+ About God

We believe that God has eternally existed. God himself shows us his desire for relationship by being relational in himself. He has continually revealed himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each part of what we know as the Trinity has distinct personal attributes, but these do not divide the nature or essence of God's being. Being created in God's image means that we are in essence, spiritual beings, in need of and longing for relationship with our Father God.

+ About Jesus

We believe that Jesus has eternally existed as the Son of God. As a part of the narrative story of God's redemption, Jesus became human. In other words, God became one of us. The church describes this as the Incarnation. The redemption narrative, which we call the Bible, continues as Jesus not only becomes human, but is born to a virgin and lives a sinless, perfect life on earth, allowing Him to make right everything that had been done wrong throughout human history. Jesus chose to die on a cross as a sacrifice for the penalty that should have been ours and His resurrection three days later made new life possible for us in this life and the next. What Jesus did during his time on earth and the character of His being provide a consistent reminder of how we should live and love in our time here on this earth.

+ How do I begin a relationship with Jesus and receive new life?

By confessing your sin to God, putting your trust in Jesus and what His death and resurrection made possible for you, and surrendering your life to God's purposes, you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus. We believe that when we begin that relationship, the Spirit of God enters our being - we call Him the Holy Spirit - and that Spirit not only becomes our guide, but He continues the process that began at our point of surrender - moving us from a life of sin to a life where we resemble the person of Jesus Christ.

+ The Bible

We believe the Bible to be the very Word of God spoken to man through divine revelation to human authors. We do not believe God dictated the words to the writers, but that through revelation and inspiration He spoke and the writers wrote according to their unique style and personalities. This human authorship in no way lessens the divine inspiration of the scriptures. We believe all 66 books of both the Old and New Testaments to be the inerrant and infallible Word of the God we worship and serve.

+ Worship

We believe worship to be a lifestyle choice that believers in Jesus make. So often, people think of worship as a time on Sunday morning when we come together to sing and hear a sermon as the "worship" time. While we acknowledge the importance of corporate times of worship and gathering together, we also believe that worship is the lifestyle of surrender and obedience to the will of God in our daily lives. One cannot truly worship corporately until they have worshiped personally.

+ Important Symbols

In our worship celebrations or gatherings, as some people call them, there are two recurring symbols: baptism and the Lord's Supper. In Scripture, baptism followed the decision of a person to surrender one's self to God for salvation in Jesus Christ. Through baptism, we announce our commitment to the church and our desire to live a life following the example of Jesus Christ. In the Lord's Supper, we celebrate the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, through which we have the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that this meal is a memorial to that sacrifice. We do not subscribe to the idea that Christ is present in the elements themselves, but we do believe in the presence of Christ with and in His church as they share this meal as His body. Both of these are important symbols that refocus us on the center of our lives: Jesus.

+ Creation

We believe that God created man in the image of God. Because of this, each and every human being possesses great dignity and is worthy of our respect and love. God confirmed his love for each and every person when He sent His own son to die on the cross so that we might be able to be in relationship with Him through salvation in Jesus. In Genesis, God created man to rule over the earth; therefore we are stewards of the earth and the resources it contains. We believe that we will be held accountable for that stewardship, along with the stewardship of our gifts, talents, and the provision God makes in our lives on a regular basis.

+ The Church

The church has never been, nor will ever be perfect. However, its shortcomings cannot deter us from our purpose as God's primary instrument of change in the world. We know that we were designed for community with other people, and the place of greatest community in the world should be the church. The church is not a corporation or a massive company. It is a new humanity created by the resurrection of Jesus Christ that expresses itself as a community of faith in Christ. The Scriptures describes it as a body or a family. Our church takes seriously our role to serve our community and exist as a place that offers people hope and purpose, even as we challenge people to discover and live a Christ-centered life.