We believe that God is a living, spiritual person; (John 4:24; Ex. 3:14; Deut. 6:4) who has revealed himself through creation (Psalm 19:1), through conscience (Rom. 1:19-20), through his complete, authoritative, inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), and through the person of his Son, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:2).
We believe that the Father sent his Son into the world to be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), to live a sinless life (Heb. 4:15), to perform mighty signs (Acts 2:22), and to be crucified and rise bodily from the grave on the third day (1 Cor. 15:1-4). We believe that he ascended to the Father’s right hand to be the Head of the church and to intercede for all believers (Eph. 1:20-23) and that he is coming again personally and bodily to this earth (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Acts 1:11).
We believe that the Godhead exists eternally in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and that these three are one God (Matt. 28:19).
We believe that man is born into sin (Rom. 5:12) and that his only hope of salvation is through the redemption provided by Jesus Christ. Man must receive this gift by grace alone, apart from good works, believing on the finished work of Christ on the cross (Eph. 2:8-9). We know the believer is eternally secure (Rom. 8:38-39) and that his faith will be evidenced by his works (James 2:14).
We believe that the church is an organism – a local group of baptized believers (Acts 2:41, 47; Eph. 4:11-13) with a diversity of gifts, yet singleness of purpose.
Baptism is one of the first fruits of faith and is an outward picture that we are no longer guilty but washed clean, no longer dead in sin but alive in Jesus, and no longer identified with the world’s system, but are now members of God’s family.
Baptism is a way of going public for Jesus. He publicly gave himself for us. We publicly identify with him and his Church in baptism.