Beliefs

 We believe water baptism is commanded of every believer, and a necessary requisite for going on to spiritual maturity.  When done in faith, it is the means whereby those who have been justified by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ receive a circumcision of the heart, are made participants in the death and resurrection of Christ and thus are delivered from the dominion and rule of sin.  The ordinance of baptism is a burial with Christ, to be observed, whenever physically possible as commanded in the Scriptures by all who have repented and truly believed in their heart on Christ as Savior and Lord.  The method of baptism will be by immersion.  They declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and that they have also been raised with Him to walk in newness of life. It is the circumcision of the heart by faith and through the working of the Spirit of God. Water baptism is the taking on of a great responsibility, because in it a person makes an everlasting commitment to God (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 10:47-48; Colossians 2:11-12).

 All believers are entitled to, and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the Promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This was the normal experience in the early Christian church. With it come the endowment of power for life and service, and the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5; I Corinthians 12:1-31).  This wonderful experience is distinct from and after the experience of the new birth (Acts 2:38; 10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-8). The baptism in the Holy Spirit is evidenced by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.  Those who seek the fullness of the Spirit shall receive prayer for the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17; 19:2-6). 

 Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement and is the privilege of all believers.  The ministration of the laying on of hands accompanied with the anointing of oil for the healing of the sick shall be granted as requested is made and the need may require (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 16:17-18; James 5:14-15). 

 We believe that at death the spirits and souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ pass immediately into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the glorified body, when Jesus Christ comes for His own.  Whereupon soul and body reunited shall be with Him forever in glory; but the spirits and souls of the unbelieving remain after death conscious of condemnation and in misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (Luke 16:19-26; 23:42; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; II Thessalonians 1:7-8; Jude 6, 7; Revelation 20:11-15).

 The nine gifts of the Spirit outlined in I Corinthians 12 should be and must be operative in the church to enjoy the fullness of God.  These gifts are imparted by the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit and only work or are operated by this one and the self-same Spirit (I Corinthians 12:11).

 We believe that the Holy Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, were written by holy men inspired by the Holy Spirit and are God’s revealed word to man.  They are the sufficient, infallible rule and guide to salvation and all Christian worship and service (II Peter 1:20-21; II Timothy 3:15-17; I Thessalonians 2:13).  The Bible is the inspired Word of God, equally in all parts and in the whole; it is totally inerrant in the original manuscripts.  It is the supreme revelation from God and of God, superior to conscience and reason, though not contrary to them; and it is therefore our infallible rule in all manners.  All the Scriptures center around the Lord Jesus Christ and hence, no portion is properly read nor understood until it leads to Him.

 Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.  Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ.  By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life.  The inward evidence of salvation is direct witness of the Spirit and the outward evidence to all men of a life of righteousness and true holiness (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-l5; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7; Romans 8:16; Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12).

 Justification is the legal act whereby God declares the sinner to be innocent of his or her sins.  It is not that the sinner is now sinless, but that he/she is "declared" sinless.  This declaration of righteousness means the person is justified before God.  This justification is based on the shed blood of Jesus, "...having now been justified by His blood..." (Rom. 5:9) where Jesus was crucified, died, buried, and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4).  God imputed (reckoned to our account) the righteousness of Christ at the same time our sins were imputed to Christ when He was on the cross.  That is why it says in 1 Pet. 2:24, "And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."  Also, 2 Cor. 5:21 says, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Additionally, we are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1) apart from works of the Law (Rom. 3:28).

We believe that Scripture teaches there is one and only one true and living God, who is self-existent, and the eternal “I AM,” the creator of heaven and earth, and the redeemer of mankind.  We believe that He has chosen to reveal Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the same in essence, though distinct in personality (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 28:18-19; Luke 3:22).  These three are one God, having the same nature, attributes, and perfection and are worthy of the same homage and obedience (Mark 12:29; John 1:14; Acts 5:3, 4; II Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4-6).  The mode of His existence, however, is a subject far above the understanding of man. He is the fountain of all perfection and happiness.  He is glorified by the whole of creation and is worthy to be loved and served by all intelligence.  He, therefore, is the only proper object of worship (Jeremiah 10:10; Exodus 3:14; Psalms 90:2; Matthew 28:19, 20; Job 11:7; Psalms 19:1, 2; 145:10; 150:6; Exodus 34:14). 

 The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the general church, which is written in heaven (Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:22, Hebrews 12:23).

God created marriage (Gen. 2:22).  It is a covenant made between a man and a woman that makes them one (Gen 2:24).  The marriage covenant requires the married parties to be faithful, loving, and helpful to each other as long as they both shall live (Mark 10:3-10). Christians are not to marry unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14-18).  Those whom God has directed to be joined together shall, after counseling with the pastor concerning what God requires of them, be joined in Christian marriage (Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 5:32; 19:5-6,9; Romans 7:2-3; I Corinthians 7:10-11, 15; II Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:22-23).

 The dedication of children is the presentation of a child to God, and therefore establishes a covenant between God and parents.  God promises blessing and protection to the child whose parents are faithful to rear him/her in the services of the Lord.  Such a child is made holy and is part of the covenant family of God by the faith of his parents until he/she reaches the age of accountability, whereupon he/she becomes responsible as an individual before God and is commanded to repent (Psalms 34:11; Isaiah 54:13; Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-16; I Corinthians 7:14).