PDF Documents:
Statements of Faith
I. God
We believe that there is only
one true, living, and eternal God and that the Godhead is revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
II. The Bible
We believe that the Holy Scriptures are the Old and New Testaments; the inspired and infallible Word of God and therein
is found the only reliable guide of Christian faith and conduct.
III. Man
We believe that God created
man in his own image to bring Him honor through obedience, and that when man disobeyed, he became a fallen and sinful creature,
unable to save himself. We believe that infants are in the covenant of God’s grace and that all persons become
accountable to God when they reach a state of moral
responsibility.
IV. Salvation
We believe that
salvation (regeneration, sanctification, justification and redemption) has been provided for all mankind through the redemptive
work (life, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession) of Jesus Christ, and that this salvation can be received only
through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
V. Assurance and Endurance
We
believe that those who abide in Christ have the assurance of salvation. However, we believe that the Christian retains
his freedom of choice; therefore, it is possible for him to turn away from God and be finally lost.
VI. Christian
Duties
We believe that Christians should live faithfully by serving in and through the local church, praying diligently,
witnessing earnestly, practicing tolerance, showing loving kindness, giving as God prospers, and conducting themselves in
such a way as to bring glory to God.
VII. The Church
We believe that the Church Universal
is the body of Christ, the fellowship of all believers, and that its members have been called out from the world to come under
the dominion and authority of Christ, its head. We believe that a local church is a fellowship of Christians, a part of the
Body of Christ, voluntarily banded together for worship, nurture, and service.
VIII. Ordinances
We believe
that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances instituted by Christ to be observed by Christians only. We also believe
that the Biblical mode of baptism is immersion and that participation in the Lord’s Supper should be open to all Christians.
IX. The Lord’s Day
We believe in the sanctity of the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week
and that this day ought to be observed by worshiping God, witnessing for Christ, and ministering to the needs of humanity.
We believe that secular work on Sunday should be limited to cases of necessity or mercy.
X. Last Things
We believe in the personal return of Jesus Christ, and in the bodily resurrection of the dead. We believe that God
will judge all mankind by Jesus Christ; that He will reward the righteous with eternal life in heaven, and that He will banish
the unrighteous to everlasting punishment in hell.
Church
Covenant
Having given ourselves to God,
we now give ourselves to His church and covenant with it and with each other, as also with God.
1. That we will
forsake all unrighteousness, even the appearance of evil. We will abstain from all questionable pursuits
and pleasures; we will forego all hurtful habits; we will avoid all evil associations.
2. That we will follow earnestly
after righteousness and true holiness in the fear and love of God. We will seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,
trusting that all needful and helpful things will be added to us; we will seek entire consecration to God; we will live a
life of prayer; we will seek the constant abiding of the Divine Life within us; and we will be satisfied only when we have
evidence that we please God and are accepted of Him.
3. That we will faithfully improve all the means of grace.
We will attend and support the services of the church, the preaching, the social services, the business meetings; we will
contribute freely of our means for the advancement of the gospel; and we will cooperate with our brethren in every enterprise
having for its end the glory of God and the salvation of men.
4. That we will be Christlike in all our deportment.
We will tender and affectionate toward each other; we will be careful of each other’s reputation, thinking no evil,
and backbiting not with our tongues; we will return good for evil; we will be just, honest, truthful, and honorable in all
our dealings; we will do unto others as we would be done by; we will be meek, loving, and forgiving as we desire and hope
to be forgiven.
5. That we will be faithful Christian workers. We will do whatever Christian work comes to hand,
shunning no cross, shirking no duty; we will even seek opportunities to do good, glorify God and save souls; we will study
to win our associates, our neighbors, our families, all whom we may influence, to become Christians; we will count it more
than our meat and our drink, more that all things else, to do the will of our Father in Heaven, to lead souls from sin and
death, and lead them to God and Heaven.
6. That when we remove from this place we will, as soon
as possible, unite with another church where we can continue to live by the spirit of this covenant and the principles of
the Bible.
