Statement of Faith
This statement reflects both the historic Christian beliefs we hold as essential to the gospel and the theological conclusions we have reached in areas where faithful believers may disagree. We affirm unity with all who trust in Christ, even where we differ on secondary matters.
Core Christian Beliefs
These are doctrines we believe define historic Christianity and are essential to the gospel.
Scripture
We believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired, authoritative Word of God. It is truthful in all that it intends to teach and is the final authority in matters of faith, theology, and Christian living.
God
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the Creator of all things, perfectly holy, just, loving, and sovereign over creation and history.
Jesus
We believe Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, performed mighty works, died on the cross as a substitutionary atonement for sin, bodily rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will return in glory to judge the living and the dead.
Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is fully divine and actively works to convict of sin, regenerate, indwell, sanctify, and empower believers for holy living and faithful witness.
Humanity
We believe humans are made in the image of God with inherent dignity and purpose. Humanity was created for fellowship with God and stewardship over creation.
Sin
We believe sin is humanity’s failure to trust and obey God, resulting in spiritual death, alienation from God, and the corruption of human nature. All people inevitably sin and stand in need of redemption.
Salvation
We believe salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. His death and resurrection provide full forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God for all who trust in Him.
The Church
We believe the Church is the body of Christ, composed of all believers, called to worship God, grow in holiness, proclaim the gospel, and make disciples of all nations.
Resurrection and Judgement
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, eternal life with God for the redeemed, and eternal separation from God for those who reject His grace.
Personal Theological Convictions
The following positions reflect our understanding of Scripture. We hold them with confidence, but not as tests of Christian faith or fellowship.
Creation and the Early World
We believe the earth is ancient, and that life has existed on earth for a long period of time within God’s creative plan. We affirm that God is the ultimate Creator and sustainer of all life, and that macro-evolution was not utilized in the act of creation.
Adam and Early Humanity
We believe Adam was a real historical person specially appointed by God as a covenantal representative and priestly figure. We are open to the view that biologically modern humans may have existed prior to Adam, and that Adam’s role in Scripture is primarily covenantal and theological rather than strictly biological.
The Fall
We believe the Fall introduced spiritual death, alienation from God, and disorder into the human experience and the human relationship with creation. We do not hold that all physical death in the animal world, and possibly among humanity, began at this moment, but that the Fall uniquely affected humanity’s spiritual condition and vocation.
The Image of God
We believe all humans are imagers of God and possess inherent worth and moral responsibility. Adam’s calling represents a priestly and representative role within that broader humanity.
Sin and Human Responsibility
We believe all people inevitably sin due to a universal human propensity toward self-rule and moral autonomy. Each person bears guilt for their own sin, while also living within the consequences of humanity’s collective fallenness.
The Flood
We believe the Flood in Noah’s day was a real, catastrophic divine judgment. We believe it was a large-scale regional event described in universal language, consistent with Ancient Near East expression.
The Garden of Eden
We believe the Garden of Eden is portrayed as sacred space — the first temple — where Adam served in a priestly role. We understand the serpent in Genesis 3 to represent an unnamed, rebellious spiritual being acting in opposition to God, later identified as the Dragon in Revelation, and commonly referred to as “the Devil” in the church today.
Genesis Genealogies
We believe that many of the genealogies listed in Genesis dictate lifespans that have been shaped to contain symbolic meaning, and don’t necessarily represent the literal ages at which the referents died. That being said, we do believe that their actual ages were not too different from the ages listed in the genealogies.
Science and Faith
We believe that careful study of the natural world and faithful study of Scripture ultimately complement rather than contradict one another when both are rightly understood.