Core Values & Beliefs
Here’s what we believe as a church:
About God:
We believe in the one true, holy and living God who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible. God is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of humankind, to the glory of his name. We believe this one God reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one is essence and power.
About Jesus:
We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly human, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. Jesus is God’s eternal Word made flesh, the only Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. He lived, suffered and died on the cross. We believe his death is the single and perfect sacrifice which reconciles the Father to us and covers the sin and guilt of humankind. We believe he was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven from which he will return to judge the living and the dead.
About the Holy Spirit:
We believe in the Holy Spirit who comes from and is one with the Father and the Son. His inner prompting makes people aware of their need for Jesus, and leads them to respond to the gospel. The Spirit is given to every believer to empower them to live a holy life, along with spiritual gifts to be used in service for Christ. The Holy Spirit leads all believers into truth, and believers become like Jesus as a result of submitting to His leading.
About the Bible:
We believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as is necessary for our salvation. It was written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true, full and final authority on all matters of faith and practice.
About Humanity:
We believe men and women are created by God in His image and all are loved by God. God created us to love and to have an intimate, personal relationship with us. We are made to know God personally and to glorify God in and with our lives.
About Sin:
We believe we are all born with sin within us. As a result of our first parent’s failure in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of creation, we are born with an inner attitude of rebellion against God’s leadership in our lives. This rebellion is called sin. Sin separates us from God. No one has lived a sinless life (except Jesus) and therefore all of us need God’s mercy, grace and forgiveness which he offers through Christ.
About Salvation:
We believe salvation is a gift of God, which we receive through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a gift of God’s grace – it is not earned or deserved. When we call on Christ to forgive us of our sins and to become our Savior and Lord, HE DOES – and we become part of His family. Our personal relationship with him begins and we embark on the journey of following him that culminates in eternal life in His heavenly kingdom.
About Sacraments:
- We believe the sacraments are avenues of grace by which God works through the Holy Spirit to strengthen and confirm our faith in Him. Two sacraments are ordained by Christ our Lord, namely Baptism and the Lord’s Supper:
- Baptism – We believe Baptism signifies entrance into the household of faith, and is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Jesus Christ and a mark of one’s decision to follow Jesus. We believe children are under the atonement of Christ and as heirs of the Kingdom of God are acceptable candidates for Christian baptism. Children of believing parents through Baptism become the special responsibility of the Church, and must be nurtured and led to personal acceptance of Christ, and by profession of faith, confirm their baptism.
- The Lord’s Supper: We believe the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic remembrance of the suffering and death of Christ, and a proclamation of the love and union Christians have with Christ and with one another. Those who honestly and in faith eat the broken bread and drink the blessed cup share the body and blood of Christ in a spiritual manner until he comes.
About Marriage:
We affirm the sanctity of the marriage covenant that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between a man and a woman. We believe that God’s blessing rests upon such marriage, whether or not there are children of the union. We support laws in civil society that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
About Human Sexuality:
We affirm that sexuality is God’s good gift to all persons. Although all persons are sexual beings whether or not they are married, sexual relations are affirmed only within the covenant of monogamous, heterosexual marriage. While we affirm that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God, we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. We do affirm that God’s grace is available and necessary for all, and seek to live in Christian community, welcoming, forgiving, and loving one another, as Christ has loved and accepted us.
About Abortion:
We affirm that the beginning of life and the ending of life are God-given boundaries of human existence. That means all of life from beginning to end is a sacred thing. Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life causes us to reject abortion in all except the most extreme of circumstances, where birth conflicts with the life of the mother or severe fetal abnormalities become incompatible with life. We reject abortion as an acceptable means of birth control, and we unconditionally reject it as a means of gender selection or eugenics. We reject the use of partial-birth abortion and call for the immediate end of this practice.