WHAT ABOUT MARRIAGE & SEXUAL IDENTITY?
Due to recent controversies, concerns,and confusion in culture and churches across our country, we find it necessary to clearly state our beliefs on these issues. We welcome all to Christ's church, our community, and into a saving and restored relationship with Jesus Christ.
MARRIAGE
We believe and accept that marriage is according to the Bible the permanent, exclusive, comprehensive, and conjugal “one flesh” union of one biological man and one biological woman, intrinsically ordered to procreation and a biological family, and in furtherance of the moral, spiritual, and public good of binding father, mother, and child.
We believe and accept the Bible's definition of sexual immorality as all sexual acts outside of marriage which are prohibited as sinful. Consequently, we must resist and refrain from any and all sexual acts outside of marriage — including cohabitation, adultery, fornication, pornography, polygamy, polyamory, sologamy, or same-sex sexual acts. We do not discriminate - "straight" sexual sins are just as serious and sinful as any other sexual sins.
IDENTITY
We believe God designed and defines sexual identity. According to the Bible, God created mankind in His image: male (man) and female (woman), sexually different but with equal personal dignity. Consequently, believers are to affirm their biological sex and refrain from any and all attempts to physically change, alter, or disagree with their created predominant biological sex — including but not limited to elective sex-reassignment, transvestite, transgender, or non-binary “genderqueer” acts or conduct. We do not believe that the temptation or struggle with these identities are themselves sinful.
SAME-SEX ACTS AND RELATIONS
We believe God does not approve of same-sex sexual acts or romantic relationships. God created and ordered human sexuality to be between one man and one woman in a committed, covenantal marriage relationship. We believe the Bible is clear that same-sex acts are sinful and violate God's design for human sexuality, even if consensual. We believe that we must affirm the sexual complementarity of man and woman and resist the temptations to same-sex sexual attractions and refrain from any and all same-sex sexual acts or conduct, which are all intrinsically disordered, no matter how much the world sees them as loving, committed, and normal. Here too, we do not believe that the temptation or struggle with these attractions are themselves sinful.
We believe that we are all fallen and all can be redeemed by Christ, including our sexual redemption. We know that according to the Bible all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Through Christ, redemption, forgiveness, and spiritual cleansing is available for all sins, including all sexual ones.
We believe all are welcome in God's house. Though we might disagree with certain lifestyles, we as Christians should gladly welcome and treat with respect, compassion, and sensitivity anyone who comes into our community, including anyone who conducts or struggles with sexually immoral acts, sexual lifestyle issues, and sexual or gender identity.
We encourage you to check out our series SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU to hear more biblical truth on human sexuality and LGBTQ+ themes.
FAITH STATEMENT
JESUS.
The culmination of everything we believe and understand about God and His world is Jesus Christ. He’s our Creator and King. He’s our Lord and friend. He's our Savior and hope. He made us, holds us together and makes sense of life. He is the center of our lives, our only way to God and our promise of eternal life. He is fully God and fully man. He is our life, our way and our truth. He must be the center of our church, our community life together, and the reason for everything we do in ministry. He is our Shepherd who has sent pastors as His under-shepherds to feed and care for His sheep.
WORSHIP.
We believe Christ must be the center of all our gatherings and that the truest expression of our love for Jesus is worshiping Him together as His Body. Well-crafted sermons, music performances, and ministry programs will definitely have their place in our gatherings, but the measure of our success is biblically-informed, personally consecrated worship in spirit and truth, where led by the Holy Spirit we freely offer Christ our best in response to all He is and all He has done, is doing, and will do for His people. Worship is not only singing songs of praise or even the Sunday service, but it is how our lives are oriented rightly toward God in covenantal relationship as we rightly respond with all we are and do to all He is and all that He has done, is doing and will do.
EVERYONE.
Every human is equally valuable, equally welcome and equally in need of Christ Jesus. We are all completely lost sinners who need to be found by God. We all need to be loved by Jesus and reconciled to God in repentance, faith, and his wonderful mercy. Those who follow Jesus aren’t any better in and of themselves. Not at all. We’ve just been found by Jesus and He has lead us to find out that He alone meets our core needs, is the living God who who seeks to be in relationship with us, and is our only way to a vibrant, living relationship with God. And we don’t want anyone to miss out on that.
COMMUNITY.
God chose people—specifically a community of people called the Church—to carry out His mission on Earth. That means the local church is meant to be God’s direct expression of love and acceptance to the world, and anyone who considers themselves a Christian should be an active, contributing part of a local church. What connects us across all of our differences is Christ. We welcome. We encourage. We love. We challenge. We help. We grow. We're transformed. Together, in community, united by Christ Jesus, now as friends, as His people, as brothers and sisters.
MISSION.
We believe that lives centered on Jesus will naturally disperse. Any eternal difference we can make as the church in this broken world will come from us obediently following how Jesus sends us out and uses us for His glory. Our hope is that people will come to our church and that our church will be sent out in God's great mission to go into all of our communities to spread the truth about Jesus and serve those around us with His compassion, grace, and love. This mission also includes daily walking in the Spirit, with power and truth, and the Word written across our hearts through the constant abiding to which Jesus called all disciples. God, we do believe, is much more concerned with who we are becoming than the goodness we're trying to do. Or to put it another way, we're more fit for mission the more we're growing in Christlikeness.
THE BIBLE.
We believe the Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, is given by inspiration of God, is infallible, and is the authoritative word of God. It contains the revelation of God’s will and His perfect salvation for man; it is the ultimate authority and guiding principle for our Christian faith and living as the perfect standard for all human conduct and behavior. The Bible was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the unique, full and final authority on all matters of faith and practice. It is trustworthy for faith and practice when interpreted responsibly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the community of faith. Scripture reveals who God is, what He has done in history, who we are, our sins, and our great need for a Savior. The Bible clearly reveals all we need to know of the essentials necessary for salvation and the basics of how to conduct our lives. The primary purpose of the Bible is to point to and glorify Jesus Christ, the living Lord of the Church. Psalm 119:105, 160; 2 Timothy 1:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21
GOD.
We believe God is the one and only true God and is the Triune God who exist eternally in three co-equal, equally divine Persons of the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit respectively., each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of God. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things manifesting love, power, wisdom, and goodness in working throughout history for the redemption for all creation.
Genesis 1:1, 26; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1, 2; 4:24; Acts 5:3, 4; Romans 1:20; Ephesians 4:5, 6; 2 Corinthians 13:14
THE FATHER.
We Believe that God the Father concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.
THE SON.
Jesus Christ is both true God and true Man. He was born by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary; He obeyed the will of the Father God and died on the cross as an atonement for sinners, the righteous substituted for the unrighteous so that because of His precious blood all who believe may be justified. According to the Scriptures Christ rose from the dead on the third day, thus destroying the devil who held the power of death; He ascended on high, led captivity captive, and is now seated on the right hand of the Father God. Christ is the sole Mediator between God and man, and only through Him may believers enter the presence of the Father. He will come again to establish His Kingdom of glory.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, sinless in His life, making atonement for the sin of the world by His death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven, His high priestly intercession for His people and His personal, visible future return to the world according to His promise. Matthew 1:22–23; Luke 1:31–32; John 1:1–5; 14; Romans 1:3–4; Romans 9:5; Hebrews 4:14,15; Hebrews 7:26–27; 1 Corinthians 15:3–5; Acts 1:9–11
THE HOLY SPIRIT.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God. After His ascension Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit, as promised by the Father, to the world, who reproves the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; all who believe in Jesus Christ receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and are baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ; He is the Comforter for believers, who leads believers into the truth, and gives all spiritual gifts to build up the Church. John 16:7–13, 14: 16, 17; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:16, 23, 26, 27; 1 Corinthians 12; 2 Corinthians 3:17
HUMANITY.
We believe that men and women were created in the image of God. Adam and Eve, the first human beings, chose to rebel against God and go their own way. As a result of their sin all of humankind became separated from God, incapable of pleasing God, and subject to His judgment and physical death. Each of of us are fallen and totally sinful. All of mankind needs salvation as none can save themselves from the punishment and dominion of sin.
SALVATION.
God so loved us that He provided a remedy for our sin and a way to enter into His loving presence. The only remedy for our sin is redemption through faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift from God bringing us redemption, restoration, healing, and wholeness. We can never make up for our sin by self improvement or good works, it is by GRACE through faith in Jesus Christ that humans are saved by God. Out of His mercy and loving kindness, the Lord has prepared for man a savior Jesus Christ; through His redemption all who believe in Jesus Christ are justified by God and receive eternal life. Salvation in Christ comes through the REPENTANCE of sin, the unmerited forgiveness for our sins, and all of this through faith in Jesus.
Salvation is then only through Christ. Owing to universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again. A new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, is absolutely essential to salvation, and only those thus saved are children of God. I believe that the new birth of the redeemed Christian believer comes only through faith in Christ. This is a salvation from our sinful condition, our utter lostness (Luke 15), our current alienation from God, and our eternal separation from God.
We hold that eternity is how long we were created to exist with God. We will either be separated from Him by sin, or with Him through the forgiveness He freely offers in Jesus. To be separated from God eternally is hell. To be with Him eternally is heaven.
Genesis 1:26–27; 3:1, 24; Isaiah 61:1–3; John 3:16; 4:6; Romans 3:25; 5:1; 5:12–18; 6:23; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:8–9; 1 John 4:10;
1 John 2:25, 5:11-13; Revelation 20:15
THE CHURCH.
We believe that the church is composed of all believers who are called to reflect the love of Christ by loving one another. Christ is the head of the Church, and the Church is the Body of Christ, the fullness of Him that fills all in all; all who are saved are baptized through one Spirit into one Body, worshiping and serving God according to the will of God and with the gifts received, testifying for Jesus Christ “the Word became flesh”, carrying out the Great Commission, living out the Great Commandment, building up the Body of Christ, until the return of Christ. The local church reflects the church universal in ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ including worship, teaching, prayer, fellowship, observing the ordinances of Baptism of believers and the Lord’s supper, and service. Psalm 133:1, Matthew 28:19–20; Mark 16:15; John 13:34–35; Acts 1:7–8, Romans 12:4–6; 1 Corinthians 12:4–6; Ephesians 2:19–22; 4:12–16; Philippians 2:1–3; Hebrews 10:24–25
HUMAN DESTINY.
We believe that death ushers all people into their eternal destiny. There will be bodily resurrection and judgment for each individual. Unbelievers will enter a state of eternal separation from God and believers will enter a state of eternal communion with God.
THE FUTURE.
We believe in the personal and visible return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to consummate history and the eternal plan of God and to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the new heaven and new earth.