CHURCH OVERVIEW
OUR MISSION … is to reach up, reach down, reach in, and reach out
OUR VISION … is to build a family of Christ followers that worships God, shares Christ’s hope and love, and ministers to others’ needs to advance the Kingdom of God.
WHAT WE BELIEVE …
SCRIPTURE GOD MANKIND JESUS SALVATION CHURCH
ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES
We believe the Bible to be the finished and complete collection of holy scriptures written by men who were divinely inspired by God. We believe these men were moved by the Spirit to write the very words of scripture. Therefore, we believe that the Bible in its entirety is without error or contradiction and completely true and trustworthy. It has been given as God’s revelation of Himself and His plan of salvation to mankind. It is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tested.
ABOUT GOD
We believe there is only one true living God as revealed in the Bible. We believe He is one God who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity is of the same essence yet with unique roles. We believe God to be infinitely loving and good but also infinitely holy and just. As Creator of all things He alone stands as the righteous judge of mankind.
ABOUT MANKIND
We believe all people were created in the image of God. He created them male and female as the pinnacle of His creation. Therefore, gender is a gift of God’s goodness in creation. The sacredness of human life is evident in that God created all people in His image and that Christ gave His very life for their salvation. Therefore, every person of every ethnicity, color, and nationality possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
By free choice, all people have sinned and become alienated from God, falling short of His glory and coming under His judgment. As a result, people are incapable of gaining a right relationship with God through their own efforts.
ABOUT JESUS
We believe Jesus to be the second member of the Trinity (the Son of God). As such, He is eternal and uncreated. In His time on earth, He was God in flesh, full of grace and truth. We believe He took on actual human flesh, was born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life.
Perfectly obeying the entirety of God’s divine law, He gave Himself to die on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice to satisfy the holy wrath of God against man’s sin. His blood, shed on the cross, provides the sole basis for forgiveness of sin. We believe in a literal physical resurrection of Christ from the dead as proof of everything He claimed. We believe He will return once again to judge the nations and usher in the fullness of God’s kingdom over all the earth.
ABOUT SALVATION
We believe that because of their sin, all people fall under the judgment and wrath of the holy God. The only means of forgiveness of this sin is the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. Therefore, we believe that salvation is only possible by the grace of God, given through personal faith in Jesus Christ. People cannot earn their way to God because we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory. Salvation is a free gift that must be accepted through surrender to Christ, not earned by good works of people.
Receiving this free gift of salvation and becoming a Jesus follower is simple. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.” This simply means that you must confess your sin and need for salvation to God and believe in your heart that Jesus died & rose again to provide that salvation.
ABOUT THE CHURCH
We believe the Church as a whole to be the Bride and Body of Christ comprised of all those redeemed of all the ages: believers from every people group, language, ethnicity, and nation. This means believers are to live as the hands of feet of Jesus – the ambassadors of His kingdom in this world.
We also believe that, in order to fulfill His kingdom mission in all parts of the world, God has instituted the local church: an autonomous congregation of baptized believers bound to one another in covenant relationship and love. Every member of the church falls under the headship of Jesus and is responsible to Him to fully use the unique gifts which God has given them through His Spirit. Members are also lead by pastors and deacons as servant-leaders of the church.
We observe the two ordinances of Christ (baptism & the Lord’s Supper); labor together in our mission using our unique gifts; and seek to extend the gospel to ends of the Earth.