Values and Beliefs

WORSHIP

We believe in lifting our voices to bless, adore, and revere the Lord. In doing so we create an atmosphere that welcomes Him and adores Him. Through worship we enter into an intimate communion with the Lord and encounter His Presence; worshiping alone and as a whole allows His unmatched beauty to fall upon us.

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.”

Psalms 29:2

FAMILY

We believe in empowering families to live a life that cherishes those around them; a house that blesses and bestows favor and love upon others. We value coming together on Sunday mornings and uplifting each other in the Lord. May we be a house that welcomes one another in love and may we draw others closer because the Presence of the Lord abides in us.

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Romans 12:10

JUSTICE

The Lord longs to call the nations to Himself. He is a Father to the fatherless, a Healer to the brokenhearted, a Savior to the lost, and a place of refuge for the persecuted. We believe in partnering with Him to reach all nations far and wide so the Father may be revealed and known; from our local communities to all the ends of the earth.

“The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

Psalms 103:6

  • The Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative written Word of God.
  • There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
  • The deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth,  His sinless life, His miracles,  His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection,  His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal future return to this earth in power and glory to rule a thousand years.
  • The blessed hope, the rapture of the Church at Christ’s coming.
  • The only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ.
  • Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation.
  • The redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides healing of the human body in answer to believing prayer.
  • The baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it. As a result, spiritual gifts are operating through His children.
  • In the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a holy life.
  • In the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, the one to everlasting life and the other to everlasting damnation.

What is our view of marriage and sexuality?

We believe and affirm the Biblical design of marriage from the beginning as being a covenant between one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy is reserved for the marriage relationship. At the time, we face a very real, and very complex ministry context in which we are learning how best to share the Good News of Jesus with every person, regardless of sexual orientation. All people live in our beautiful but broken world, and all people long to discover love and relationship and wholeness. We unapologetically believe that Jesus is the way (and the truth, and the life) toward that wholeness, and so our primary focus is meeting Christ so he can be the one to speak into and heal the wounds that are common to human existence.

What is our view of women in ministry?

For us, a fundamental truth of the Bible is that spiritual gifts are not gender-specific. In other words, we believe that the Holy Spirit releases gifts of leadership to both men and women. Our challenge, then, is to disciple and empower both men and women in the areas of gifting within local context for maximum impact for the Kingdom of God. Practically, this means we value the God-given capacity of women to lead without limitation.

What is our view of the Bible?

We believe the Bible is God’s entirely trustworthy, inspired, and authoritative Word to his people, and we take seriously its numerous commands to read, memorize, discuss, teach, and obey it. Of course, doing this well means engaging the text prayerfully and carefully. We believe that God’s inspiration worked through human authors whose character and context profoundly shaped the Scriptures we read today. Therefore, we labor to link the living Word of the ancient text to the dynamic circumstances of our daily lives. Ultimately, this means following all of Scripture’s prose and poetry as it flows like rainfall toward a single, infinitely deep well of living water: Jesus Christ.

What is our view of the Holy Spirit?

We believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as outlined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12, have not ceased and are to be used with joy, wisdom and discernment in the life of the local church. We believe the gifts are given by God for the strengthening of His church and the building up of all believers.