vision & values

Our Purpose: “To Glorify God in all things, at all costs, and among all peoples"

Our Mission: “Developing people who are shaped and driven by The Gospel”

Our Core Values:

We partner with God's Spirit
We live as God's Family
We are formed by God's Word
We join God in mission
We worship God always

Statement of Faith

1. The Doctrine of the Bible

We believe that every word of the sixty-six books of the Bible is inspired by God, through the supervision of the Holy Spirit. The Scripture is without error in the original manuscripts and is our final authority for all belief and behavior (Ps. 19:7; II Tim. 3:16,17; II Peter 1:20,21).

2. The Doctrine of God

a. The Trinity - We believe in the one living and true God, eternally existent in three distinct persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All share the same nature, attributes, and perfections and are equally worthy of our worship and obedience (Deut. 6:4; Ps. 90:2; Mt. 3:16-17; 28:19; Jn. 1:1-2; Heb. 1:1-3).

b. God the Father - We believe God the Father orders and works all things according to His sovereign and gracious will, and for His own glory. He is graciously involved with men and is the giver of every good gift. He has so designed it that He eternally saves from sin all who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ (Ps. 145:8-9; Jn. 3:36; 5:24; Eph. 1:3-12; Jas. 1:17).

c. God the Son, Jesus Christ - We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and virgin born Son of Man. Being fully God and fully man, His sacrificial death on the cross paid the penalty for man's sin. His bodily resurrection declares that the Father accepted His sacrifice, and is a guarantee of the future resurrection to life of all believers. Jesus is the sole mediator between God and man, and through Him each believer approaches God directly. He is now at the Father's right hand as the Head of the church, and the advocate and intercessor of believers. Before the millennium, He will return to catch away (rapture) His bride, the church. Subsequently, He will establish His earthly kingdom (Lk. 1:31, 35; Jn. 1:1-2,14; Rom. 4:25; Rom. 6:5-10; II Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:20-23; I Thes. 4:13-18; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 7:25; I Pt. 2:9,24; I Jn. 2:1-2).

d. God the Holy Spirit - We believe that the Holy Spirit works to carry out the Divine will in this world. He was active in creation, the writing of Scripture, and Jesus' earthly ministry. Since Pentecost, the focus of His ministry is to complete the building of the Church. This ministry includes convicting the world; regenerating, sealing, and uniting into the body of Christ all who trust Christ for salvation; indwelling and empowering believers for growth and service. All He does glorifies Christ (Gen. 1:2; Mt. 1:18; Jn. 3:5-8; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:9-11; Gal. 5:16-17; Eph. 1:13-14; II Pt. 1:20-21).

3. The Doctrine of Man

We believe that God created man in His own image to glorify Him, enjoy His fellowship, and carry out His will and purpose on the earth. Man disobeyed God's revealed will, and thereby incurred physical and spiritual death. All men are sinners by nature and practice. They are hopelessly and eternally lost in sin, apart from salvation through faith in Christ (Gen. 1:26; 2:7; 3:1-24; Rom. 1:18-32; 3:10-23; 5:12-21; Eph. 2:1-3).

4. The Doctrine of Salvation

We believe that salvation is completely the work of God apart from any human merit. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin by His substitutionary death and resurrection. By faith in Him alone a lost sinner is forgiven of his sins, made a child of God forever, and given all that he needs for spiritual life, including direct access to God through Christ (Jn. 1:12; 3:16; 10:27; Rom. 8:29-30; Eph. 1:3-13; 2:8-9; II Cor. 5:17-21; II Tim. 2:15; I Pt. 2:9, 10; II Pt. 1:3).

5. The Doctrine of the Church

We believe that all true Christians since Pentecost have been united by the Holy Spirit into one spiritual body, the Church, of which Christ is the Head. Believers are directed by Scripture to be baptized in water as a visible testimony of their faith, and to identify with a local community of believers. This local church functions under Christ and in conjunction with its leaders to worship God, to build up one another for growth and ministry, and to carry out the Great Commission. The building up of one another should include the practice of two symbolic ordinances, believer’s baptism by immersion and the Lord's supper, as well as the exercise of spiritual gifts. While we acknowledge a diversity of views on spiritual gifts, it is our conviction that the miraculous sign gifts fulfilled their purpose and the practice of this church shall reflect this conviction. The hallmark of believers is to be their love for one another expressed in tangible ways. We believe in the autonomy of the local church, but we also cooperate with other churches of like faith to accomplish common ends. We believe that the church should be ordered, maintained, and directed apart from the state, and that there should not be a state church (Mt. 22:37; 28:19-20; Jn. 13:34-35; Acts 2:41-47; Rom. 6:3-5; I Cor. 12-14; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-16; I Tim. 3:1-13; Tit. 1:5-9; Heb. 10:24-25).

6. The Doctrine of Satan

We believe that Satan is a spirit being who rebelled against God and has continued to be the arch-enemy of God and His purposes. He authored sin and provoked the fall of man. Though he is presently the prince of this world, he is under a curse and is destined to eternal punishment in the lake of fire. While Satan clearly opposes the spiritual life and growth of believers, they are secure in Christ and need not fear internal domination of demonic forces (Gen. 3:1-16; Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:14-15; Mt. 4:1-11; II Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; I Pt. 5:8; Rev. 20:2-3,10).

7. The Doctrine of Last Things

We believe in the imminent, pre-millennial return of Christ to establish His kingdom upon earth. We also believe that every human being will experience bodily resurrection, believers to eternal life with God, and unbelievers to eternal judgment and separation from God in the lake of fire (Mt. 25:31-46; Jn. 5:21-29; I Thes. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:11-15).