We worship the triune God of the Bible, who is eternally one God in three persons. This one, true God is most clearly revealed to us in the incarnate Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
We affirm that God is sovereign over all and that this sovereignty is expressed and realized through Jesus Christ. Therefore, we affirm the Lordship of Christ over the world and the church. We joyously confess that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. We are called in loyalty to Jesus Christ to proclaim the power of the Holy Spirit, the Good News of God's reconciling grace, and to declare the saving power of the Gospel to every human being and to every human institution. We celebrate Christ's charge to "make disciples of all nations" and to bear witness to God's redeeming reign in human affairs.
We proclaim the Good News of the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, knowing that salvation (forgiveness of sins, release from guilt and condemnation, reconciliation with God) and eternal life are granted in grace to all who trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. This Gospel is the central message of the Bible.
● who claim a personal relationship to God through Jesus Christ;
● who follow the Lord in believer's baptism;
● who gather as a believer's church;
● who share in the meal of the kingdom known as the Lord's Supper;
● who honor the priesthood of all believers; and
who live their faith as visible saints.
We believe that the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is the divinely inspired Word of God, the final written authority and trustworthy for faith and practice. It is to be interpreted responsibly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the community of faith. The primary purpose of the Bible is to point to Jesus Christ, the living Lord of the Church.
We believe that the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is the divinely inspired Word of God, the final written authority and trustworthy for faith and practice. It is to be interpreted responsibly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the community of faith. The primary purpose of the Bible is to point to Jesus Christ, the living Lord of the Church.
● who affirm the centrality of Scripture in our lives;
● who pursue the study of God's inspired Word as a mandate for faith and practice; and
● who seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the understanding of Scripture, while respecting the common interpretation of Scripture within the community of believers.
● We are a congregational people, which means the local congregation is representative of the whole church of Jesus Christ. It is free to seek the mind of Christ as to governing its own affairs, ordering its worship, choosing its leadership and deciding how and with which other churches and associations it will relate.
● We believe in a believers church, we have been called into being by God and that everyone who makes up the church is a believer who has had a personal encounter with God and this conversion experience has persuaded them to come into the church through belief and confession in Jesus Christ.
● We believe in a believers baptism, which means that once a person has had a conversion experience with Jesus Christ and has confessed him as Savior and Lord, we prepare a person as a candidate for a believer's baptism through discipleship classes. Believer's baptism is only for those who have already experienced the saving power of Jesus Christ and have accepted God's offer of forgiveness of sin, and have accepted the call to live lives worthy of the costly gift of salvation we have received.
● We believe in a believers meal, which means that the Lord's Supper reminds believers of the extent to which God was willing to go to secure salvation on our behalf. The bread is a symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ's body, soul and spirit sacrificed on our behalf. The fruit of the vine or the cup symbolized the covenantal blood of Jesus shed for the remission of the sins of the guilty
● We believe in the priesthood of all believers, which means that every Christian is a priest before God and to the world and is gifted and empowered to do ministry.
● We believe in soul freedom, which means that every person has the right and responsibility and capacity to stand before God and make decisions about his or her relationship with God. We understand that God created each of us with a free soul. It is in this freedom that individuals develop their relationship with their Creator. It is through this freedom that people really discover who they are meant to be, who God intended them to be.
● who gather regularly to praise God;
● who receive nourishment by communion with the Risen Christ;
● who share an open and public confession of faith; and
● who believe that personal devotion brings vitality to corporate celebration.
● who affirm the Church's unity as given in Jesus Christ;
● who gladly embody in our practice the ministry of the whole people of God;
● who recognize God's gifts for ministry and honor all offices of pastoral ministry;
● who live and work together "in association"; and
● who bring the free church tradition to cooperative and ecumenical Christianity.
● who care for the needy, the weak, and the oppressed;
● who care for the earth and for all its creatures.
● who, gifted by a variety of backgrounds, find unity in diversity and diversity in unity;
● who embrace a pluralism of race, ethnicity, and gender; and
who acknowledge that there are individual differences of conviction and theology
● who have a remembrance for the past and a vision for the future;
● who are committed to religious liberty and to the separation of church and state;
● who call our present world to make Jesus Christ Lord of all life; and
● who trust the Holy Spirit for insight and power to live in the present age.
