Statement of Faith

Trinity

We believe God is the Supreme, Eternal One who reveals himself to the humanity through three distinct, but equal, Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

1. God, the Father - we believe that God is the Creator of all life, the Initiator of the divine-human relationship and the Source of perfect love.

2. Jesus Christ, the Son - we believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.

   Upon His First Advent into human history, He came as a Humble Child, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. As such, He was both fully divine and yet fully human. Through His sinless life, death upon the cross and resurrection from the grave, He provides the only means for persons to be reunited with God.

   Upon His Second Advent into human history, He will come as a Victorious Lord to complete the redemption of the cosmos. Evil will be destroyed, all creation will be renewed, a new Heaven will descend, and the believer will dwell in the presence of God.

3. The Holy Spirit - we believe the Holy Spirit is the Eternal Spirit who has been active throughout time revealing God to the humanity. In an individual's life, the Spirit creates a restless longing that can only be satisfied by God prevenient (grace), enables the process of new birth (salvation) and indwells the believer so that one is inspired with a vision of holy living and endowed with power for daily life (sanctification).

Humanity

We believe humanity is the highest expression of God's creation. Created in the image of God, men and women were designed to be with God, one another and the earth. Due to the lack of trust and disobedience (sin), humanity broke the divine-human bond thus defacing the image of God within them. Since the event of Original Sin, relationships of persons to God, persons to persons, and persons to earth have been fragmented. Only as persons are reunited with God, through faith in Christ, can the process of rediscovering God's image within commence, and life's relationships be restored.

The Bible

We believe the Old and New Testaments are the only written Word of God. The authority of the Scripture derives from the fact that God, through the Holy Spirit, inspired the authors, causing them to perceive God's truth and record it with accuracy. The Bible is God's written message to the world revealing God's character, calling persons to a relationship with Himself, identifying the essentials of the Christian faith, and guiding believers in aspects of daily living. We affirm the responsibility of each Christian to study the Scriptures, which leads to biblical interpretation based upon the Spirit's guidance and personal reflection.

The Church

We believe the Church consists of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior. Believers are scripturally admonished to come together in local communities of faith to provide a context for Christian nurture and empowerment. The Church provides nurturing towards Christian maturity through worship celebrations, teaching of the Scriptures, and fellowship within the community. The Church provides empowerment for Christian service through training believers and encouraging them to actively represent Christ's presence to the world by being responsive to the spiritual, physical, emotional and social needs of others.

The After Life

We believe those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do, at physical death, immediately pass into God's presence and dwell with Him forever. We believe that those who do not choose to trust in Christ for salvation will, at physical death, experience eternal separation from the presence of God.

Marriage

We believe that Marriage has been established by God as a solemn union between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31). We further hold that, in accordance with Scripture, sexual intimacy and sexual activity is appropriate only within the marriage relationship, between husband and wife (1 Corinthians 7:2; Hebrews 13:4). Accordingly, we view the following as inappropriate and contrary to Scripture: 1) any sexual intimacy or sexual act between individuals who are not married to on another, 2) any marriage or civil union that is not between a man and woman, 3) any other activity, teaching or behavior that is contrary to a biblical view of marriage or appropriate behavior as outlined in this provision. All staff of this Corporation and all individuals involved in leading operations, activities and events are expected to uphold the Corporation’s perspective on marriage, sexual intimacy and appropriate behavior as set forth in this provision. Individuals and organizations who desire to use the Corporation’s facilities must also act in accordance with this provision.