Connecting with each other and Jesus

We believe God gave the 66 books of the Bible to be received as His inspired,

authoritative, and infallible Word for salvation and life. The documents of

Scripture come to us as diverse literary and historical writings. Despite their

complexities, they can be understood, trusted, and followed.

(Psalm 1; 119; Deut. 4:1-6; Deut. 6:1-9; 2 Chron. 34; Nehemiah 8; Matt. 5:1-7:28; 15:69; Jn. 12:44-

50; Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:42; Acts 17:10-11; 2 Tim. 3:16-4:4; 1 Pet. 1:20-21)

The gospel is the good news of God for a broken world. We believe God created

all things and specifically made human beings in His image so that we could

enjoy a relationship with Him and each other. We, however, lost our way through

disobedience and experience separation from a just and holy God because of our

sin. In His mercy and grace, God has provided a way for us to be reconciled to

Him through Jesus Christ. The gospel is the message of this good news. The

Father sent the Son into the world to become fully human, live a sinless life, die a

substitutionary death, be buried in a grave, overcome the power of death through

His resurrection and ascension, as the conquering King, to the right hand of the

Father. In His ascension Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in His people and

transform them back into the image of God. This gospel message is the single

hope of the world and is the power of God for our salvation.

(Gen. 1-3; Rom. 3:10-12, 7:8-26; Gen. 12:1-3 & Gal. 3:6-9; 2 Sam. 7:1-16; Mic. 5:2-4; Dan. 2:44-45;

Lk. 1:33; Jn. 1:1-3; Matt. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:1-8; Acts 1:11; 2:36; 3:19-21; Col. 3:1; Matt. 25: 31-32; Rev.

21:1ff; Rom. 3:21-26)

Salvation is a gift from God to mankind and includes the remission of sins,

reconciliation to the Father, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the promise of eternal

life. This offer is available to all who place their faith in Jesus as both Savior and

Lord. Those who place their faith in Jesus repent of their sins, confess Jesus as

Lord with their mouth, are baptized through immersion in water, and commit to a

life of allegiance to Jesus Christ.

(John 3:1-21; Luke 13:3-5; 24:46-47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:36-38; 16:31-33; 17:30; 20:21; 22:16; 26:20;

Gal. 2:20; 3:26-27; Rom. 6:1-4; 10:9-10; 1 Pet. 3:21; Rom. 2:25-29; Matt. 28:19-20)

We believe that when we are born again and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we are to

live as people who are filled, empowered, and led by the Holy Spirit. This is how

we walk with God and discern His voice. A prayerful life, rich in the Holy Spirit, is

fundamental to true discipleship and living in step with the kingdom reign of

Jesus. We seek to be a prayerful, Spirit-led network. We believe the Holy Spirit

remains active among His people, so we encourage all believers to pursue love

and desire spiritual gifts for the common good.

(1 Tim. 2:4; John 16:7-11; Acts 7:51; 1 Jn. 2:20, 27; Jn. 3:5; Eph. 1:13-14; 5: 18; Gal. 5:16-25; Rom.

8:5-11; 14:1; 1 Cor. 12:1-11; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 6:6; 12:5; 13:3; 14:23; 20:36; 2 Cor. 3:3)

We believe the core mission of the local church is to bring glory to God by

making disciples of Jesus Christ. This is God’s plan “A” to redeem the world and

manifest the reign of His kingdom. We believe living life as a disciple of Jesus is

essential and includes calling us to share this kind of life with others through

making disciples. To help us focus on Jesus, His sacrifice on the cross, our unity

in Him, and His coming return, we regularly share communion and enjoy Spirit-

filled congregational singing in our weekly gatherings. We believe the church

exists to bring glory to God by living as the family of God and carrying out the

disciple making mission of Jesus.

(Matt. 28:19-20; Gal. 4:19; Acts 2:41; Phil. 1:20-21; Col. 1:27-29; 2 Cor. 3:3; 1 Thess. 2:19-20; John

13:34-35; 1 John 3:16; 1 Cor. 13:1-13; Luke 22:14-23; 1 Cor.11:17-26; Acts 20:7, Eph 5:18-21)

We believe in the present kingdom reign of God, the power of the Holy Spirit to

transform people, and the priority of the local church as the expression of life

under the reign of Jesus. We believe Jesus’s Lordship, through Scripture, will

lead us to be a distinct light in the world as a demonstration of His holiness and

love. We believe that distinct light calls us to the following:

• Disciples who reject lifestyles characterized by pride, sexual immorality, homosexuality, easy divorce, idolatry, greed, materialism, gossip, slander, racism, violence, and the like.
• Churches who emphasize love as the distinguishing sign of a true disciple.  Love for one another should make the church like an extended family—a fellowship that crosses all social distinctions of age, race, marital status, and class. Because of Jesus the church is a group of people who are all brothers and sisters to one another.
• Churches who express love beyond their walls to the surrounding community. This is done by breaking down walls (racial, social, political), evangelism, acts of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and the like. By demonstrating the ways of Jesus, the church reveals God’s kingdom reign to the watching world.
• A conviction that human life begins at conception and ends upon natural death, and that all human life is priceless in the eyes of God. All humans should be treated as image bearers of God. For this reason, we stand for the sanctity of life both at its beginning and its end. We oppose elective abortions and euthanasia as immoral and sinful. We understand that there are very rare circumstances that may lead to difficult choices when a mother or child’s life is at stake, and we prayerfully surrender and defer to God’s wisdom, grace, and mercy in those circumstances.
• A conviction that God created marriage as the context for the expression and enjoyment of sexual relations. Jesus defines marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman. We believe that all sexual activity outside the bounds of marriage, including same-sex unions and same-sex marriage, are immoral and must not be condoned by disciples of Jesus.
• A conviction that Jesus invites all races and ethnicities into the Kingdom of God. Because humanity has exhibited grave racial injustices throughout history, we believe that everyone, especially disciples of Jesus, must be proactive in securing justice for people of all races and that racial reconciliation must be a priority for the church.
• A conviction that both men and women were created by God to equally reflect, in gendered ways, the nature and character of God in the world. In marriage, husbands and wives are to submit to one another, yet there are gender specific expressions: husbands model themselves in relationship with their wives after Jesus’s sacrificial love for the church and wives model themselves in relationship with their husbands after the church’s willingness to follow Jesus.

In the church, men and women serve as partners in the use of their

gifts in ministry, while seeking to uphold New Testament norms

which teach that the lead teacher/preacher role in the gathered

church and the elder/pastor/overseer role are for qualified men. The

vision of the Bible is an equal partnership of men and women in

creation, in marriage, in salvation, in the gifts of the Spirit, and in the

ministries of the church but exercised in ways that honor gender as

described in the Bible.

• A conviction that we must resist the forces of culture that focus on materialism and greed. The Bible teaches that the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil and that greed is idolatry. Disciples of Jesus should joyfully give liberally and work sacrificially for the poor, he marginalized, and the oppressed.

(Rom. 12:3-8; Matt. 22:36-40; 1 Cor. 12:4-7; Eph. 2:10; 4:11-13; 1 Peter 4:10-11; Matt. 20:24-27; Phil

1:1; Acts 20:28; 1 Tim 2:11-15; 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9; 1 Cor. 11:2-9; 14:33-36; Eph. 5:21-33; Col. 3:18-19; 1

Cor. 7:32 35)

We believe that Jesus is coming back to earth in order to bring this age to an end.

Jesus will reward the saved and punish the wicked, and finally destroy God's last

enemy, death. He will put all things under the Father, so that God may be all in all

forever. That is why we have urgency for the Great Commission—to make

disciples of all nations. We look at the Great Commission as an inherent part of

God’s original command to “be fruitful and multiply.” We want to be disciples of

Jesus who love people and help them be disciples of Jesus. We are a movement

of disciples who make disciples who help renew existing churches and who start

new churches that make more disciples. We want to reach as many as

possible—until Jesus returns and God restores all creation to Himself in the new

heaven and new earth.

(Matt. 24:14; 25:31-32; Acts 17:30-31; Rev. 20:11-15; 2 Thess. 1:6-10; Luke 12:4-7; Acts 4:12; John

14:6; Luke 24:46-48; Matt. 28:19-20; Gen.12:1-3; Gal. 4:19; Lk. 6:40; Luke 19:10; Rev. 21:1)