Beliefs

Our Statement of Faith

 We believe God exists eternally in Trinity. There is one, and only one, true God, infinite in all His perfections, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each of these three persons is fully and equally God, equal in every divine perfection while executing distinct and harmonious roles in the great work of salvation. We believe God is the sovereign creator and sustainer of all things.

We believe God reveals Himself to His creation through His Word. The 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament constitute the written Word of God and are verbally inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient, necessary, trustworthy, and authoritative. The Bible includes within it the only way of salvation and has its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The Bible alone is our final authority for all doctrine and practice.

We believe God created people in His own image as uniquely male and female. Because we are made in God’s image, every human life is sacred from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death. Because we are made uniquely male and female, gender is a gift that is fundamental to human existence, with maleness and femaleness being an unchangeable characteristic congruent with human embodiment. God gave people the mandate to build society through procreation and vocation. While God calls some to singleness (without loss of personhood, dignity, or contributive capability), heterosexual monogamy is God’s design for men and women in marriage. We will not participate in and/or recognize marriages that deviate from God’s design. Any sexual activity before or outside of God’s design for marriage is sinful. Homosexual behavior, same-sex attraction, gender dysphoria and any gender expressions incongruent with one’s biological sex are results of the Fall to be redeemed through the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit.

We believe all people are sinful and in need of salvation. Though created in the image of God, Adam and Eve voluntarily rebelled against God and brought sin into the world through the Fall. As a result, all people are born sinners, inheriting the condemnation of our first parents. We are sinners by nature and choice, with every aspect of our being corrupted by sin including our intellect, will, and emotions so that, apart from Christ, we cannot please God. All people are, apart from God’s grace, unable to turn to God and are under just condemnation to eternal punishment, without defense or excuse.

We believe sinners can only be saved through the work of Jesus Christ.  He is the second person of the Trinity, truly God, eternally begotten of the Father, not created. He became truly human, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and lived a full life without sin. His perfect life and death on the cross provide the only atonement that satisfies the righteous requirements of God for sinful people. In His death, Jesus fully and finally paid for sin and became our sacrificial substitute, absorbing the full wrath of God, forgiving sins, and adopting into the family of God any who repent of their sin and believe in Him. In His bodily resurrection, Jesus powerfully testifies of His deity and His existence as humanity’s only hope. This message of salvation and hope is known as the Gospel.

We believe salvation is available to all who repent and believe in Christ. Although sin condemns a person to eternal punishment, the power of the Gospel is sufficient to save even the greatest sinner. People everywhere are commanded to repent and believe upon Jesus because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Apart from the grace of God all would receive eternal condemnation, because there is no salvation apart from the work of Jesus. Those who receive the Gospel are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

We believe the Holy Spirit is the supernatural agent who applies salvation to sinful people. He is the third person of the Trinity, truly God, eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. He convicts the world of sin and its consequences, brings repentance and faith to sinners through regeneration, indwells believers, gives them assurance of salvation, sanctifies them, and causes them to bear the fruit of Christian character. He guides, instructs, and empowers Christians, gifting them to serve the local church.

We believe salvation is applied to the believer by the grace of God. In justification, God declares believers righteous in His sight because He has fully forgiven them of their sin and imputed Christ’s righteousness to them. In sanctification, God progressively frees believers from the power of sin and grows them in practical holiness. While this growth is a gift of grace, it also requires the believer to actively, intentionally, and persistently fight sin through means such as prayer, Bible intake, and meaningful involvement in a local church. In glorification, God perfects the believer upon the return of Christ. All those who are truly justified will persevere and will be progressively sanctified and ultimately glorified.

We believe the local church is central to God’s plan for believers. The local church is an autonomous congregation that covenants together for worship, discipleship, service, fellowship, mission, discipline, and the celebration of the ordinances. The church is governed by God’s Word, which teaches that elders are given to oversee the church, deacons are to serve the church, and members are to guard the church’s membership, doctrine, unity, and purity. Members of local churches are commanded to assemble regularly and live lives that bring glory to God in accordance with the Scriptures. The mission of the church is to display God’s glory to the world by preaching the Gospel and making disciples.

We believe baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances to be observed by the local church. Baptism of believers in water by immersion is the initial sign of identification with Christ and His people. The Lord’s Supper of bread and fruit of the vine is the ongoing sign of identification with Christ and His people. These ordinances are matters of Christian obedience, not to be regarded as means of salvation. Although baptism is performed once upon a believer’s genuine profession of faith, the Lord’s Supper should be observed regularly until the return of Christ.

We believe Jesus will return to earth to judge all people and to rule and reign with His people forever. At Christ’s return, all people will be resurrected to give account of their lives before God. Believers in Christ will be resurrected to everlasting blessedness and joy in God’s presence. Unbelievers will be resurrected to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment. The ultimate hope of all creation, and the final state of all that now exists, is the new heaven and new earth in which righteousness dwells.

We hold these truths in humble conviction. This statement is not an expression of human wisdom but represents the essential doctrines we believe are clearly taught by the Scriptures. This statement does not exhaust our beliefs but summarizes beliefs we deem essential to Membership in this local church, employment and service in its ministries, and faithfulness to our Lord. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all we believe. As a church committed to Christian orthodoxy, we also affirm the Nicene Creed and Apostles’ Creed. As a church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, we also affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. As a church committed to a historical understanding of marriage and sexuality, we affirm The Nashville Statement on biblical sexuality.