What We Believe
Our Confession of Faith
We believe in and worship one God, who exists eternally in three distinct but inseparable persons––Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–equal in glory, power, majesty, and honor. The triune God rules over all things with perfect wisdom, love, and a gracious regard for the flourishing and salvation of all, to the glory of His name.
We believe in God the Father, almighty creator of all things seen and unseen, and who eternally begets the Son and brings forth the Holy Spirit.
We believe in Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully human. He is the eternally begotten Son of the Father and in Him divine and human natures are eternally and perfectly united. He is of the same substance as the Father. He is the Word made flesh, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. For us and our salvation, He lived a perfect human life, suffered, was crucified, died for our sin, and was raised bodily from the dead. He has now ascended to the throne of heaven and reigns over all things as our eternal Savior and Mediator. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and to perfect the New Creation.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father through the Son, and is coequal to the Father and the Son, being of the same substance, glory, and majesty. He is worthy of our worship and praise. The Holy Spirit bears witness to Jesus Christ, convicts us of sin, gives us new birth, and sanctifies us by filling us with God’s perfect love. The Holy Spirit enables us to love God and neighbor and empowers the church for mission in the world.
We believe that God––Father, Son, and Holy Spirit––created all things out of nothing, culminating in the creation of human beings made in His divine image. Men and women both bear the image of God and are called to shared stewardship of creation as representatives of God’s providential rule in the world. The triune God continuously upholds and sustains all things by generous and gracious power and wisdom. Human freedom and responsibility exist as gifts of God’s sovereign choice and are empowered by His prevenient grace, which enables our response to Him.
We believe human beings are made in the image of God and are therefore originally good. Being made in the image of God, we are able to distinguish good from evil and are responsible to choose and love the good. We are made with the capacity to love other creatures and to seek their flourishing. Male and female, every human being is made in the image of God and designed for community and the faithful stewardship of God’s good world.
We believe that human beings are fallen from our original goodness and righteousness and, apart from the power of God’s grace, are inclined to evil from birth. Original sin is the corruption of our human nature and the condition of every person. Without divine grace, we are unable to do works pleasing to God. We can only be rescued from this desperate state by the saving work of God in Christ applied to us by the Holy Spirit. In union with Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are no longer slaves to sin and have become free to live in holiness.
We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace received by faith in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. This gift comes because God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. The work of Christ for our salvation is sufficient and perfect and accomplishes redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of all people, both original and actual, and there is no satisfaction for sin except that which comes through Jesus Christ. Salvation is the full work of the triune God to draw us to himself, to justify us, and to sanctify us. We believe that entire sanctification is a gift of God’s grace through which His love fills us and overflows in our lives. Having been freed from the guilt and power of sin, believers are free to love God with their whole bodies, hearts, minds, and strength.
We believe that the Church is one, holy, universal, and apostolic fellowship of all true believers under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is marked by the gathering of the faithful where the Word of God is preached and the sacraments are properly administered. The Church is commissioned to make disciples of all nations by teaching them to obey the commands of Christ. We believe this ministry is entrusted to the whole Church and that ordained leadership of the Church’s shared ministry is open to qualified men and women.
We believe the Sacraments are a means of grace received by faith through which God offers us perfect love to enliven, strengthen, and confirm our faith in Him. Two Sacraments have been ordained by Christ our Lord: Baptism and Holy Communion. We believe Baptism signifies entrance into the New Covenant and the household of God. We believe the children of believers are under the atonement of Christ and recipients of His covenantal promises, and, as such, they are acceptable subjects for Christian Baptism. We believe Holy Communion is spiritual food that, when received by faith, makes us participants in the body and blood of Christ. Christ is present in the Sacrament truly and spiritually, though the manner of his presence is a holy and beautiful mystery.
We believe in the divine inspiration and authority of Holy Scripture contained in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe scripture is true in everything it affirms and is fully able to fulfill the purpose for which it was intended. The Bible is our sufficient rule for faith and practice. It contains all things necessary for salvation, and anything not revealed in Scripture is not to be taught as essential to salvation.
We believe that Jesus Christ will come again in glory to judge all people. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, the righteous to eternal life, and the wicked to endless condemnation.