What We Believe
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We are orthodox Christians and historic Baptists who strive to be in submission to the Triune God who revealed Himself in the Bible as three persons who are: The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit, but one Being.
There is but one living and true God (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 45:5–7; 1 Cor. 8:4), an infinite, all-knowing Spirit (John 4:24), perfect in all His attributes, One in essence, eternally existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14)—each deserving equal worship and obedience.
The Holy Scriptures are inspired and while there are many applications, there is one true interpretation (John 7:17, 16:12–15; 1 Cor. 2:7–15; 1 John 2:20).
Creation occurred in six literal days. Adam and Eve were directly and immediately created by God in His image and likeness. Man was created free of sin with a rational nature, intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God (Genesis 2:7, 15–25; James 3:9).
In Adam’s sin, man lost his innocence, incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death, became subject to the wrath of God, became inherently corrupt, and is now utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace (Gen. 2:16–17, 3:1–19; John 3:36; Rom. 3:23, 6:23; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 2:1–3; 1 Tim. 2:13–14; 1 John 1:8).
Salvation is wholly of God by grace based on the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not based on human merit or works (John 1:12; Eph. 1:7, 2:8–10; 1 Peter 1:18–19).
Regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and divine life are given (John 3:3–7; Titus 3:5). It is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 5:24) when the repentant sinner, enabled by the Holy Spirit, responds in faith to the divine provision of salvation.
Justification before God is an act of God (Rom. 8:33) by which He declares righteous those whom, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38, 3:19, 11:18; Rom. 2:4; 2 Cor. 7:10; Isa. 55:6–7) and confess Him as sovereign Lord (Rom. 10:9–10; 1 Cor. 12:3; 2 Cor. 4:5; Phil. 2:11).
Every believer is sanctified (set apart) unto God by justification and is therefore declared to be holy and is therefore identified as a saint. (Acts 20:32; 1 Cor. 1:2, 30; 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 2:11, 3:1, 10:10, 14; 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2).
All the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 5:24, 6:37–40, 10:27–30; Rom. 5:9–10, 8:1, 31–39; 1 Cor. 1:4–8; Eph. 4:30; Heb. 7:25, 13:5; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24).
The one supreme authority for the church is Christ (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18); church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty as found in the Scriptures. The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders (Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11) and deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualifications (1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Peter 5:1–5).
The purpose of the church is to glorify God (Ephesians 3:21) by building itself up in the faith (Eph. 4:13–16), by instruction of the Word (2 Tim. 2:2, 15; 3:16–17), by fellowship (Acts 2:47; 1 John 1:3), by keeping the ordinances (Luke 22:19; Acts 2:38–42) and by advancing the gospel to the entire world (Matt. 28:19; Acts 1:8; 2:42).
We teach that there were two kinds of gifts given the early church: miraculous gifts of divine revelation and healing, given temporarily in the apostolic era for the purpose of confirming the authenticity of the apostles’ message (Heb. 2:3–4; 2 Cor. 12:12); and ministering gifts, given to equip believers for edifying one another.
We teach that physical death involves no loss of our immaterial consciousness (Rev. 6:9–11), that the soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Christ (Luke 23:43; Phil. 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8). The souls of the unsaved at death are kept under punishment until the second resurrection (Luke 16:19–26; John 5:28–29; Rev. 20:13–15).
On the Day of the Lord, the bodily resurrection of all men will occur at the Great White Throne Judgment: the saved to eternal life (John 6:39; Rom. 8:10–11, 19–23; 2 Cor. 4:14), and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Dan. 12:2; John 5:29; Rev. 20:13–15) where they are cast into the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41–46), cut off from the life of God forever (Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:41–46; 2 Thess. 1:7–9).
After the judgment of all, the saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God, wherein the elements of this earth are dissolved (2 Peter 3:10) with a new creation, wherein only righteousness dwells (Eph. 5:5; Rev. 20:15; 21:1–27; 22:1–21) where they will enjoy fellowship with God and one another forever (John 17:3; Rev. 21–22). Our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father (1 Cor. 15:24–28), that in all spheres the Triune God may reign forever and ever (1 Cor. 15:28).
Baptism: Christian baptism by immersion (Acts 8:36–39) is the public testimony of a believer showing their faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior; their union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life (Rom. 6:1–11). It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible Body of Christ (Acts 2:41–42).
The Lord’s Supper: The Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of His death until He comes and should be always preceded by solemn self-examination (1 Cor. 11:28–32). Those who attended churches of like faith may partake at our table if they are in good standing and fellowship with that church.
As a creedal and confessional church, we hold to the following orthodox confessions, creeds, and statements: