1. The Bible: We believe the Bible is the Word of God, the sixty-six Books of the Old and New Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21). This record is final, authoritative and unchanging! We believe the Bible to be the all-sufficient rule for faith and conduct (apart from integration with any other discipline) through the power of the Holy Spirit to regenerate, sanctify, and equip the believer for life and service (John 17:17, Hebrews 4:12, James 1:18-27)
2. The One True God: We believe in the One True God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 44:6), existing eternally as three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22, Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14). This tri-unity is clearly set forth in the form and formula of Christian baptism (Matthew 28:19-20)
3. The Lord Jesus Christ: We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, His pre-existence and deity (John 1:1-3), incarnation by virgin birth (John 1:14, Matthew 1:18-23), sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), substitutionary death (2 Corinthians 5:21), bodily resurrection (Luke 24:36-43), ascension into heaven and present ministry (Hebrews 4:14-16), and coming again (Acts 1:11). (Further scriptural evidence of His pre-existence as God the Son is found in John 8:58, his deity, John 20:28 and 1 John 5:20, and His coming again John 14:3.)
4. The Holy Spirit: We believe in the Holy Spirit, in His personality (John 16:7-15), and deity (Acts 5:3-4, and His work in each believer, baptism and indwelling at the moment of regeneration (1 Corinthians 12:13, Romans 8:9), and filling (Ephesians 5:18) to empower for Christian life and service (Ephesians 3:16, Acts 1:8, Galatians 5:22-23). We believe that the Holy Spirit provides to each believer one or more spiritual gifts "for serving one another" (1 Peter 4:10), and gifted men to the Church for perfecting (Ephesians 4:11-13). However, apostolic sign-gifts and miracles, even in the early Church, were not for all believers (1 Corinthians 12:28-30) and ended with the apostolic era (1 Corinthians 13:8, 2 Corinthians 12:12, Hebrews 2:3-4). We also believe that Spirit baptism is a once for all action, at the moment of regeneration (Ephesians 4:5, 1 Corinthians 12:13).
5. Man: We believe in his direct creation in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28), and his subsequent fall into sin resulting in spiritual death (Genesis 3:1-24, Romans 5:12), and the necessity of the new birth for his salvation (John 3:3-5). We believe in the recent, direct creation of the heavens, the earth, and all their hosts, without pre-existing material, in six literal 24-hour days (Genesis 1:1-2, 25, Exodus 20:11, John 1:3, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 11:3). We believe in the sanctity of human life (Genesis 9:6, Psalm 139:13-16) and in the distinct function of men and women in the home and the church (Ephesians 5:22-33, 1 Timothy 2:8-15).
6. Salvation: We believe in a complete and eternal salvation by God's grace alone, received as the gift of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ ad His finished work (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-7, 1 Peter 1:18-19)
7. The Church: We believe in the one true Church, the body and bride of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:2-32), composed of all true believers of the present age (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), and the organization of its members in local churches for worship, for edification of believers, and for world-wide gospel witness, each local church being autonomous but cooperating in fellowship and work (Ephesians 4:11-16). We believe confession of faith and triune immersion to be the two essential scriptural requirements for membership in the local church (Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 2:38). Each local church shall determine its own additional membership requirements (Acts 2:42-47), and the discipline of its own members (1 Corinthians 5:3-5). Triune immersion may not be circumvented except for medical reasons of a physical nature.
8. Christian Life: We believe the Christian life consists of a life of righteousness, good works, and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world (Romans 12:1-2), manifested by speaking the truth (James 5:12), maintaining the sanctity of the home (Ephesians 5:22-6:4), settling differences between Christians in accordance with the Word of God (1 Corinthians 6:1-8), not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men (Romans 12:7-21), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and maintaining a life of prayer (Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 4:6), including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the elders of the church to pray and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:13-18). Not engaging in carnal strife is understood to include not only in war but also church and personal relationships. This is to reaffirm the biblical teaching on nonresistance (not to be equated with pacifism) in war and peace (Matthew 5:39-41, Luke 6:27-29, John 18:36).
9. Ordinances: We believe the Christian should observe the ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are (1) baptism of believers by triune immersion (Matthew 28:19) and (2) the threefold communion service, consisting of the washing of the saints' feet (John 13:1-17), the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20, 33-34, Jude 12), and the communion of the bread and the cup (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). We believe that only triune immersion and threefold communion meets the biblical mandates of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning ordinances (Matthew 28:20, John 13:13-17).
10. Satan: We believe in Satan's existence and personality as the great adversary of God and His people (Revelation 12:1-10), his judgment (John 12:31), and final doom (Revelation 20:10).
11. Second Coming: We believe in the personal, visible, and imminent return of Christ to remove His Church from the earth (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) before the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 1:10, Revelation 3:10), and afterward to descend with the Church to establish His millennial kingdom upon the earth (Revelation 19:11-20:6). We believe the tribulation will be a seven-year period (Daniel 9:24-27) following the rapture of the Church; and we believe the thousand-year kingdom will include the literal fulfillment of God's covenant promises to ethnic Israel (Jeremiah 33:14-26, Ezekiel 36:25-28, 40-48, Romans 11:23-32).
12. Future Life: We believe in the conscious existence of the dead (Philippians 1:21-23, Luke 16:19-31), the resurrection of the body (John 5:28-29), the judgment and reward of believers (Romans 14:10-12, 2 Corinthians 5:10), the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers (Revelation 20:11-15), the eternal life of the saved (John 3:16), and the eternal punishment of the lost (Matthew 25:46, Revelation 20:15). We understand eternal punishment to be a conscious state (Revelation 14:11).