The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men, inspired by God, and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without error. All Scripture is perfect and trustworthy. It reveals God’s character, His affections, man’s origins, heaven’s desires, and the principles by which God judges. It will remain to the end of the world the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.  

(References: Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21)

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God

There is one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal being; the creator, redeemer, preserver, and ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all-powerful and all-knowing; His perfect knowledge extends to all things past, present, and future. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes but without division of nature or being…

• God the Father

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all-powerful, all- knowing, all-loving, and all-wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. 

(References: Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.)

• God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man. 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, taking upon Himself human nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and 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 appeared to His disciples as the person with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the mediator through whom we are reconciled to God. He will come in power to judge the world and to finish His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.

(References: Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.)

• God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, He enables us to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts us of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls us to the Savior, and effects regeneration. He baptizes believers into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows spiritual gifts. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer for service.

(References: Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7 Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19. Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.)

 

Man

Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning, man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence. Therefore, as soon as they were capable of moral action, they became transgressors and fell under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

(References: Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.)

 

The Gospel

The just and gracious God of the universe looked upon hopelessly sinful people and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to bear His wrath against sin on the cross and to show His power over sin in the resurrection so that all who turn and trust in Him will be reconciled to God forever.

(References: Romans 1:17-25; 2:1-16, 3:9; 3:20-31; 4:22-25; 5:6-10, 6:11-14; 18; 8:1-4; 8:10-11; 10:9-13; John 3:14-16, 36; John 10:27-30, 17:3; 1 Timothy 1:16-17; Hebrews 9:12; Isaiah 43:6-7; 1 John 5:11-13.)

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Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

(References: Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.)

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Evangelism & Missions

We reveal God’s grace by advancing His gospel. It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man's spirit by God's Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort in the life of Christ’s followers flows from being in Christ’s family. The call to reach the lost permeates the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ personally commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of a child of God to seek to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle and other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

(References: Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-18; 24:46-53; John 14:11-12; 15:7-8,16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 22:17.)

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Poverty Alleviation & Missions

We show God’s compassion by sharing His provision. It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ to physically serve His fellow man. Throughout the scriptures, God invites and commands His people to care for the materially poor. That constant call constitutes an urgent command He intends mankind to obey. We believe it is our responsibility and privilege to serve the poor in a way that honors the inherent worth and equal value God places on all human life. We, therefore, seek to serve our fellow man in a way that demonstrates respect and honor, while building dignity. When working cross-culturally, we cultivate indigenous capabilities and empower brothers and sisters from poverty-stricken environments as equals and essential stakeholders in our global mission.  

(References: Proverbs 14:31; Proverbs 31:8-9; 21:13; Psalm 12:5;10:16-18; 14:6; 34:6; 35:10; 40:17; 41:1 & 17; 68:5,10; 72:4, 12-14; 103:6; 109:31; 146:7; Exodus 22: 21-22; Ezekiel 16:49; Matthew 5:16; 25:31-46; James 1:27; Luke 10: 25-37; 18:7-8a; Isaiah 19:20; 25:4; 41:17; 61:1, 3-4; 1 Timothy 5:3,9,16; Isaiah 58: 5-8; 10-11; 1 John 3:16-18; Deuteronomy 10:18; Jeremiah 20:13; 22:16; 1 Samuel 2:8.)