Below are some brief explanations of our beliefs as a church. Our beliefs are consistent with the Baptist Faith and Message adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000. Click here for the text of the Baptist Faith and Message.
God is the Creator and the Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. As God of love, He desires for us to come to Him so He can show us grace by engaging us in a personal relationship. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.
Man is made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character, and to relate to Him in love. He is the supreme object of God’s creation, having been crafted to intimately relate to God and others. Although man has tremendous potential for good, he has two basic problems: aloneness and sinfulness. These problems separate man from a relationship with God and his fellow man. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.
Man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. Eternal separation from God will be in the place called hell. Eternal life begins on earth and continues in the place called heaven. Heaven and hell are literal places of eternal existence. God’s desire is that no one spends eternity apart from Him, but that all would come to Him in a personal love relationship.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus was born of a virgin and lived a sinless human life. He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus is the head of the church, and all believers are connected to one another and relate to one another through Him.
Salvation is a free gift from God to man. Man can never make up for his sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can man be saved from sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. The greatest benefit of salvation is a relationship with God that is both intimate and personal.
Because God gives man eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. Eternal life is knowing God through His Son, Jesus Christ, in an intimate relationship forever.
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, guidance in doing what is right, and encouragement for living in intimacy with God and others.
The Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error. The Bible is to be read, studied, and personally experienced by believers as they live in relationship with God and fellow man.