Statement of Faith. This Church, being a corporation comprised of All In believers of like precious faith, believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, individually, for eternal life through His atoning death and the power of His resurrected life; believes the Bible and ongoing, personal revelation from the Holy Spirit to be God’s Word and desire for each person and accepts it as the all-sufficient rule for faith and conduct; believes that Christian fellowship, mutual edification, and a life full of love in and through the form and body of local churches, is God’s best for His people; believers of each local church are enjoined to assemble themselves together for worship, fellowship, counsel and instruction in God’s Word and the work of the ministry, and for the exercising of those gifts and offices provided for in the New Testament; believes that the local church is charged to walk in the light of the Holy Spirit in power and love; and further believes that God has called and anointed this Church and its pastors, officers, members and Board of Elders to emphasize the power and the character of Jesus to guide His Church and transform the world. We seek to ask, listen, and respond, as both individuals and as a Body of Believers, to what God wants for us (which is our distinctive testimony)
Essentials We Believe. The Board of Elders, on behalf of this Church, has accepted and adopted the statements set out below as a part of the Bylaws of the Corporation. By the grace of God, this Church will be governed by these Bylaws and will also teach and propagate the doctrines contained herein.
(a) The Scriptures Inspired. We believe that the Bible is the supreme and foundational standard of faith. The Bible, Old and New Testaments in the original autographs, is the inspired, infallible Word of God, a complete and final written revelation of God.
(2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13)
(b) The One True God. We believe in all the fundamental doctrines of evangelical Christianity. We believe in one personal, transcendent and holy God, the Creator of all, who is eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-2; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:6)
(c) Man, His Fall and Redemption. We believe that all people are by nature and choice separated from God and responsible for their own sin. Further, we believe that God offers salvation, redemption and forgiveness freely through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Genesis 3; Romans 3:23, 5:12; 1 John 1:8; Ephesians 2:3-10)
(d) The Salvation of Man. The grace of God, which brings salvation, has appeared to all men, through the preaching of belief in God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; man is saved by receiving the life of Jesus Christ into himself and being justified by grace through faith, he becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 2:11; Romans 10: 9-10; Luke 24:47; Titus 3:5-7, Romans 5:10). The “inward” evidence to the believer of his salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16, Ephesians 2:13). The “outward” evidence of his salvation to all men is a heart full of thankfulness, (Colossians 2:6-7) the Fruit of Spirit, (Galatians 5:22-23) and water baptism (Acts 2:38).
We believe that Jesus Christ, though fully God, became a human and that He is the promised Messiah, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on the cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, and lives forever to make intercession for us.
(John 1:1; Matthew 1:20-23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 1:3, 10:12; John 16:7-11; Matthew 19:28, 25:31; 2 Timothy 2:8)
We believe the moment a person trusts in the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, trusting Him alone to save, and not good works, he or she receives salvation and is immediately born again, forgiven, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and becomes a child of God.
(Ephesians 1:7, 2:1-10; Romans 10:9-10; John 1:12)
(e) Baptism in Water. The ordinance of water baptism, representing the burial and resurrection with Christ, should be observed, as exemplified in the Scriptures, by all who have received Jesus and in their hearts have truly believed in Him as Savior and Lord. Because the origin of the word “baptism” means “to dip” or “to sink” we believe baptisms occur by full immersion. Also, every example given in scripture is by full immersion after salvation. Baptism is an outward symbol of an inward change. Those being baptized declare to the world that they have died with Jesus, they have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life, and they will follow where He leads.
(Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:26-39; Acts 10:47, 48; Romans 6:4; Acts 20:21; Hebrews 10:22)
(f) The Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper, is for all believers, consisting of the elements, bread and the fruit of the vine, is a celebration of Jesus finished work at the cross (Luke 22:19-20) and is a reminder that Christ is in us therefore we have hope (Colossians 1:27).
(g) The Holy Spirit and His Gifts. The Holy Spirit is a gift that Jesus gives us. (John 20:22, Acts 1:4) While the Holy Spirit physically enters every believer upon salvation (Ephesians 1:13) we can ask the Holy Spirit to fill us up to overflowing on a daily basis (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) The Holy Spirit is a demonstration of God’s power in the life of a believer. We eagerly desire the Holy Spirit to fill us up on a daily basis and we eagerly desire every gift He wants to give us (I Corinthians 12:31). Because we have the same Spirit that the early New Testament church had, we believe He can interact with people in the same miraculous ways. Therefore, we believe in the active, available, and orderly use, of all Spiritual Gifts. (1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 14:31-32)
(j) The Church. The Church was instituted by Jesus while He was on earth (Matthew 16:18) and it is the primary way that God moves His Kingdom forward on earth. While each individual church has different worship services, vision, ways of leading believers and loving seekers, we believe that each local church carries the core, common beliefs of Christianity and comprises the larger universal Church which the Bible describes as “the Bride of Christ” (Ephesians 5:22, Revelation 22:17). This is a description of love, honor, and intimacy from God towards His Church.
Statement of Marriage. We believe that because God our Creator established marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman, the idea that marriage is a covenant only between one man and one woman has been the traditional definition of marriage for all of human history (“Traditional Definition of Marriage”). Because of the longstanding importance of the Traditional Definition of Marriage to humans and their relationships and communities, and, most importantly, the fact that God has ordained that marriage be between one man and one woman, as clearly conveyed in God’s inspired Scriptures, including for example in Matthew 19:4-6 where in speaking about marriage Jesus referred to the fact that “he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” the Church hereby creates this policy, which shall be known as the “Marriage Policy.”
Under this Church’s Marriage Policy, the Traditional Definition of Marriage is the only definition of marriage that will be recognized or accepted. No elder, officer, employee, servant, agent, or any person, corporation, organization, or entity under the direction or control of this Church shall commit any act or omission, or make any decision whatever, that would be inconsistent with, or that could be perceived by any person to be inconsistent with, full support of this Church’s Marriage Policy and strict adherence to the Traditional Definition of Marriage rather than any alternative to the Traditional Definition of Marriage.
This Church’s Marriage Policy specifically prohibits acts or omissions including but not limited to permitting any Church assets or property, whether real property, personal property, intangible property, or any property or asset of any kind that is subject to the direction or control of the Church, to be used in any manner that would be or could be perceived by any person to be inconsistent with this Church’s Marriage Policy or the Traditional Definition of Marriage, including but not limited to permitting any church facilities to be used by any person, organization, corporation, or group that would or might use such facilities to convey, intentionally or by implication, what might be perceived as a favorable impression about any definition of marriage other than the Traditional Definition of Marriage.
We believe this Church’s Marriage Policy is based upon God’s will for human life as conveyed to us through the Holy Scriptures, upon which this Church has been founded and anchored, and this Marriage Policy shall not be subject to change through popular vote; referendum; prevailing opinion of members or the general public; influence of or interpretation by any government authority, agency, or official action; or legal developments on the local, state, or federal level.