What We Believe
“We believe that we have the opportunity to know God, not because of anything that we have done but because God has chosen to make God’s own self known to us. It is our privilege to work together to know and understand the God who we meet in the pages of Scripture and through the person of Jesus. As a community, we seek to help one another encounter this Jesus.”
About God
(Father, Son, and Spirit)
We Believe that God is made known to us in 3 persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. This God is both Creator and Sustainer. Amazingly, this God cares for and loves everyone of us. When we fell short, God the Son—Jesus—died for us, taking our sin and freeing us from the consequence: death. Not only did Jesus die for us, but he has been resurrected, providing each of us hope that we can live with God now through the new life we have in God’s Spirit living within us. God has made a way for each of us to have relationship with God.
Bible References
- Genesis 1:26-27
- Deuteronomy 6:4
- John 14:16-17
About Humanity & Salvation
The first story in the Bible, of Adam and Eve, help to tell all of our stories. We are all created in the image and likeness of God. God created us out of the outworking of God’s own self as Triune. As part of that creation, God desires that we choose to trust God as God and not in our own desires or power to be god. However, when we choose to sin, we separate ourselves from God. God, though, restores our relationship by offering us grace through the sacrifice of Jesus. We join in this relationship through baptism, trusting that God’s work of redemption is enough, and ultimately, living in the trust that God originally sought us to have in our Creator.
Bible References
- Genesis 1-3
- John 14:6
- Ephesians 1:4-6
About the Bible
It is in the pages of the Bible that we meet God. This book contains the story of God’s people, and teaches us to understand who God is—a God of love. As we follow the story of God and God’s people, we learn that God desires relationship with humanity and makes a covenant with us. As we read from the Bible, we must understand that the teaching found there is intended for relationship and for covenant with God. That is why the Bible is the authority or standard for how to live according to God’s will—because through the pages of Scripture we find how to have covenanted relationship with God.
Bible References
- Genesis 12:1-3
- Psalm 19:7-11
- 1 Thessalonians 2:13
About the Church
The Church is not a building or one particular group of believers. The Church is all those who believe in God and belong to Jesus. We are the body of Jesus and a spiritual family. As the church, we regularly worship the head of our body, Jesus. Not only that, but we also seek to love one another and maintain unity through our relationship to Jesus. When we live as a family and as the body of Christ, the world around us will recognize that we belong to Jesus. As we seek to do the will of God, we also seek to save and to love the world as Jesus did.
Bible References
- Ephesians 2:19-22
- Acts 2:42-47
- John 13:34-35
About Life with God Starting Now
Since God created us, redeemed us through Jesus, and calls us to live faithfully as the church, we believe that we have life with God starting now. It is in this life that we have the opportunity to follow the teachings of Jesus, and the commands of God in the pages of Scripture. First among these is the call to love one another and to love God. Through this love, we share life with others around us—spreading joy, peace, and hope to every person we encounter. This life gives us hope for the future and a promise that one day God’s desired good creation will come to earth now even as it is in heaven.
Bible References
- Matthew 25:31-46
- Revelation 21:1-7
About Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the one and only son of God. Co-equal with God the Father and God the Spirit, He came to earth and became man. He was completely God while at the same time being fully man. He revealed to us who God is. His miraculous acts, sinless life, and life-changing teachings all confirm the fact that He is God’s son. His purpose for coming to Earth was to show God’s love by dying on a cross, thus taking the sins of all mankind upon Himself, and paying the penalty that our sins deserve. His bodily resurrection from the grave and His promise to return someday are testimonies to the fact that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus desires the deepest of relationship with every person.
Bible References
- Matthew 1:22-23
- John 1:1,14,18
- Acts 10:37-43
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
- Ephesians 2:4-8
- Philippians 2:5-11
- Colossians 1:15-21
- Hebrews 1:1-3
About the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. It dwells in each member of God’s family as a Helper and Guide. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that a person comes to salvation. At the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our physical bodies, making a home there. It provides help to every Christian to do what is right, strength to serve Jesus, and direction for living life God’s way. Every Christian is to allow God’s Spirit to help them on a daily basis.
Bible References
- John 14:16-17
- John 16:7-13
- Acts 2:38
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
- Ephesians 3:16-20
- Ephesians 5:18
About Salvation
We need salvation because we have sinned. Sin separates us from God who desires a relationship with us. It is impossible for anyone to restore that broken relationship with God by any amount of personal goodness, religious deeds, or by belonging to a church. We cannot earn, merit, or achieve a right relationship with God by our own efforts. The death of Jesus was not an accident. It was God’s plan from the beginning to save us from our sins through the death of Jesus Christ. The Bible calls God’s act of love, grace. His grace is His gift to us. The way we receive His gift is by entering into a covenant relationship with Jesus by placing our trust and faith in Him. When we decide that we will follow Jesus for the rest of our lives, we demonstrate our trust in Jesus by obeying His commands to be immersed, baptized in water, demonstrating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
Bible References
- Isaiah 59:2
- John 3:16
- John 14:6
- Acts 2:37-39
- Romans 3:10,11,23
- Romans 6:3-4
- Romans 6:23
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
- Ephesians 2:1-10
- Titus 3:3-8
About Eternity
When God created you and me, He created us with a soul, which will never cease to exist. Those who choose to follow Jesus as Lord, and have a growing relationship with Him, will spend eternity with God in Heaven. Those who reject Jesus by refusing to follow Him will spend eternity in Hell. Heaven, like salvation and grace, is a gift of God. Hell is the due consequence for those who have not accepted God’s offer of forgiveness. Heaven and Hell are real places.
Bible References
- Ezekiel 18:20
- Matthew 7:21-23
- Matthew 10:28
- Matthew 25:31-46
- Luke 16:19-31
- John 14:1-6
- Romans 6:23
- Philippians 3:17-21
- Revelation 20:15
