Inside the Ministry
The Ministry
What We Believe
Directors
Advisors
References
Recommendations
The Scriptures
We believe that both the Old and New Testament are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are our final authority. The sixty-six books of the Bible are the complete and divine revelation of God to man and are sufficient for all of life. By the providence of God, the Scriptures have been preserved (Psalm 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).
God the Father
We believe that there is only one true and living God existing in three Persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-each a distinct Person, but all of one essence and all having the same nature, perfections, and attributes. All three members of the eternal Godhead are worthy of worship, confidence, and obedience (Genesis 1:26; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 3:16,17; 28:19).
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the virgin born Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and is therefore, God come in the flesh. Jesus Christ shed his blood and died on Calvary’s cross as a vicarious substitute, was buried, rose again bodily, and ascended to the Father according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 4:15).
Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, very God, coexistent with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the supreme agent in regeneration, convicting of sin and righteousness. He is also the Comforter of all believers. At the moment of regeneration, the Spirit of God baptizes every believer into the body of Christ and indwells him. It is the privilege and duty of all Christians to be filled with the Spirit. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. Therefore, God uniquely gifts and uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the body of Christ in order to do the work of the ministry. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation at glorification, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing (Matthew 28:19; John 16:7-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12; 1 Corinthians 13:8; 14:21,22).
Man
We believe that man was created by God and made into His image. Therefore, he is not the product of any evolutionary process. Adam, the first man, incurred a physical and spiritual death sentence upon all of mankind by his willful disobedience. Thus, man is totally depraved, and therefore, thoroughly incapable of remedying his lost condition (Genesis 1:26,27; Romans 3:10,23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19).
Salvation
We believe that all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit. Salvation includes regeneration, redemption, justification, sanctification, and glorification. We believe that repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ are the essential conditions for salvation (Luke 13:3,5; John 1:12; 3:3; 17:17; Acts 20:21; Romans 8:29,30; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5).
Second Coming
We believe that Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return in glory to raise the dead and bring salvation and judgment to completion. God will fully manifest His Kingdom when He establishes a new heaven and new earth, in which He will be glorified forever and remove all evil, suffering, and death. (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:1-6).
The Priesthood of the Believer
We believe in the priesthood of all believers. Every Christian has direct access to God in prayer through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, and there is no mediator between God and man other than Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:16; 1 Timothy 2:5; Revelation 1:6).
Security of the Believer
We believe that the Lord is able to keep all who believe in Christ and that the Holy Spirit permanently indwells and seals them for eternity. Therefore, since salvation is wholly of the Lord, apart from the works of man, we hold that the believer is kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation. This security in no way gives professors in Christ a license to sin. It is our conviction that all who are preserved by God’s eternal power should, and will, pursue holiness (John 10:28; 14:16-17; Romans 6:22; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 1:4; 1:13; 2:8,9; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24,25).
Satan
We believe that Satan was originally created a perfect being. By rebelling against God, he became depraved. The Devil is the adversary of God and the Accuser of His people. Satan has been judged and defeated at the cross and awaits his ultimate doom at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 14:13,14; Ezekiel 28:13-17; John 16:11; 1 Timothy 3:7; Revelation 20:10).
The Lord’s Day
We believe that Sunday is the Lord’s Day and is a Christian institution for celebration, worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private (1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).
Creation
We believe the Triune God created the universe independently of preexisting materials. We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as non biblical theories of origin. We believe in the historicity of the first eleven chapters of Genesis (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 19:4; John 1:1-3; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16,17; Hebrews 11:3).
The Local Church
We believe that the New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers with Christ as its Head and the Holy Spirit as its guide. New Testament churches promote God’s work by personal and corporate evangelism, and by cooperating with other local New Testament churches of like faith and practice for missions and other joint efforts (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:6-8; 6:3; 1 Corinthians 16:1; 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 1:3-6, 22-23; Philippians 4:15,16).
Ordinances
We believe that the local church observes two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that all who have received Christ as Lord and Savior should be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that baptism is by immersion in the likeness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; and that the Lord’s Supper should be observed in remembrance of Him to show forth the significance of His death until He comes again (Matthew 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God (Romans 12:1,2; 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).
Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life in Heaven, and unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment in Hell (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28,29; 11:25,26; Revelation 20:5,6,12-13).
Missions
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are committed to world missions through prayer, sending, and giving for missionaries of like faith and practice (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20).