Jesus at the Center

Question 1

GOD IS

Answer

We believe God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present Creator of all things, including man and woman, in His image, as the pinnacle of His creative work. God is love; He is good, wise, strong, just, holy, gracious, merciful and intimately personal, engaging and pursuing us for relationship and joy. God eternally exists in the distinct persons of Father, Son and Spirit, each enjoying the same attributes and nature; yet God is one in essence (Trinity)

Question 2

SIN IS OUR PROBLEM

Answer

We believe sin is a universal problem with the dire consequence of separation from God, which is spiritual death. Human sin began in the Garden of Eden with the rebellion of Adam and Eve and is thereafter transferred to everyone who has lived. Moreover, we all inevitably enact our own rebellion against God and His will. Mankind is hopeless in this sinful state without the intervention and grace of God.

Question 3

JESUS IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF LIFE

Answer

We believe the good news of God is that Jesus, God’s eternal Son, perfectly solved the problem of sin and death by His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the grave. Born of a virgin, Jesus lived a life perfectly free from sin, and finally took our place on the cross as a substitute, satisfying the just wrath of God on sin. We believe Jesus physically rose from the grave to triumph over death. Because sin leads to death, we need a Savior who can bring us life. Jesus is the only answer to the problem of sin and therefore the only source of life, eternal and abundant.

Question 4

GOD’S PEOPLE ARE THE CHURCH

Answer

We believe the body of Christ, the church, is the family of all of those who have trusted in Jesus. The church is therefore not a building or institution but an assembly of Jesus-followers, a family of the forgiven, those saved by God the Father, through the work of Jesus the Son, filled with the Holy Spirit, and united in the Great commandment and Great commission.

Question 5

GOD SENT US A HELPER

Answer

We believe the Holy Spirit of God is fully God in every way, and is a Living Person, a “He,” not an impersonal “it” or force. The Holy Spirit, as the third member of the Trinity, active in Creation and all of God’s work in history, has been fully and specially given to the church after Jesus’ resurrection, and now fully indwells every person who trusts in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our comforter, convictor, counselor, translator, intercessor and power source. The Holy Spirit is responsible for the good fruit in our lives of faith, gives special gifts to all believers, assures believers of their childhood to God, and seals every believer in God’s secure love.

Question 6

JESUS IS COMING BACK

Answer

We believe that Jesus, the Living Savior, will physically return to the earth in power and judgment. After His bodily resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. We await His return when He will set up His perfect Kingdom on the earth and finally and forever eliminate sin, the curse, death and the devil. He will perfectly redeem all things and become the center of complete worship in the new heavens and earth.

Question 7

THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD

Answer

We believe the sixty-six books of the Bible are a miracle of Divine revelation. God does not hide from us but has revealed Himself, generally through the creation and perfectly in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament. Written by multiple authors inspired by the Holy Spirit, the original manuscripts of the Scriptures are perfect in content and without error (inerrant). God has also preserved these Scriptures through history so they remain authoritative, and completely sufficient for our knowledge of God, salvation, intimacy with God, spiritual formation and growth in holiness. We believe the Bible is living and active, the one true story of the world.

Question 8

IMAGO DEI (GOD’S IMAGE) IS ESSENTIAL AND INSTRUCTIVE

Answer

We believe God created man and woman in His image and likeness, to relate to Him and to represent Him on the earth. God created man and woman sexually different as perfect counterparts, yet perfectly equal in dignity, value and worth. Two genders, male and female, were God’s perfect design in creation and remain God’s intended design in a fallen and corrupt world. Every life, which begins at conception, is created in God’s image. This imago dei is the deepest root of universal human dignity and it is the foundational inspiration for all our ministry and mission to people.

Question 9

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS CENTRAL AND ACTIVE

Answer

We believe the Holy Spirit of God is the central actor in the church in this age. As an equal member of the eternal Trinity, the Holy Spirit continues to give, activate and mature all of His special gifts of Divine grace and power to all believers in Jesus Christ. We believe the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Scriptures remain fully available to the church, yet are not exhaustive lists of all of His gifts. The Holy Spirit’s gifts are therefore unique to the church of God and are all given for her encouragement, maturity, unity and mission in the world. We believe God the Father desires a dynamic relationship with his daughters and sons by faith, and that this relationship is experienced in, through and by the Holy Spirit, as He enables us to walk with and represent Jesus on the earth.

Question 10

GOD DESIGNED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

Answer

We believe God created the covenant of marriage as a gift. We believe marriage is a Divine oneness-union between one man and one woman for one lifetime, illustrating the unique love of Christ for His church and the message of the Gospel. Marriage is God’s will for some people but not all; single people are in no way inferior or image God less. We believe that sexual intimacy was created exclusively for the covenant safety of man-to-woman marriage and is given for our joy and blessing.

Question 11

WE CELEBRATE BAPTISM AND COMMUNION

Answer

We celebrate baptism and communion as sacred gifts Jesus has given to His Church — visible practices through which invisible grace is remembered, proclaimed, and received.

Baptism is the physical expression, through immersion in water, of the inward reality of salvation by faith. It symbolizes spiritual cleansing and our union with Christ in His death and resurrection: by faith we have died with Christ and are raised to new life. For this reason, baptism is practiced by those who have personally trusted in Jesus for salvation.

Communion (the Lord’s Supper) is a covenant meal in which we remember and proclaim Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice — His broken body and shed blood given for us on the cross, the very center of the Gospel. At the table, the bread and cup are symbols that point us to Christ’s saving work, and through the Holy Spirit we are drawn into real fellowship with the risen Jesus and with one another. Communion is therefore more than private remembrance; it is a shared participation in Christ that nourishes faith, deepens repentance, strengthens unity, and anticipates the future feast of the Kingdom.

We celebrate baptism and communion regularly as a church family, coming humbly, gratefully, and expectantly — remembering Christ’s death, experiencing His presence among us, and proclaiming our hope until He comes again.

Question 12

CHURCH LEADERSHIP IS BIBLICAL AND SPECIFIC

Answer

We believe that God has designed the life of His body, the church, with recognized leaders who care for the church in support, protection and guidance. Elders, called shepherds, are biblically qualified males that function as overseers under Jesus, the Chief Shepherd; elders are men only who serve the church as shepherds by prioritizing prayer and the Word of God. Deacons are servants of the church, both women and men who serve in various capacities under the oversight of the elders. All leaders and servants of the church family (including male and female pastors and staff) do so in submission to the church elders, the headship of Jesus Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the living Word of God.

Jesus at the Center

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