What We Believe

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) presenting to us the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men, and constituting the Divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice (2 Peter 1:21).

We believe there is but one true and living God, who is everlasting, infinite in power, wisdom and goodness; that He is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, and Preserver of all things (Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16). In the unity of this Godhead, there are three persons of one individual essence, who are co-equal, co-existent and co-eternal; namely, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16, 17; 28:18, 19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 1:1,2, 18; 10:33; 14:26; 15:26; Philippians 2:6; Hebrews 9:14). The Son is the eternally begotten of the Father, and accepted earthly limitations for the purpose of incarnation, being true God and true man; conceived by the Holy  Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the just for the unjust as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of the Majesty on High as our great High Priest, and He will return again to establish His Kingdom of righteousness and justice. The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, Executive of the Godhead on earth, the Comforter sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to indwell, to guide and to teach the believer, and to convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment (John 16:8).

Man is a created being, made in the likeness and the image of God, but through Adam’s transgression and fall, sin came into the world (Romans 5:12). "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was manifested to undo the work of the devil, and gave His life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man to God (1 John 3:8).

Salvation is made possible through the meritorious work of Jesus Christ on the cross and through Holy Spirit conviction. Godly sorrow works repentance and makes possible the experience of the new birth, and Christ formed within us is the gift of eternal life (2 Corinthians 7:10; Titus 2:11; Romans 10:13-15; Luke 24:47; Titus 3:5-7). Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the Law, and is made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Man is a free moral agent and can at any time after the new birth experience turn away from God and die in a state of sin, with the consequences of hell to look forward to.

Baptism in water is by immersion, a direct commandment of our Lord (Matthew 28:19), and is for believers only. The ordinance is a symbol of the Christian’s identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:36-39). The following recommendation regarding the water baptism formula is adopted: "On the confession of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, and by His authority, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen."

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11), is a gift from God, as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers in this dispensation of time, and is received subsequent to the new birth (John 14:16, 17; Acts 1:8; 2:38, 39; 10:44-48). The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is accompanied by speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance as the initial physical sign and evidence (Acts 2:4).

Healing is for the physical ills of the human body and is wrought by the power of God, through the prayer of faith, and by the laying on of hands (Mark 16:18; James 5:14, 15). It is provided for in the atonement of Christ and is available to all who truly believe.

We believe the Bible presents the coming of Christ as personal, imminent, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial. We further contend that this position alone admonishes watchfulness, incites holy living, prevents spiritual declension, and provides maximum incentive and motive for urgency and zeal in evangelizing the unsaved. As demonic deception and satanic darkness deepens, we urge our ministers to maintain and proclaim this doctrinal viewpoint as the "blessed hope" of the Church. Furthermore, we recommend that should any of our preachers hold to the mid or post-tribulation doctrine, they refrain from preaching and teaching it. Should they persist in emphasizing this doctrine to the point of making it an issue, their standing in the fellowship will be seriously affected.