Affirmations of Faith
What We Believe
Article 1: God
We believe in the one true, holy and living God, Omniscient and Omnipresent, who is Creator and Sovereign over all things visible and invisible. He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness, and reigns with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation
of all people. We believe the one God reveals Himself as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power. We believe God is love and expressed/expresses His love through the offer of salvation, life abundant,
and eternal through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and the sustaining work of the Holy Spirit.
Article 2: Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the eternal Word made flesh, the image of the invisible God, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by
the power of the Holy Spirit, the Alpha and Omega, the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah. He is the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Door, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the True Vine and the only
source of salvation. He lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return. He is eternal Savior and Mediator, the Lord over all, who intercedes for us, and by
Him all people will be judged.
Article 3: The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit comforts, leads, sustains, strengthens, equips, transforms, produces fruit, imparts spiritual gifts, indwells believers, convicts of sin, and empowers
the faithful, guiding them into all truth. The Spirit always points to and continues the work of Christ until the day of His return. The Holy Spirit is the manifest presence of God until the return of Christ.
Article 4: The Holy Bible
We believe the Holy Bible, expressed through both the Old and New Testaments, reveals the nature and character of God, His holy purposes, and the necessity and gift of salvation through Christ alone. We read the Old Testament in light of the New, never in reverse.
All canonized scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true and final authority and guide for faith and practice.
Article 5: Sin
We believe every human being is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness, bound in sin, and living in darkness. By our own strength, without the indwelling and empowering of the Spirit, we cannot
do good works that are pleasing and acceptable to God. We believe through an act of disobedience following the creation of human kind, all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Sin lodged within the human spirit, with hearts turned from God wherein
selfishness, control, and pride abound.
Article 6: Salvation:
We believe through Christ, God was/is reconciling the world to Himself. The offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the entire world, redeeming humankind from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is
required. We believe salvation through Christ is a gift to be received and all who receive Christ are given the right to become children of God. We believe we are saved by grace, through faith, as the gift of God through Jesus Christ only, not by works so
that no one can boast of any merit or favor through personal acts. We believe that anyone in Christ is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come, and this is all from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ. We believe salvation (saved
from and saved for) is experienced by those who have placed their faith in Christ.
Article 7: The Church
We believe the Church is the community of all believers under the Lordship of Christ. We believe it is a holy, apostolic, and universal faith family spanning generations. The church is the ministering presence of God today, through the power and direction of
the Holy Spirit. It is the redemptive and welcoming fellowship which gives evidence to the Lordship of Jesus and the offer of salvation to all. The Word of God is preached by those divinely called, and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s
own appointment. Under the care and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church exists for worship, the edification of believers, to serve God’s purposes and for the making of disciples who follow Christ.
Article 8: The Sacraments
We believe the Sacraments, ordained by Christ, are symbols and pledges of the Christian’s profession and of God’s love toward us. They are a means of grace by which God works invisibly within us, quickening, strengthening and confirming our faith in him. We
affirm the Sacraments instituted by Christ our Lord; namely Baptism and Holy Communion.
We believe Children’s Baptism or Dedication are symbols of faithfulness to the Lordship of Christ. Throughout the early church entire households experienced baptism, signifying entrance into the family of faith and alignment with Christ. We believe children
are under the atonement of Christ and are heirs of the Kingdom of God, as stated by Jesus. We believe adult baptism serves as a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Christ Jesus and a mark of Christian discipleship.
Children of believing parents through Baptism or Dedication become the shared spiritual responsibility of their parent(s) and the Church. They are to be nurtured, through the support of their parent(s) and encouraged to make a personal commitment to Christ.
Teenagers are encouraged, through participation in a teen discipleship course, to affirm their faith, be baptized or re-affirm the baptismal vow spoken over them by their parent(s). Baptism is not synonymous with salvation. Baptism is an act of obedience to
the commands of Christ and aligns us with the Church universal.
We believe the Lord’s Supper is a representation of our redemption, a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and a token of love and union which Christians have with Christ and with one another. Those who desire to walk in fellowship with God and others
are invited to His table. The Lord’s Supper/Holy Communion is not the table of any congregation, but rather, the Lord’s table. We believe those who, in faith, receive the two tokens of His love (the bread and the cup) partake of the body and blood of Christ
in a spiritual manner until he returns.
Article 9: Free Will
We believe that being created in the image of God provides the human spirit with the capacity to create, make decisions, and to love. God is not a master puppeteer dangling a marionette. We are called to choose whom we will serve. We are called to follow Jesus.
We are given the right to exercise free will, to receive or reject His wondrous grace.
Article 10: Good Works
We believe we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10) Jesus commanded us to let our light shine, that people would see the things we do and give glory to our Father in Heaven.
(Mt. 5:16) We are exhorted through Paul’s writing in Galatians 6 to never grow weary in doing good, especially to those of the household of faith. We are not justified through any personal work, but through faith in Christ wherein good works and acts of compassion
are a natural expression of a regenerated soul.
Article 11: Sanctification / Christian Perfection
We believe, becoming like Christ, is a life-long journey rooted in the work of God’s grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have committed their lives to Jesus and are being cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words, and actions. As Paul
writes in II Corinthians 3:17-18, we are being transformed…into the image of Christ. Our goal in Christ, through the sanctifying power of His Spirit, is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving one’s neighbor as one’s self. As believers,
filled with His Spirit, we believe that temptation is common to us all, but that no one is tempted beyond what they can bear, but when tempted, God provides a way out so we can stand up under it.
Article 12: Hospitality
We believe radical hospitality was/is a signature distinctive of the church to be maintained throughout human history. We graciously welcome all persons to worship and to celebrate the Lordship of Jesus within our faith family.
Article 13: Public Worship
We believe worship is the duty and privilege of those who, in the presence of God, bow in adoration, humility, gratitude, and dedication. We believe worship is essential to the life of the Church, and that the assembling of the people of God for such worship
is necessary for Christian fellowship, encouragement, and spiritual growth. We believe the acts of public worship should provide opportunity to hear the spoken and applicable word of God through preaching and the reading of scripture, to express adoration
through song, praise, and prayer, to lift up the name of Jesus, and to encourage one another in our respective and collective journey with Jesus. “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow…”
