GOD the FATHER: God as Father reigns over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  (Gen. 1:1; 1Chronicles 29:10; Ps. 19:1-3; Isaiah 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; John 4:24;  Gal. 4:6;  1 John 4:7)

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GOD The SON: Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God; He identified Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. In His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.  (Isaiah 7:14; Matt. 1:18-23; John 1:1-18;  16:15-16; 20:1-20;  Acts 1:9; 1Thess. 4:14-18; 1Tim. 2:5-6)

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GOD the HOLY SPIRIT: He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He calls men and women to the Savior, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism and service. (Gen. 1:2; Ps. 51:11; 139:7-24; Isaiah 61:1-3; Acts 1:8; 2:1-2; 38; 4:31: Rom. 8:9-11, 14-16; 1Cor. 3:16; 12:3-11)

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THE SCRIPTURES: The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man.  It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction.  It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. (Ps. 19:7-10; 119:11, 89, 105; Rom. 15.4; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:25; 2 Pet. 1:19-21)

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SALVATION involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.  In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification and glorification.

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REGENERATION or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace, whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus.  It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.  Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God.  Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to him as Lord and Savior.  Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ.  Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.

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SANCTIFICATION is the setting a part of the believer to God’s purposes and is enabling the believer to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him.  Growth and grace should continue throughout the believer’s life.

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GLORIFICATION is the culmination  of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed. This will happen when we go to be with the Lord. (Gen. 3:15; John 3:3-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 2 Cor. 5:17-20; Eph. 8-22; Col. 1:9-22; 1 Pet. 1:2-23; Rev. 3:20)

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THE CHURCH: A New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ, committed to His teachings, exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The church is an autonomous body,  operating under the lordship of Jesus Christ.  Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons.  The church is the body of Christ and includes all of the redeemed regardless of age. (Matt. 16:15-19; Acts 2:41-42, 47; 6:3-6; 16:5; 20:28; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:19-22)

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ORDINANCES (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper):  Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.  Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite  to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.  The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, partaking of the bread and the cup, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.  (Matt. 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; Acts 11:23-29)

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STEWARDSHIP/GIVING:  God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him.  Christians are under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others.  According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly,  and liberally for the advancement of the Lord’s work on earth. (Mal. 3:8-12; Matt. 19:21; Rom. 12:1-12; 1 Cor. 4:1-2; 2 Cor. 8-9)

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