What We Believe

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. We deny that the Scriptures receive their authority from the Church, tradition, or any other human source. (Deut. 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Ps. 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isa. 40:8; Matt. 15:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24-44-46; John 17:17; Rom. 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:25; 2 Pet.1:19-21)

We believe in God, the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect and unchangeable in holiness, wisdom, power, love, and truth. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of each person, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Gen. 1:1; 2:7; Ex. 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11;Ps. 19:1-3; Isa 43:15; 64:8; Jer. 10:10; John 5:26; 6:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:17; 1 Pet. 1:2)

We believe that the Son of God is fully God. We believe that the Son of God became fully man having been conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and a personal visible return to earth. (Matt. 1:18-23; 3:17; Isa. 53; 2 Cor.5:21; Heb. 4:14-15; 2 Pet. 2:21-25; John 1:1-14, 20:30; Acts 2:27-24; Mark 4:2; 10:1; 1 Cor. 15:1-8; Acts 1:9, 11; Heb. 7:24-25)

We believe in God the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide. (Acts 5:3; John 15:26, 16:7-9; John 3:1-8; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 1 Peter 1:2; John 14:16-17,26)

We believe that all people are sinners by nature and are, therefore, under condemnation. We believe that regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. (Luke 13:3; John 3:3;5; Ezek. 36:26; Eph 2:1-5; 2 Cor. 5:17)

We believe in a universal church; a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head, and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. (Eph. 1:2-23; 2:19-22; 3:21; 5:22-32; Matt. 9:37-38; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19;28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 10:42-48; Rom. 12:5; Heb. 10:25)

We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well-being of others; that their conduct should be blameless before the world; that they should be faithful stewards of their possessions; and that they should seek to realize for themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ. (Ex.20:3-17; Deut. 10:12; Micah 6:8; Zech. 8:16; Matt. 5:13-16, 43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; John 15:12; Rom. 12-14; 1 Cor.5:9-10, 15:58; 2 Tim. 2:15) 

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. (Acts 8:35-39; 16:3-33; Rom. 6:3-5; Acts 2:41-42; Matt. 26:26-30, 28:19; Mark 14:22-26, 16:6; Luke 22;19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)

We believe that local churches can best promote the cause of Jesus Christ by cooperating with one another in a denominational organization. Such an organization, whether it is the Conference or a district conference, exists and functions by the will of the churches. Cooperation in a conference is voluntary and may be terminated at any time. Churches may likewise cooperate with interdenominational fellowships on a voluntary independent basis. (Acts 13:2-3; Eph. 4:1-16; 1 Cor. 1:10-17; 3:5-15)

We believe that God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord. (Matt. 16:27; 24:30,36,44; 26:64; John 3:16; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Matt. 25:31-46; 1 Cor. 15:12-33, 51-54; Dan. 12:2; Rev. 20:15)