God
We believe there is one divine being who has existed eternally. He
exists and reveals Himself to man in three distinct, equally divine
persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While we cannot fully
comprehend His divine nature, it is possible for people to know Him. At
the beginning of time, God created the entire universe and all its
creatures. He continues to exercise His supreme power to sustain His
creation. Throughout history He has expressed His desire to be our God
and to have a personal, eternal relationship with us. We believe that
God loves us and wants what is best for us.
Jesus
We believe that Jesus is the eternal divine Son of God. He chose
voluntarily to be made in human likeness and was conceived by the Holy
Spirit and born of a virgin. Although He lived a sinless life He
allowed Himself to be executed by crucifixion. His death paid the
penalty for the offenses of mankind against God. However, as
prophesied, He rose from the dead three days after His execution. After
appearing to witnesses on a number of occasions for forty days, He
ascended into heaven where He now serves as the Mediator between God
and man. We believe that at the end of time He will again visibly
return to earth to complete His eternal plan.
The Holy Spirit
The third person of God is the Holy Spirit. We believe the Holy
Spirit dwells in every Christ follower. His indwelling presence gives
spiritual life to believers and distinguishes them as children of God.
The Holy Spirit guides Christ followers in understanding and applying
God's principles and values. Through the work of the Holy Spirit,
Christ followers are empowered to live Christ-like lives. The Holy
Spirit also equips Christ followers with talents and abilities for the
purpose of building up God's kingdom.
Man
God created mankind to
live in relationship with Him. However, the first man and woman were
deceived by Satan. They rebelled and chose to be wrongfully independent
from God. Their decision alienated them from God. Every human being
since that time has suffered the consequences of that rebellion. We all
fail to please God and are open to Satan's deception. Our failure to
please God, unless a relationship is re-established with Him, results
in condemnation under God's judgment and would cause us to spend
eternity in hell. Furthermore, there is nothing we can do on our own to
re-establish our relationship with God.
The Bible
God divinely inspired
human authors to write the sixty-six books of the Bible. He
communicated through these writers the values, principles, and ideals
which please Him and are in our best interests. We believe the Bible is
entirely accurate, complete, and reliable. We look to the Bible for the
revelation of the character of God and the final authority on all
matters of faith and conduct.
A Relationship with God
Our
inability to re-establish our relationship with God leaves us dependent
on God's mercy. God graciously provided the means to reconcile this
relationship through faith in Jesus Christ. Our relationship is
re-established when we make a commitment to accept Jesus as God's son
and our Savior and Lord. Through faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ, our sins are
forgiven, and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and eternal life.
Practically speaking, this acceptance is demonstrated through both a
private and public commitment. We demonstrate our commitment privately
by faith (acting upon our belief that God has the power to save us) and
repentance (turning back to God and depending on Him to control our
lives). At the same time, we publicly express our commitment by
confessing our acceptance of God's salvation and submitting ourselves to baptism thereby becoming a Christian .
The Christian Life
Once our
relationship is re-established with God, we naturally want to spend
time with Him and know Him better. The Holy Spirit enlightens us as we
read God's Word, the Bible, as we communicate with Him in prayer, and
as we enter into loving relationships, Biblical community, with other
Christ followers. In this way we begin to know God more intimately. As
we become acquainted with God we desire to be like Him and please Him.
This process of spiritual development motivates us to seek ways to
serve God and prepares us to spend eternity in fellowship with Him.
The Church
We believe
the church represents Jesus Christ to a needy world. The Bible speaks
of the church as Christ's body. It compares it to a living organism,
where Jesus is the head. God arranges the parts of the body, Christ
followers, just as He wants them to be. He gives each Christ follower
special functions to perform for the good of the body. To remain
healthy, the body's members must work together. Each part contributes
to the growth and maturity of the body. God works through the church to
reconcile a lost world to Himself through Jesus Christ. For this reason
it is important for Christ followers to regularly gather together for
the purpose of celebration. During celebration, Christ followers are
equipped, built up, and encouraged through teaching, fellowship,
prayer, and communion. Celebration in this way enables believers to
serve people in their sphere of
influence.
