God, Our Creator and Our Father
God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He has revealed Himself to us in what have historically been called three "Persons" — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each "Person" of the trinity is completely God and shares the same nature and attributes.
Jesus Christ, Our Savior
Jesus is the "Christ" (or "Messiah"), the Son of God. He is both fully God and fully human. He came to us and shared in our humanity to reconcile us to God. Through His life and teachings, and especially his death and resurrection, He revealed to us who God truly is, as well as what it means to be human.
The Holy Spirit, Our Strength
The Holy Spirit is the active, life-giving Presence and Power of God in the world and in our lives. For all who have fully trusted and embraced Christ, the Spirit fills and guides and transforms and empowers us to become who God created us to be, and to fulfill our personal and collective mission in His world.
The Bible, Our Authority
The Bible is God’s Word to us. It was written by human authors in history who were supernaturally guided by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is complete as a revelation of God’s will for salvation, and is our final authority for faith and living.
Human Beings, Our Need and Our Salvation
God created people in His own image to have a relationship with Himself. We are created to be noble and glorious beyond our imagination. Yet, human beings have all turned from God and gone our own way, both actively and passively. God's image in each of us has become disastrously tarnished. The Bible calls all of this, and the effects of this in our lives and world, "Sin." And so we find ourselves separated from God, disconnected from our source of true life, and in need of the grace of God.
God reconciles people to Himself completely by grace, a gift to be received by repentance (turning toward God) and faith in Jesus Christ alone. Having fully entrusted ourselves to God in Christ, we are given new life. We are spiritually regenerated, sealed with His Spirit, brought into His family (the "church"), and empowered by Him to live a brand-new life.
The Church, Our Mission
The Church is the spiritual community of all who have been reconciled to God, of which Christ is the head. While universal in nature, it finds expression in local gatherings of believers who unite to worship God, encourage one another and reach the world with God’s good news. As such, the Church is the "body" of Christ—the physical expression of Jesus in the world.
All followers of Jesus are given vital functions within the local church through gifts of the Spirit. The local church is to be a unified community of servants, stewarding their spiritual gifts and resources for the ultimate purpose of bringing glory to God.
Eternal Life, Our Hope
People were created to live forever in communion with God, one another, and creation. At the end of this age, God will restore all things. All people will be resurrected and will stand before God to be judged for what we have done in this life. Though God deeply loves every human being, those who have resisted and refused His invitation of relationship will be eternally separated from Him. Those who have embraced that relationship through grace and faith will rejoice together in the life of the age to come, the restoration of all things.