Through Adam and Eve, all of humanity entered into rebellion against their Creator God and His perfect, loving, law. Because of this fall of mankind, all people are now living as enemies of the true King by both their nature and by their personal choices.

But, the reality of this bad news is met with the message of Jesus Christ. The word "Gospel" literally means "Good News" and that is what the news about Jesus Christ is! The Gospel is the message of God the Son taking on human flesh. As Jesus Christ, He lived perfectly, died in the place of sinners, was raised from the dead in power, and ascended to the right hand of God the Father in glory.

The events of the crucifixion and resurrection are the heart of the Gospel. Jesus died for the sins of people like us, in our place, taking the punishment that we deserve. His death satisfied the demands of God's holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. At the same time, it demonstrates God's amazing love and His incredible grace.

There is no other way of salvation from sin. He is the only hope for mankind. The way to peace with God, forgiveness of sins, and an eternity of life and joy is through placing faith in Christ and His grace alone. That means to trust completely in Jesus and His completed work, not relying on our own actions or any method or external item to save us. God saves, by His grace, those who have faith in Jesus Christ as their only hope.

WE BELIEVE: 

• there is only one true God. 
  He is the Creator of all things on heaven and earth, visible and invisible. He is Sovereign over all things and all things exist to glorify Him.

• this one God exists in three distinct, yet united, Persons (The Trinity). 
  Within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and co-eternal Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

• the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity. 
  Jesus, who was born by the virgin Mary, is unique in that He is truly God and truly man. As a man, He lived a real human existence, but never sinned as the rest of us do. This uniqueness allowed Him to die in the place of sinners, offering His own perfection to us and taking our sins upon Himself.

• the Scriptures are the authoritative & inerrant Words of God.  
  The 66 books of the Bible are true, trustworthy, and fully sufficient in all matters of faith and belief. There is no error in them and they, in their entirety, reveal to us what God wants His people to know.

• all of humanity (except Christ) is sinful both by nature and by personal choices & actions. 
  Every person lives by nature and choice as a rebel against God, spiritually dead in their trespasses. We are all completely incapable of saving ourselves from God's wrath toward our sins.

• the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was a real historical event with an eternal spiritual significance. 
  At a specific moment in history, Jesus Christ physically died upon a cross outside of Jerusalem. This event is not a myth or a legend, but is a historical fact. This death was not a punishment for His own sins or the result of tragedy forced upon Him. Jesus, God the Son, intentionally died for the sins of His people as the perfect substitute for them.

• the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred physically three days after His death.
  Like His death, the bodily resurrection of Jesus is a real historical event. He was truly dead on Friday, was buried in a borrowed tomb and yet He physically rose from the dead on the following Sunday morning. This resurrection proved Jesus was who He said He was and that He did what He said He would do.

• Jesus is alive today and is, right now, seated in heaven ruling and reigning over all things. 
  After His resurrection, Jesus physically ascended into heaven. He is sitting at the right hand of God the Father and all authority belongs to Jesus. He is the true Lord of Lords and King of Kings over all things and all people, regardless of if they realize or bow to that reality right now.

• Jesus will return from Heaven to judge all of humanity.
  The return of Jesus is longed for by His people. For us, it is the return of the triumphant King and the start of eternity made right. At this return, Jesus will judge all of the living and the dead and He will act in complete justice or mercy toward each person that has ever lived.

• salvation is a free gift of grace alone granted by faith alone through the person and work of Christ alone. 
  By repenting of sin and placing full trust in Christ alone, not relying on personal works or righteousness, God graciously saves sinners from the wrath they deserve. His salvation is the removing of sin from His people and the giving to them the gift of the perfection of Jesus. There is nothing that a person does to earn this. The Bible tells us that it is be grace alone, not grace plus something. Likewise, there is no work a person has to do for God in exchange, salvation comes by faith alone. All of this is done by relying upon Christ alone and nobody else, ourselves included.

• the church has a mission. 
  Jesus came to seek and save the lost. We believe the church consists of the people who have been redeemed by God and are now called to enter into a special role in the mission by proclaiming the Gospel. We do not believe we should separate from the people God has placed around us,but rather we seek to share the same Gospel message that changes us and we now live in and pursue godliness in our daily jobs, social interactions, and life choices.

• the Lord Jesus instituted two Ordinances (also known as Sacraments) for His church that continue today.

  • The first ordinance is Water Baptism. 
    After repenting of sin and receiving Christ's gift of salvation, the next step for a person is to publicly declare their faith and their commitment to the Lord Jesus through baptism. This act is a step of obedience to Christ, not an optional add-on for Christians to take or leave as they desire. We understand the normal and best practice of this to be by full immersion into water.

  • The second ordinance is Communion (also known as The Lord's Supper).
    Regularly, as a symbolic remembrance of Christ's suffering and death for our salvation, Christians are called to gather together to eat bread and drink wine (or juice) regularly in order to reflect upon Christ's death for His people. These elements function as symbols to point us to Christ and His finished work.

• there will be a physical resurrection from the dead at the end of time and an eternity with God after this life.
  Those who have placed their faith in Christ alone will be raised up to eternal life with God. The living will go to meet Him in the air and the dead will be raised back to life. Those who died in unbelief and rebellion or who were alive and continued to reject God will face eternal punishment under the wrath of God, paying for their own sins forever. We believe that all of humanity will go on to eternity, but where we go is determined by if we have been saved by Christ or not.

WE BELIEVE:

• that Christians today are given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit to serve God and further the mission of the church. 
  The gifts that are recorded and discussed in the New Testament are still in operation today. Believers are told to eagerly seek these things and to use them in the submission to God and His written Word (the Bible) which is the ultimate authority over all aspects of our lives. We do not believe that any particular gift makes a person a better Christian or more pleasing to God, but rather that God gifts His people as He desires, in order that all things may glorify Him.

• God works in extraordinary ways in the world today.
  The same God whose incredible works are seen throughout the Scripture is just as alive and active today as He always has been. We believe and act with confidence that God still hears the prayers of people, heals the sick, and works in and through all things. We pray and ask that we would see Him at work all around us everyday. We believe that He is never far from us and that we can trust Him in all things.

• that Church Membership is important and biblical.
  The Scriptures clearly assume that the people of God who gather in a particular location are known to one another and accountable to each other. Because of this, we believe in and encourage Christians to formally identify, through church membership, with a local gathering of the saints.