The Bible
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, and is perfect without any edits or additions. It is the source of truth for our life and the way to understand our purpose on earth. The Bible points us to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ so we may know God and worship him eternally.
God
The Bible tells us that God is Love. God reveals himself to us in three ways: God the Father, who created us; God the Son, who died for us; and The Holy Spirit, who remains with us always. God is the one true God who is all-knowing, always loving, and never makes mistakes. We love, serve, and worship Him out of thankfulness for who He is and what he has done.
Jesus
The Bible says that “The Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Jesus is God’s way of reconnecting with people that don’t know Him. Jesus’ life and teachings reveal the greatest act of love in history. He loved us so much that he died on the cross so our sins could be forgiven, and we could have everlasting life (John 3:16). Three days after he died, God raised Jesus from the dead, thus overcoming sin, death, and hell. Jesus is now in heaven with the Father, and will come again one day, as the Bible promises.
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the active presence of God in the world and in the hearts and lives of God’s people. The Spirit of God shows us our sin, and helps us be forever changed, and experience new life. Also, the Holy Spirit gives us power to live out our faith, assurance of salvation, and spiritual gifts to use for ministry.
People
Men and women were created by God in His own image. This means we have a divine purpose in the universe, we can choose right and wrong, and we were made for relationships with God and others. God gives us the choice to worship or and love him, or to say no to His love. This is called “free will.” Our nature is to forget all God has done for us, and become disconnected from God. This human state is called sin. We are powerless to overcome sin on our own. Only God’s grace through Jesus Christ on the cross can restore our relationship with God (Ephesians 2:8).
Salvation
Salvation is the forgiveness of sin and beginning of a personal relationship with God. The Bible says that we are all separated from God and fall short of his glory. (Romans 3:23). It also says “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Sin separates us from God and there is no way that we can get rid of the sin in our life through our own efforts. Jesus is our only way to be forgiven. Salvation is a gift provided for everyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ. It is purely a gift of God’s grace.
The Church
The church is a local body of believers who gather together in order to carry out the mission that Christ gave us. Churches exist to build up Christians in their faith through worship, Bible study, and fellowship, and then to spread the Good News of Jesus and the love of Christ around the world through evangelism, ministry, and missions. Every Christian is a minister, and every Christian has spiritual gifts to be used in the ministry of the church. Jesus directed the church to practice Baptism and the Lord’s Supper in celebration and memory of him.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper and Baptism are powerful, symbolic practices that Jesus told the church to carry out to remind us of his death, burial, and resurrection. The Lord’s Supper builds spiritual community in the church. Baptism shares the gospel with the world.
We do not call Baptism and the Lord’s Supper sacraments because that word means “Saves you.” The Lord’s Supper and baptism do not provide salvation, so we call them ordinances because they were ordained by God for Christians to use in order to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection.