Who We Are
Our Beliefs
(A) The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and plenary
inspired word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and, therefore,
are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are
the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according
to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. The King James Version of the Bible shall be
the only translation considered as the Holy Scriptures. (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:20-21)
(B) Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely
determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages.
These dispensations are divine furtherance of revelation by which God directs man according to
His purpose. Three of these dispensations—the law, the church, and the kingdom are the
subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Gen 1:28; 1Cor 9:17; 2 Cor 3:9-18; Gal 3:13-25;
Eph 1:10; 3:2-10; Col 1:24-25, 27; Rev 20:2-6). We believe that we are currently in the
dispensation of the church and shall remain so until the rapture of the church.
(C) The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Word (Son), and Holy
Spirit—each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having
the same attributes and perfections. (Deut 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; John 14:10, 26; 1 John
5:7).
(D) The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to
be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He
might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isa 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor
5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Phil 2:5-8).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the
cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made
sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Pet 2:24;
Eph 1:7; 1 Pet 1:3-5).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand
of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and
Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Heb 9:24; 7:25; Rom 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).
(E) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and
of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into
the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Rom
8:9; 1 Cor 12:12-14; 2 Cor 3:6; Eph 1:13-14).We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate
the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph
1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God
uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that
they can do the work of the ministry. (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:4-11, 28; Eph 4:7-12).
We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of
healing, were temporary. 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 in the resurrection, though God frequently
chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (1 Cor 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22).
(F) The Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God; but that in Adam’s sin the
human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is depraved
and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen 1:26-27; Rom 3:22-23; 5:12;
6:23; Eph 2:1-3; 4:17-19).
(G) Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of
our sins. We believe that all sins are forgivable in this dispensation. (John 1:12; Eph 1:7; 2:8-10;
1 Pet 1:18-19; Matt 12:31-32; 1 John 1:9)
(H) The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in
Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 8:1; 38-39; 1 Cor 1:4-8; 1 Pet 1:4-5).
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation
through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty
as an occasion to the flesh (Rom 13:13-14; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
(I) The Church.
We believe that the local church, should uphold the baptist distinctives of faith and practice and
is a local body made up solely of born-again baptized believers. (1 Cor 12:12-14; 2 Cor 11:2;
Eph 1:22-23; 5:25-27).
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and
defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. (Acts
13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4)
We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obediencefor the church in this age. (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; 1 Cor 11:23-26)
(J) Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their
Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly
and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest and
immoderate appearances, piercings, and bodily markings. (Rom 12:1-2; 14:13; 2 Cor 6:14-7:1;
2 Tim 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11; Lev 19:28; 1 Cor 6:19-20)
(K) The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ Who will rapture His
church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will
personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which
was promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps 89:3-4; Dan 2:31-45; Zech 14:4-11; I Thess 1:10; 1
Thess 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
(L) The Eternal State.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to
judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev 20:5-6, 12-13)
We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with
the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body
are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23; 3:21; I Thess
4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6)
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and
torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at
the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated,
but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matt 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke
16:19-26; 2 Thess 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev 20:11-15)
(M) The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is
the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the
Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:11-15)
(N) Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We re-ject evolution and
all such variations of evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen 1-2; Ex 20:11)
(O) Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions:
1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all
(including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His word. God
has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities
with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, thechurch, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of
responsibility under God. (Rom 13:1-7; Eph 5:22-24; Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 2:13-14)
(P) Human Sexuality
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a
marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism,
bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of
God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s
gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen 2:24; Gen 19:5, 13; Gen 26:8-9; Lev 18:1-30; Rom 1:
26-29; 1 Cor 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess 4:1-8; Heb 13:4)
We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Gen
2:24; Rom 7:2; 1 Cor 7:10; Eph 5:22-23)
(Q) Family Relationships
We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has
ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the
church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors
and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by
the church. (Gal 3:28; Col 3:18; 1 Tim 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.
The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the
Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children
are an heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and
moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline,
including Scriptural corporal correction. (Gen. 1:26-28; Ex 20:12; Deut 6:4-9; Ps 127:3-5; Prov
19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mk 10:6-12; I Cor 7:1-16; Eph 5:21-33; 6:1-4, Col 3:18-21; Heb 13:4; I
Pet 3:1-7)
(R) Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but
also toward both those who are not believers and those who oppose us. We are to deal with
those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of
strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of resolving
personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful
actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions. (Lev 19:18;
Matt 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Phil 2:2-4; 2 Tim
2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18)
(S) Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human
being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is
the shedding of innocent blood. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to
rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental
well being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Ps 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
(T) Lawsuits Between Believers
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or
the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources
necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a
Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as
long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (1 Cor 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32)
(U) 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. The church is to assist in the support of
missionaries who are of the same baptist beliefs as defined in this section. As ambassadors of
Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to
come to us. (Matt 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor 5:20)
(V) Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is
obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as
a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and
cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel.
We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once
the gift has been made. (Gen 14:20; Prov 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Cor 16:2; 2 Cor 9:6-7; Gal 6:6; Eph 4:28, 1 Tim 5:17-18, 1 John 3:17)