Staff & Service Times

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, and the supreme authority of Christian faith and practice. The Scriptures were originally given through theHoly Spirit by plenary, verbal inspiration, infallibly true and free of error. No other writings, experiences, or traditions of any kind are inspired in this sense. Furthermore, since the Bible was written to be understood by all, it is to be interpreted in a straight-forward, literal manner: where symbols and figures of speech are used, these are made obvious from the context and are to be interpreted in a manner consistent with their use throughout the Bible.

The only true and living God is a Triune God, eternally existing in three Persons, Father,Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, and Ruler of all things. He has been revealed to man only through the Son, the Word made flesh.The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, equally divine and eternal with the Father, and is also the Son of man, truly human but without sin, The Holy Spirit is a person, one with the Father and Son in the Godhead, whose work it is to glorify God in Christ, convicting men of sin and regenerating those who believe on Him.

All things were created and are sustained by God: man, in particular, was created for the purpose of mutual love and fellowship between him and his Creator. The Genesis account of creation is a true and historical record, revealing that man came by direct creation of God, not by a process of evolution. Though created in the image of God, man willfully sinned against God, bringing sin and death into the world. Through Adam, all men have inherited a sin nature: this nature evidences itself in willful acts of sin.Therefore, all men are guilty sinners, under the just condemnation of a Holy God.

The eternal Son became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who was born of the virgin May by miraculous conception and virgin birth. He lived a sinless human life, perfectly fulfilling the divine law, and then offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of every man. He died on the cross, shedding His precious blood, in full substitution and atonement for the sins of all men everywhere. He was buried, and on the third day arose bodily from the dead, alive forevermore.He later ascended bodily into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Father, He now continually intercedes for those who put their trust in Him.

Man is utterly unable to save himself from the power or penalty of sin. Each man mustbe saved wholly on the basis of the work Christ has done in dying for his sins and risingfor his justification. This salvation is received instantly and appropriated by simple faithin Jesus Christ as Son of God and personal Savior. A true Christian is one who hasbeen "saved" or "born again," regenerated by the holy Spirit when he truly believed inChrist. The reality of this experience, as well as one's personal assuránce of salvation,will be evidenced by a genuine love for Christ and His Word and by a life characterizedby Christ-like motives and standards. Salvation thus includes deliverance from thepresence of sin in heaven with Christ.

In the ultimate sense, the Church of Christ is composed of all who have been saved and will be with Him in heaven. A local church, therefore, should likewise be composed only of members who are genuinely saved, trusting only in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning death for their salvation.
Each local church should be organized for the purpose of effective witness to the unsaved, for Christian fellowship among the brethren; and for united praise and worship of God, through song, testimony, prayer and observance of the Lord's Supper as ordained by Christ.

For the purpose of winning the lost and strengthening believers, the Holy Spirit bestowsHis spiritual gifts on members of the body according to His own will (I Corinthians12:4-11; 28-30). New Testament Scriptures, these miraculous gifts (such as the ability to speak in other languages without having learned these languages, the power to receive and communicate divine revelation and the ability to perform supernatural healings and other miracles) were no longer necessary and were gradually replaced (I Corinthians 13:8-10; Revelation 22:18,19) by permanently needed gifts such as those of pastoral guidance, evangelism, teaching the written Word, and others (Romans 12:6-8;Ephesians 4:11,12). This does not imply that God can no longer answer prayer in miraculous ways, when in accordance with his own will, nor that He is not sovereign in the use of means for the accomplishment of His purpose. However, such occurrences are not to be considered evidences of spirituality on the part of those experiencing them, nor are they to be considered as signs supporting the testimony of believers.Therefore, seeking after such signs or other sensory experiences in the services or ministries of the church can lead only to confusion and divisions and should be avoided.

When the present age is consummated, the Lord Jesus will return to the earth to establish His millennial kingdom. It is not possible to know the date of His coming:nevertheless, every Christian should live in earnest expectation of His coming at anytime. When He comes in the air, both dead and living believers will be caught up to meet Him, receiving their resurrection bodies, and will appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to be judged, not for salvation, but for rewards. The coming of Christ will also be associated with a period of judgment and great tribulation on the earth, in which the wrath of God will be poured out on unsaved men because of their rejection of God andHis Christ. Then, Christ will come to the earth in power and glory to reign for a thousand years.

Following the Millennium, the unsaved dead will be raised, judged according to their works, and separated forever from God in the lake of fire. Satan, who is a real personality and the source of all evil in the universe, will also be consigned forever to the lake of fire. Those who are saved will live forever in the presence of Christ, enjoying the fellowship for which they were created and which was secured for them through the reconciling work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

With respect of doctrines and practices, not specifically referred to in the foregoing, the individual is at liberty to believe and practice in accordance with his own conscience and understanding of the scripture, at the same time allowing others in the church the same liberty, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.