WHAT WE BELIEVE

Jesus

fully human and fully divine (John 1:14, Luke 2, I Timothy 2:5)
center of our faith (John 14:6)
crucified and rose again
will one day return

Holy Spirit

the third person of the triune God
God’s presense within us (Luke 1:35, Matthew 3:16, Matthew 10:19-20)
Empowers us to grow in faith and accurately interpret the Bible.
source of God’s grace

The Bible

God’s self-revelation to God’s people through Jesus Christ and the testimony of God’s faithfulness to God’s people
A collection of 66 books that together tell the story of God’s people bound by the common faith in Jesus Christ.
divinely inspired by God
We primarily use the New Revised Standard Version.

Sin & Salvation

Everyone has sinned. (Romans 3:23)
God freely offers us salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
By God working in us, we become aware of our sinfulness and our need for God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Baptism

Baptism enacts and seals what the Word proclaims: God’s redeeming grace offered to all people.
Baptism is God’s gift of grace and also God’s summons to respond to that grace.
Baptism calls to
- repentance
- faithfulness
- discipleship.
Baptism gives the church its identity and commissions the church for ministry to the world. (Book of Order)

Mission

The church is called to be Christ’s faithful evangelist by:
- Going into the world, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all he has commanded;
- demonstrating by the love of its members for one another and by the quality of its common life the new reality in Christ, sharing in worship, fellowship, and nurture, practicing a deepened life of prayer and service under the guidance of the Holy Spirit;
- participating in God’s activity in the world through its life for others by:
  - healing, reconciling and binding wounds
  - ministering to the needs of the poor, sick, lonely and powerless
  - engaging in the struggle to free people from sin, fear, oppression, hunger and injustice
  - giving itself and its substance to the service of those who suffer
  - sharing with Christ in the establishing of His just, peaceable and loving rule in the world