What We Believe

This church believes the Bible is the sole sufficiency and authority of faith, doctrine and practice. Our statement of
faith is the same as the North Central Conservative Baptist Churches.

"We believe the 66 canonical books of the Old and New Testaments are the divinely inspired, infallible Word of God, without
error in the original manuscripts, and God's complete, written revelation to mankind. The Bible is sufficient and trustworthy for life,
faith, conduct, and practice, and is the supreme and final authority in all matters to which it speaks. We further believe there is but
one true interpretation of Scripture, although there may be several applications. The true meaning lies in the text and is that which
the divinely-guided author willed to convey. It is recoverable through careful application of a literal (grammatical, historical,
contextual) method of interpretation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in the community of Christ. The Holy Spirit
illumines the text, enabling the reader to embrace the significance of what God has communicated, and to see the glory of Christ
in the Word of God." (2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21,Hebrews 1:12, Matthew 5:18, Romans 10:17, 15:4, Psalm 119:9, 11)

"We believe in one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally divine and existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit; we believe that these are equal in every distinct perfection and they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of
creation, providence, and redemption." (Genesis 1:1, 26, Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 6:8, Luke 1:35, Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19, John
14:16-17, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 1:3-14, Revelations 1:4-5)

"We believe in God the Father; an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He
concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of humanity, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all
who come to Him through Jesus Christ. We believe God's knowledge is exhaustive; that He fully knows the past, present and
future, independent of human decisions and actions. The Father does everything in accordance with His perfect will, though His
sovereignty neither eliminates nor minimizes our personal responsibility." (Matthew 6:9, 7:11, 5:48, Mark 14:36, Romans 8:15,
1:20, 9:17-18, Galatians 4:6, Genesis 1:1, John 4:24, Isaiah 6:3, 1 John 4:8-9, Deuteronomy 32:4, James 1:17)

"We believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God's eternal Son. God the Son has precisely the same nature, attributes, and
perfections as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe further that He is not only true God, but true man, conceived
by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily
resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His personal,
visible, premillennial return from heaven." (John 1:1-3, Matthew 1:23, 25, Philippians 2:6-8, Luke 1:35, 4:18, Hebrews 4:15,
Isaiah 53:12, 1 Corinthians 15:3, Acts 2:22-24, 1:9-11, 1 John 2:1, Colossians 1:18, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 2 Corinthians
5:10, Revelation 20:11,15)

"We believe in the Holy Spirit, His personality and His work in regeneration, sanctification, and preservation. His ministry is to
glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, to implement Christ's work of redeeming the lost, and to empower the believer for godly living and
service. We believe the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to believers as He wills for the common good. No gift signifies His
baptism or filling, nor does any gift provide authoritative revelation beyond what has already been revealed in the Holy
Scriptures. Life in the Spirit includes trials and does not guarantee physical health, material wealth, nor confirming outward
signs." (John 14:16-17, 26, 15:26, 16:13-14, 2 Thessalonians 2:7, 13, Titus 3:5, Romans 5:5, 8:14, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19,
12:11, Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, 5:18, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 1:2, Galatians 5:22-23)

"We believe God originally created persons, male and female, in the image of God and free from sin. We believe all people are
sinners by nature and by choice, and are spiritually dead. We also believe that those who repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ as
Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe God established marriage to be a lifelong covenant relationship between
one man and one woman. Marriage so defined is the only permissible context for intimate sexual expression and is the
foundation for human family. We further believe that human life is precious and should be protected from beginning, at
fertilization, until death." (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:24, 3:6, 16-19, Colossians 3:10, Romans 5:12, 3:23, Ephesians 5:22-25, 33, 1
Peter 3:7, 2 Corinthians 6:14, 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, Malachi 2:16, Deuteronomy 30:19, Psalm 139:13-16, 51:5, Jeremiah 1:5)

"We believe in salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We further believe that this salvation is based upon the
sovereign grace of God, was purchased by Jesus Christ on the cross, is eternally secured by the Holy Spirit, and is received by
faith, apart from any human merit, works, or ritual. We further believe salvation results in righteous living, good works, and proper
social concern." (Ephesians 2:8-10, 1:4-5, 7-8, 13-14, 4:30, Romans 9:30, 1 John 2:2, John 1:12, Titus 3:5, Colossians 2:6-7)

"We believe that the church is the spiritual body of which Christ is the head. We believe that the true Church is composed of all
persons who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe that this body expresses itself in local assemblies whose
members have been immersed upon a credible confession of faith and have associated themselves for worship, for instruction,
for evangelism, and for service. We believe the ordinances of the local church are believer's baptism by immersion and the
Lord's Supper. We also believe in the interdependence of local churches and the mutual submission of believers to each other in
love." (Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38, 41-47, 6:1-7, 8:12, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

"We believe that each local church is self-governing in function and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or
political authority. We further believe that every human being is directly responsible to God in matters of faith and life and that
each one should be free to worship God according to the dictates of conscience." (2 Corinthians 6:17, Acts 1:23-26, 6:1-6,
chapter 10, Mark 12:17, Romans 13:1-5)

"We believe that the supreme task of believers is to glorify God in their life and that their conduct should be blameless before the
world. We further believe that they should be faithful stewards of their possessions and that they should seek to realize for
themselves the full stature of maturity in Christ." (2 Corinthians 3:18, 8:7, 9:7, 10-11, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Philippians 2:14-16, 2
Peter 3:14, Ephesians 4:11-13, Hebrews 5:14)

"We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, the eternal existence of all people in either heaven or hell, in divine
judgment, rewards, and punishments." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, Romans 5;9, 1:26-27, 2 Corinthians
13:5-6, 5:10, 2 Thessalonians 2:7, Matthew 25:31-46, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 4-22)