1. The Bible
   We believe that the Holy Bible was inspired by God, written by men and is completely free from error. It is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction and reveals the principles by which God will judge us. It includes within it the only way of salvation. It will remain to the end of the world the supreme standard and final authority by which all matters of life and doctrine should be tested. Scripture is sufficient for life, godliness, and all ministry; while some applications may vary from one culture to another, the meaning of Scripture is unchanging and trans-cultural. The Bible is to be believed, as God’s instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; taught, as God’s wisdom, to the next generation; and trusted, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises.
   
   
2. The One Triune God
   

   We believe that there is only one living and true God. He exists eternally as three distinct persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; each is fully God and equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

   God is the eternal, infinite Creator and supreme Ruler of heaven and earth. He is merciful, just, and loving, and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his glory. He is inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and is worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love.

   
   
3. Humanity
   We believe God created human beings, male and female, in his image for the purpose of bringing glory to himself; as such men and women are equal in value in the eyes of God. No human beings, ethnicities, or human groups are inherently of higher or lower worth or purity; all enjoy equal access to God by faith in Christ Jesus. God displayed his power by creating the first man and woman (Adam & Eve) directly and instantaneously. In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather complement each other in mutually enriching ways. Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union between one man and one woman that establishes the only normative pattern of sexual relations for all human beings. God ordains that within marriage men and women assume distinctive roles which reflect the loving relationship between Christ and the church, the husband exercising headship in a way that displays the caring, sacrificial love of Christ, and the wife submitting to her husband in a way that models the love of the church for her Lord.
   
   
4. The Fall
   We believe that through the voluntary sin of our first parents Adam and Eve, we are all born in sin. As a result, all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint but by choice; being by nature utterly void of the holiness required by God and completely inclined to evil. Therefore, the human race is unable to turn to God and is under just condemnation to eternal punishment without defense or excuse.
   
   
5. The Way of Salvation
   We believe that the salvation of sinners is only by the grace of God through the work of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. He is fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught the way of God’s kingdom, worked miracles, suffered, died, and rose from the dead. In his death, he became our sacrificial substitute and made full atonement for our sins, absorbing the wrath of God, forgiving our sins, and adopting us into the family of God.
   
   
6. Justification
   We believe that justification is the blessing in which those who believe in Christ are declared righteous. It includes the pardon of sin, and the promise of eternal life on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. It is given freely by God, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done but solely through faith in the work of Christ. This brings us into peace and favor with God and secures every other blessing needed for time and eternity.
   
   
7. The Freeness of Salvation
   We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel, and that it is the immediate duty of all to accept the gospel by a penitent and obedient faith. There is nothing that prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel, which results in condemnation.
   
   
8. Regeneration
   We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, also referred to as being born again. Regeneration consists in God giving a holy disposition to the mind and it is effected by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel. Its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, and faith, and newness of life.
   
   
9. Repentance and Faith
   We believe that repentance and faith are sacred duties brought about in our souls by the Holy Spirit in regeneration, whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with sincere remorse, confession, and supplication for mercy. At the same time we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and rely on him alone as the only and all-sufficient Savior. Having been justified by faith, our call is then to joyfully walk by faith and hope in Jesus Christ through the blessings, challenges, and trials of this world. We deny that genuine faith necessarily results in material prosperity or physical health in this life.
   
   
10. Sovereign Grace
    We believe that it was the eternal purpose of God which he graciously planned before creation, to choose some people to be regenerated and saved not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure. This is perfectly consistent with the free agency of mankind, and is a most glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness being infinitely free, wise, holy and unchangeable. It utterly excludes boasting and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of his free mercy. It is the foundation of Christian assurance.
    
    
11. Sanctification
    We believe that sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of his holiness. It is a progressive work that is begun in regeneration and is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who is the Sealer and Comforter in the continual use of spiritual disciplines, including reading and hearing the word of God, self-examination, and prayer.
    
    
12. The Perseverance of Saints
    We believe that genuine believers are only those who endure to the end. Their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors. A special providence watches over their welfare and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
    
    
13. The Church
    We believe that the invisible church is the communion of God’s people drawn from every tribe, language, people, and nation throughout all the ages. It is made visible in local churches, which are marked by the right preaching of God’s word, right administration of the sacraments, and worship of the Lord in Spirit and in truth. It is governed by the word of God, which teaches that its offices are pastors and deacons whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined most clearly in the epistles to Timothy and Titus. Within God’s complementary design for men and women, only men are to hold the office of pastor/elder, and only men are to preach or teach to the gathered congregation. In the ministry of the church, both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to be developed to their full potential in the manifold ministries of the people of God. Both men and women may serve in the office of deacon. The mission of the church is to be a corporate display of God’s glory to the world by preaching the gospel and making disciples, which includes evangelism, equipping the saints for ministry and maturity, and planting new churches.
    
    
14. Baptism and The Lord’s Supper
    We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit; to show forth our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior in a solemn and beautiful symbol. It symbolizes our death to sin and resurrection to a new life and it is a response to the command of Christ. The Lord’s Supper takes place as believers by the sacred use of the bread and the cup commemorate together the sacrificial love of Christ.
    
    
15. Civil Government
    We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society, and that officials are to be prayed for and conscientiously honored. Civil government is to be obeyed as it carries out the God-appointed duties of every government to secure conditions of peace, justice, and liberty in which the church may obey God, serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and preach the gospel.
    
    
16. The World to Come
    We believe that it is only those who through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of our God who are truly righteous in his esteem. At the last day Christ will descend from heaven, and raise the dead from the grave to final retribution; that a solemn separation will then take place; that the wicked will be judged and sentenced to endless conscious punishment, and the righteous to endless joy; and that this judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or hell, on principles of righteousness. Those belonging to Jesus will have eternal life in the new heavens and the new earth and live in ever-increasing joy to the glory of God.

Scripture References

1. Deut 6:6–9; Prov 30:5–6; Rom 2:12; 2 Tim 3:16–17; 2 Pet 1:21; 1 Joh 4:1
2. Mat 28:19; Mark 1:9–11; Joh 10:30; Acts 5:3–4; Eph 2:18; Rev 1:4–5; Exo 15:11; Psa 83:18; Mark 12:30; Rom 1:20; Rev 4:11
3. Gen 1:27; 2; Gal 3:28; Eph 5:22–33
4. Gen 1:27; 3:6–24; Rom 1:20; 3:19; 5:12
5. Isa 53:4–5; Joh 3:16; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 4:4–7; Eph 2:5; Phil 2:6–7
6. Mat 9:6; Joh 1:16; Rom 3:21–26; 5:9, 21; 1 Tim 4:8
7. Mark 1:15; Joh 5:40; Rom 1:15–17; 3:24; 2 Thes 1:8; Rev 22:17
8. Ezek 36:26; Mat 7:20; Joh 1:13; 3:3, 6–7; Gal 5:16-23; Eph 4:20–24
9. Psa 51; Mat 10:22; Acts 2:37–38; 11:18; 14:22; Rom 10:12–13; Eph 2:8; Heb 4:14
10. Acts 13:48; Rom 8:28–30; Eph 1:11; 2:8–9; 2 Thes 2:13–14; 2 Tim 1:8–9
11. 2 Cor 13:5; 1 Thes 4:3; 5:23; Eph 6:18; Phil 2:12–13
12. Mat 13:20–21; Phil 1:6; Heb 13:5; 1 Joh 2:19; 3:9; 5:18; Jude 24–25
13. Mat 28:18–20; Joh 14:15; Acts 2:42; 6:1–4; Eph 3:8–10; 4:11–16; 1 Tim 2; 3; Titus 1
14. Mat 28:19; Luk 22:14–20; Acts 8:12; Rom 6:4; 1 Cor 11:23–26
15. Dan 3:15–18; Rom 13:1–7; 1 Tim 2:1–8; Titus 3:1; Rev 19:16
16. Mat 25:35–41; Luk 14:14; Joh 5:28–29; Acts 1:11; Rev 1:7; 21:9–27; 22