Doctrinal Statement

A. THE SCRIPTURES - We believe that the Bible is the very word of God, verbally inspired (2 Tim. 3:16), and preserved intact by the Holy Spirit through the ages so that we may give all 66 books, from Genesis through Revelation our complete, continual allegiance. We believe that the Bible contains the truth about God’s creation of the universe, Satan's sin, Man's fall, God’s redemption for man, the righteous judgment of God, and the future restoration of all creation. We believe the Bible to be common ground of fellowship among all genuine Christians. We believe that the Bible is to be interpreted literally except where it is obviously symbolic. We reject the liberal method of interpretation which allegorized every scripture. We believe that the King James Version of 1611 is the best version for use in public and private worship.

B. THE GODHEAD - We believe that there is one God and only one (I Tim. 2:5). We believe that this God is in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Luke 3:21, 22). We believe that each person of the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, were the joint creators of all that exists (Gen. 1:1), and that they are presently holding together all things. We believe that all three members of the Trinity are one and that each Person of the Trinity manifests the attributes of God. We believe God to be omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal.

1. GOD THE FATHER - We believe that the Father has planned to provide salvation since before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:2). We believe He willingly and lovingly gave His only begotten Son to be the perfect, satisfactory sacrifice for sin and sinners (John 3:16). We believe that He is the giver of every good and perfect gift to them who will receive His benevolence (James 1:17).

2. GOD THE SON - We believe that the Son of God is eternal and is coexistent with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Son of God had planned from the foundation of the world to lovingly and voluntarily offer Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. We believe that He was born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14, Matt. 1:18-25), according to Old Testament prophecy, lived a completely perfect and sinless life (Heb. 7:26), died a humiliating, but redeeming death for every human being (1 Cor. 15:3,4) was buried in a borrowed tomb. His body remaining in the tomb for three full days and three full nights, and that He was raised from the dead with a glorified body. We believe that He is presently seated at the right hand of the Father as the advocate (Acts 7:56; 1 John 2:1), and high priest of everyone who is trusting Him for Eternal Life. We believe that He will come bodily to remove His saints (John 14:1-6; 1 Thess. 4:13-18), from the earth. We believe that He will one day rule on the Throne of David in Jerusalem as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

3. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT - We believe that the Holy Spirit is equal to and coexistent with the Father and the Son. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the agent of the Father in dealing with the hearts of men on the basis of what the Son has done for us in His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Pet. 1:2). We believe that the Holy Spirit convinces the unsaved of the truth of the Word of God, convicts the sinner of his sinful condition, draws him to the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:44); causes him to realize that Jesus Christ is his only hope, and then when the sinner believes on the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit immediately takes up His abode in the heart of the believer (Rom. 8:9). We believe that it is the Holy Spirit’s desire to fill us, control our thoughts, actions, and words; aid our memories; comfort and console us; teach us and conform us to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. We be1ieve that He is able to do these things in us, for us, and to us only as we allow Him by yielding ourselves to his control. (Eph. 5:18; John 14:26; Acts 9:31; 1 John 2:20; Rom. 8:28-29; Rom. 6:13)

C. MAN - We believe that man was created by God from the dust of the earth and that man was made in the image of God. We believe that man at his creation consisted of body, soul, and spirit. We believe that man walked and talked with God in perfect fellowship in the garden of paradise in which God had p1aced him. We also believe that Man willfully disobeyed God in partaking of the forbidden fruit and as a result he immediately died spiritually, his mind was darkened and he began to die physically at the very moment he acted in disobedience to God. We believe that the whole human race was plunged into sin by Adam's sin, and that every human being is born totally depraved, a sinner by nature, and that this sinful nature produces in every person the acts of sin. We believe that every man is alienated from God until he is reconciled to God by his faith in Jesus Christ. (Gen. 2:7; 1:26; 3:8; 3:6; Rom. 5:2; Eph. 2:11-13)

D. SATAN AND THE DEMONS - We believe that Satan was once one of the chief angels (by the name Lucifer), which God had created. We believe that because of his lofty position and great beauty, he became proud and attempted to lead a rebellion against God, intending to remove God from His throne and rule the universe himself.

We believe that this rebellion failed and that God cast Satan forth from His presence along with the lesser angels who had participated in Satan's rebellion against God. We believe that these angels became known as demons or evil spirits.

We believe that Satan is the arch enemy of God. We be1ieve that he has done, is doing, and shall do everything in his power to thwart the plans and purposes of God. We be1ieve that Satan tempted Eve into disobeying God, and by this, drew Adam into sin.

We believe that Satan is going about continually seeking to hinder the spreading of the Gospel, blinding the minds of the unbelievers, and using every tool available to defeat Christians. We believe that Christians can defeat Satan by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony.

We believe and rejoice that Satan will one day be cast into the Lake of Fire that burns forever and ever along with all his demons and that he will never again have freedom to oppress man. (Isa. 14:9-17; Ezek. 28:12-19; Gen. 3:1-5; 2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 20:10)

E. SALVATION - We believe that God, before the foundation of this world, saw that man would become totally depraved because of Adam's sin. We believe that God began to plan to meet every need that was created by Man's sin. We believe that God has provided a way in which He can meet every need of the human heart, mind, and body, and that this way of salvation is the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that the Blood of Jesus Christ was shed to redeem us from our sins. We believe that salvation is by God’s grace and is available to man on one condition only and that condition is faith in Jesus Christ. This faith is that which is coupled with repentance (a change of mind). We do not believe that it is possible to aid God in saving oneself. We do not believe that baptism helps to save, nor that keeping the ten commandments helps to save, nor that communion helps to save, nor that church membership helps to save. We believe that the power to save belongs to God and is applied to the sinner when he believes. We believe in the security of the believer. We believe that we are kept by the power of God and, since there is no power greater than His, we believe that He keeps us saved. We believe that it is impossible for a Christian to be separated from the love of God because of God's faithfulness. (1Cor. 15:1-4; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1-14; Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 16:31; John 14:6; Rom. 8:31-39; Eph. 4:30; 1Pet. 1:5)

F. THE SECOND COMING - We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again just as literally as He came the first time. We believe that His Second Coming is imminent, that He may come at any moment. We believe that His Second Coming is divided into two parts. The first part will be the time He comes before the seven-year tribulation period, to gather out of the world all those who have trusted Him. We believe that Christians who are alive and remain here on the earth will be caught up with those whose bodies are raised from the dead at the shout of the archangel, and the trump of God and that all the redeemed will be given bodies like the resurrection body of Jesus. The second part of His second coming will be when He comes with the armies of heaven to make war upon the Antichrist in the valley of Armageddon, at the end of the tribulation. We believe that after the Antichrist is defeated, Jesus will ascend the throne of David in Jerusalem and will rule with a rod of iron for 1000 years. (John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52; Rev. 19:11-21; Rev. 20:6)

G. HEAVEN - We believe in the literal Heaven. We believe that it is a place prepared of God for the redeemed of all ages. We believe that only those whose sins are forgiven because of their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will enter there. (Rev. 21:24, 22:11)
H. HELL - We believe in a literal hell. We believe that there has been, that there is, and that there always shall be a place of confinement and torment for the unsaved. We believe that there is no such place as purgatory. All those who do not go to Heaven go to Hell. We believe that it is a place of literal fire and literal torment. We believe that one day Satan and all his demons will be cast into the Lake of Fire along with all those who have rejected salvation by Jesus Christ.
(Rev. 20:12-15)

I. ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH - We believe that there are two ordinances which our Lord instructed the church to observe. We do not believe that they are sacramental, that they impart Grace to the one who observes them). We believe that the ordinances were intended to publicly commemorate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. (1 Cor. 11:1-2)

1. BAPTISM - We believe that Baptism shows the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. We be1ieve that in order to be scripturally baptized, one must; (a) first believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation, (b) second be baptized voluntarily, (c) by another believer, (d) as a public testimony to the fact that he has identified himself with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, (e) and one must be baptized by immersion in order to show a picture of our Lord's burial and resurrection. (Matt. 25:18-20; Acts 8:26-39)

2. COMMUNION— We believe that the Communion is a memorial supper commemorating the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that it is to be observed only by believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that those who observe the Communion should first examine themselves to see if they meet the qualifications given in the scripture. First, one should examine oneself in regard to salvation. Second, one should examine oneself in regard to unconfessed sin in his life. If there is found in this examination anything that is not in order, one should not participate in observing the Communion until it is corrected. The grape juice is symbolic of His Blood poured out for us. The unleavened bread is symbolic of His body given for us. (1 Cor. 11:23-24)

J. THE LOCAL CHURCH - We believe the local church is the organism which the Lord Jesus Christ has established to do His work on the earth in this age. We believe the local church is an assembly of baptized believers who have joined themselves together in order to pray, to study the Word, to strengthen other Christians, and to reach the lost. We believe that each church is to be indigenous (self governing, se1f propagating, se1f supporting). We believe that where it is possible, churches should fellowship together, labor together, and pray together with other churches of like faith. We believe that each church is answerable only to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 16:18; 1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 4:11-13)

K. CIVIL GOVERNMENT - We believe that the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ over the believer does not interfere with the Government’s control over the believer so long as the Government does not ask of the believer any thing that is contrary to our Lord's revealed will or that interferes with our obedience to Him. We do not believe it is wrong to serve in the Armed Forces of our nation.

We do believe that the State should not try to control the church. We also believe that the church shou1d not try to control the State in any way other than praying for the men in authority and voting our convictions. (Rom. 13:1-7; Acts 4:18-20)

L. MISSIONS - We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to carry the Gospel of Salvation into all the world and that this command is still binding on believers today. We believe that it is our responsibility to reach for Christ the unsaved in the area in which God has placed us. We also believe it is our responsibility to pray for and support, as the Lord supplies, those missionaries whom we know to be doctrinally sound, evangelistic, and faithful in the work of the Lord. (Matt. 28:18-20)

M. SEPARATION - We believe that, in order for a believer to practice consistent Christian living, it is necessary to be separated from habits, words, actions, alliances, and anything else that pertains to the life we lived before salvation. We believe that the new birth produces a new manner of living. We believe that a Christian can have victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 6:17; 2 Cor. 5:17; 1 Cor. 15:57; Phi1. 1:27)