and destructive teaching. The gifts are operating well when the church becomes more like Jesus Christ, when it is built up in truth and love.

The Bible is God's Word to us. It is the supreme source of truth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, written without error by man in its original form. It is the final authority in all matters of faith, practice and truth. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160; Psalm 12:6; Proverbs 30:5)

People are created in the image of God, male and female, to be like God and with God. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, from the fall of humanity in Genesis 3 until now all are born with a sinful nature that separates us from God. We are incapable of repairing this relationship apart from the salvation of Jesus. (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3 - 6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1, 2)

Salvation is God's free gift to us, but we must accept it by faith alone. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by turning to Jesus Christ and trusting in the sacrifice He made on the cross can anyone be saved from sin's penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into their life by faith. (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8, 9; John 14:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1)

We believe that those who have received the free gift of salvation will experience eternal life with God. God will make all things new. Those who have received Jesus will ultimately be made new, and there will be a new heaven, new earth, and God will live with His people forever. Those who have not received Jesus will be separated from God in Hell. (John 3:6; John 14:17; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:17 - 18; Revelation 20:13 - 15; 1 Corinthians 2:7 - 9)

The church is global, made up of believers of all nations. Jesus calls us to gather to pray, study the Bible, build community, and worship. The church is called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, providing hope to a broken world. (Revelation 5:9, Acts 1:8, Colossians 1:18; Matthew 28:18 - 20; Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 4:15 - 16; Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 2:4:2; 1 Corinthians 14:26)

We affirm that the doctrines of the Trinity (God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the deity of Jesus Christ, the atoning, liberating work of Christ on the cross, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and salvation by grace through faith make up the essential, distinctive nature of Christianity. We acknowledge that there are peripheral, nonessential doctrines that are important to fellow believers but may not be critical to salvation. While our church may hold positions on these nonessentials, we will not allow these doctrines to cause division within the church. We will accept into our body those who have differing views on the nonessential doctrines but will not allow those of a different opinion to become a distraction and divide the church.

• In essential beliefs, we have unity. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

• In non-essential beliefs, we have liberty. (Romans 14:1-22)

• In all our beliefs, we show love. (1 Corinthians 13:2)

Marriage and Sexual expression

Due to the frequency of questions regarding this subject, and not due to a biblical emphasis that matches the doctrinal subjects covered thus far, we are stating our shared statement of belief on marriage and sexual expression.

We believe in the traditional, historically orthodox Christian view of marriage and sexual expression; namely, that marriage is a lifelong one- flesh covenant union between two sexually different persons (male and female) from different families, and that all sexual relationships and expressions outside of marriage are sin.

We believe that living in the way of Jesus means embracing His vision of faithfulness in sexuality.

This practically looks like abstaining from all sexual relationships outside of the traditional, historically orthodox vision of Christian marriage expressed in lifelong covenant union between a man and woman, avoiding pornography, inappropriate relationships that compromise our witness, and pursuing life giving holiness by the grace of God. Practicing this vision of faithfulness in sexual expression should come from a deep inner transformation of the heart (Matthew 5:27-28), and not the legalism of purity culture.

We strive to express this belief in accordance with the way of Jesus, which is full of grace and truth. While the church has always held to a view of sexual expression that is distinct from its surrounding culture, at times in recent history this subject matter has been weaponized and utilized to ostracize those who disagree with the traditional, historical view of the church by highlighting and overly emphasizing this particular sin and subject. We welcome all people regardless of their belief and practice to worship Jesus with us, and to hear the good news of Jesus. Jesus, who is the head of the church, was uncompromising in his teaching calling us to deep inner transformation, and simultaneously compassionately invited people to sit at the table with Him who did not align with his beliefs. He invites us still into a way of life with Himself that leads to human flourishing and "life to the full." (John 10:10)