The Trinity
We believe that there is one true, holy God, eternally existing and expressing Himself in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The triune God possesses pronounced and personal attributes but is without division in nature. In the beginning, God took nothing and formed the world and everything in it. Since the beginning, He has been relentlessly desiring and pursuing a personal, intimate, and eternal relationship with us, His creation and children.
(Genesis 1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16,17)
Being Separated From God
We believe that even though God created humans to live in relationship with Him, that sin entered the world through the fall of man, and humanity’s relationship with God was broken and distorted. That initial disobedience by humans resulted in a severing of our relationship with God, and there was and is nothing we can do on our own to reestablish that union with the Father … But we also believe that God did not abandon his creation to destruction and decay; rather He promised to restore this broken world and bring His family back together.
(Genesis 3; Romans 1-3)
JESUS
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. We believe that our longing for purpose and to be reunited with our Father finds fulfillment in Jesus, born of a virgin, mysteriously God in the flesh. Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, and set captives free. He lived a perfect life, proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom. He was rejected by many, crucified, buried, and rose again. His death and resurrection bring hope to all creation. Through Jesus we have been forgiven, and through Jesus, God reconciles us to Himself. Through Jesus, God puts His family back together. Jesus is the only way for this to happen, the only mediator between God and humans. For all who believe and receive His sacrifice, He gives the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth through a communal life of worship and a missional expression of our faith. (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; Romans 5:1-11; Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:24-25)
Through Jesus we have been forgiven, and through Jesus, God reconciles us to Himself.
The Holy Spirit
The third person of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. We believe the Holy Spirit lives within every believer in Jesus and that the Spirit is our abiding helper, teacher, and guide. We believe the Holy Spirit empowers every believer for ministry today. We believe in the present ministry of the Spirit and in the exercise of all of the biblical gifts of the Spirit.
(John 14 & 16; Acts 2; Romans 8; I Cor. 12 - 14)
The Bible
We believe the Bible to be the voices of many who have come before us, inspired entirely by God to continue to speak to us today. We believe the Bible, as it was originally written, is entirely authoritative, complete and reliable. God calls us to immerse ourselves in this authoritative Word and to continue to faithfully live out its story today as we are led by the Spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
The Church
We believe there is one true church, universal, comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We practice the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper and await the return of Christ. We believe the church is called to engage the culture and to be representatives of the resurrected Christ who lives in and through us on display to a broken and hurting world. We believe that God works through the church to bring His family back together through Jesus Christ. (Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 16:18; Acts 1-12; Ephesians 4:1-16; Romans 12:4-5)