What We Believe
The Bible
We believe that the Holy Bible is completely true with no errors. God Himself divinely inspired man and reveals Himself to us through the Bible. Everything that is written inside is fully true, or will come to pass. (2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:21)
God
There is only one living and true God. He lives in three forms which are often referred to as the trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the Creator of all. He is perfect, righteous, holy, and good. He loves people and cares about our lives. (Genesis 1:1-Exodus 20:2-4; Leviticus 11:44, Isaiah 43:10, 11; Psalm 19:1; John 1: 1-4; John 3:16; Romans 1:20; 1 Peter 1:16, 1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 145:9)
God the Father
God views us as His children and loves each person deeply. He created us in His own image and watches over us. Just as He Himself is holy and righteous, He has laws to help us follow Him in righteousness and holiness. However, He knew we would break those laws. (John 3:16; Genesis 1:26, 27; Psalm 121:3-8; Psalm 22:3; Job 6:10; Isaiah 40:25; Isaiah 57:15; Luke 1:49; Revelation 4:8; Psalm 145:17)
God the Son
Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God. He is fully God and fully man. He was born of a virgin Mary and fulfilled all the prophecies. He came as a light and perfect lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. He is the Savior of the world and the only way to heaven. He came to seek and save the lost. Through His death, He is our propitiation and through Him alone we can be made right with God. He died a physical death, was buried, and rose again in a bodily form three days later. Now He is in heaven and is our high priest and advocate. (Matthew 1: 21-23; 1 Timothy 2:5; Galatians 2:16; Matthew 5: 17; Luke 24:25-27, 32; 1 John 4:14; 14:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 1:14, 29; Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; 1 Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 John 2:1)
God the Holy Spirit
After Jesus returned to heaven, He sent a helper to us just as He promised. The Holy Spirit is there to counsel, convict us of our sins, teach us righteousness, and guide us into all truth. As Christians, we need to learn to listen carefully and be obedient to His voice. He indwells believers, empowers, teaches us how to pray, and transforms us into the image of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the seal and deposit of the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ guaranteeing what is to come. (John 14:16; John 16:8-14; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 3:17,18; Romans 8:26; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22)
Man
Man was created by God and made in the image and likeness of God. At first God and man enjoyed a perfect relationship. God loved man and gave him a choice. God knew with freedom man would make wrong choices, but He wanted man to choose Him. Man chose to disobey God by eating fruit that the Lord had commanded him not to eat. By doing this, he sinned and broke the relationship with God. The consequence was both physical and spiritual death. Spiritual death comes when people are separated from God through sin. Even though people are alive physically, but spiritually without Jesus Christ they are dead. Because of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, sin and death came into the world and passed down through all humankind. All people are sinners and enemies of God in need of a Savior. (Genesis 1:27; 2:16,17; 3:1-19; Isaiah 59:1,2; Romans 5:10,12; 3:10-12, 23; Ephesians 2:1-5; 1 John 1:8)
Salvation
Jesus Christ is the only way to having a restored relationship with God. He lived a perfect life and died in our place. He paid the penalty for our sins through His blood and death on the cross. He rose again on the third day. Salvation is a free gift from God, but it is not cheap because it cost the blood and life of God’s Son Jesus. Salvation is received by those who put their faith, belief, and trust in Jesus Christ alone and confess with their mouth that He is Lord. (John 1:12; Romans 5:6-9; 10:8-13; 3:24-26; 6:23; 1 John 1:8,9; Ephesians 2:8,9; Acts 4:12; Matthew 11:28; 1 Peter 1:18,19)
Baptism
Baptism of the Holy Spirit happens when someone believes in and accepts Jesus Christ as his or her personal savior. Baptism by water is an important step of obedience and symbolizes dying to our sins and old way of life, being buried, and being raised up with the Lord. (Matthew 28:18-20; John 3: 3,5; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:3,4; Colossians 2:12; 1 John 5:6-8; Acts 2:38)
Church
Whoever believes in Jesus Christ personally as their Lord and Savior is part of the body of Christ that we call the church. The church is the community (assembly) of believers bought with the precious blood of Jesus. Gathering together regularly to pray, worship the Lord, encourage one another, be equipped and edified, and serve together is an important joy and responsibility of the church. The church follows the ordinances of Jesus of baptisms and partaking in the Lord’s supper as a reminder of what He has done. The head of the church is Jesus Christ Himself and the church is the bride and body of Christ. (Acts 2:42-46; 20:28; Hebrews 10:24,25; Ephesians 5:19, 23, 29-30; 1 Timothy 3:15)
Lord’s Supper
Jesus has instructed His followers to take the Lord’s supper in remembrance of what He has done on the cross of Calvary. He broke bread and took the cup with His disciples before His death. To partake of the Lord’s supper a person must be a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 26:26-28; John 6:48-58; Acts 2:42-46; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30)
Our Mission (Why We are Here)
Before returning to Heaven and while He was on Earth, Jesus told His disciples to go and preach the Good News to all people. God desires for all people to be saved and have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. For everyone to hear, the followers of Jesus Christ must go and preach the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. God wants us to proclaim the Gospel with everyone including our families, our neighbors, our co-workers, people He places in our path, and those who live in places far from us. We cannot leave a village or person unreached. Jesus says a good shepherd would search for a lost sheep. We must be His hands, feet, and voice in this polluted world to lead the lost to the good, great, and chief Shepherd who is Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; Luke 19:10; John 10:11; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4)
The Blessed Hope
We believe the Blessed Hope - the Second Coming of Christ-the imminent return of our Lord; begins with a personal coming, physical coming, visible coming, sudden coming, and a glorious coming. (Matthew 24:30, Acts 1:11, Acts 3:20, Titus 2:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, Hebrews
9:28)