THE TRINITY. There is only one true God. He exists eternally in Three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These Three Persons are equal in deity, power, and glory. God is the source of all that exists, both seen and unseen; He created it all. God animates all of life. He sustains it and holds it all together. God is infinite in love. God is absolutely good. God is perfect in all His judgements. God is righteous. God is Holy. God is pure. God is merciful. God is compassionate and kind. He is unchanging and does not lie. God is Truth. God is just. God governs and providentially directs all that exists. He will bring all things to their proper consummation in Christ Jesus, to the glory of His name. (Ps 18:2, 103:11-12, 104:1–35, 139:1–24; Isa 43:25; Matt 10:29–31, 28:19; Jn 10:30; Act 17:24–28; 2Cor 13:14; Eph 1:9–12, 4:4–6; Col 1:16–17; Heb 1:1–3; Rev 1:4–6).
GOD OUR FATHER is our good and perfect Father, forever declaring His love and goodwill toward us. God is faithful. God is love. In love He seeks and receives repentant sinners. He forgives and forgets sin. He is our Protector and Deliverer. His dwelling place is in Heaven. (Gen 1:26, Ps 68:5; Isa 64:8; Matt 5:45, 7:11, 23:9; Jn 3:17; Rom 8:15; 1 Pet 1:17; 1Jn 4:8)
JESUS IS GOD, THE SON. He is Christ the Messiah, the Anointed One. Jesus was eternally pre-existent with the Father and the Holy Spirit before the universe was made. Jesus is the Word. By Him and through Him the universe was spoken into existence, beautifully arranged, and is sustained by His power. At God’s appointed time, Jesus was conceived by a miracle birth, born of a virgin, and entered the world as a man: God the Word became flesh as God the Son. He is fully God and fully Man. He lived a sinless life and offered Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners–Jesus died in our place. By His blood shed on the cross, He obtained for us eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. After three days He was raised from the dead and soon after that, He ascended to the right hand of God the Father. There, He ever-lives to pray and make intercession for us. One day Jesus will return to earth to reign in righteousness. Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature. He is perfect theology. He is Perfect. Jesus is the only way to the Father. Jesus is the Truth. Jesus is the Life. He is the Light of the world. (Mt. 1:18–25; 3:16-17; Lu. 1:26-35; Jn. 1:1–18; Jn. 6:69; Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:1–28; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:10–14; Eph. 1:7; Phil. 2:6–11; Col. 1:15–23; Heb. 1:2-3; 7:25; 9:13–15; 10:19; 1 Pet. 2:21–25; 1 Jn. 2:1–2)
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. He is Who convicts the world of sin and leads us to the saving knowledge of Christ. At the moment of salvation He marks our lives with a seal over our heart, designating us, child of God. He forever dwells within us. He is who regenerates us. We are baptized into the Holy Spirit, like being immersed in the Spirit, and we are to be continually filled with Him. The Holy Spirit desires to fill us and empower us daily for godly-living, ministry, and power-filled witness. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, Teacher, Advocate, Enabler. He is the Spirit of Truth and Grace. He performs signs, wonders, and miracles. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit described in the New Testament are operative today and are to demonstrate the presence of the mighty Holy Spirit with us today. He is our Emmanuel, God today. The Holy Spirit empowers and edifies the Church to fulfill its calling to disciple all nations. (Mt. 3:11; Jn. 1:12–13; 3:1–15; Jn 14/16 Acts 4:29–30; Rom. 8:9; 12:3–8; 1 Cor. 12:12–13; 2 Cor. 1:21–22; Gal. 3:1–5; Eph. 1:13–14; 5:18.)
THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus’ coming to earth meant the Kingdom of God had come to earth. The Kingdom God is God’s spiritual kingdom, planned before time began. The Kingdom of God exists wherever Jesus Christ is Lord and is manifestly demonstrated by the mighty power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who chooses to surrender to Jesus and His redemptive purpose becomes part of this glorious Kingdom. Since Jesus taught us to seek the Kingdom of God above and before anything else, His Kingdom and His presence through the Holy Spirit, are our highest pursuit. It is the pursuit of intimate relationship with God. (Matthew 3:2, 6:10, 6:33; Mark 1:15.)
THE WORD OF GOD. The sixty-six books of the BIBLE are the inspired and inerrant Word of God. The Bible is the final authority for all we believe and for how we are to live. It is absolute truth. It is the only book that is living and active and has inherent power to divide between truth and lies. (Mt. 5:18; Jn. 10:35; 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16–17; Heb. 4:12; 2Pet. 1:20–21)
HUMANITY and THE FALL. Together with the Son and the Holy Spirit, God made man, male and female, in His image. Adam, the first man, and Eve the first woman, were originally created in the image of God, pure, without sin, in perfect and intimate relationship with the Father. But they disobeyed God, and as a result died spiritually, experiencing a separation from God. Through their disobedience sin entered the world and into the human race. The far reaching consequence is that all people are born sinners, spiritually dead, separated from God, and wholly unable to save themselves. (Gen. 1:1–3:22; Ps. 51:5; Isa. 53:5; Rom. 3:9–18; 5:12–21; Eph. 2:1–3)
EVIL and SIN exist and are the problem facing humanity. Every person and the whole planet is affected. Satan is EVIL personified. Originally he was a great and good angel, but sin was found in his heart and he rebelled against God. He was cast out of heaven, taking one third of the angels with him in his rebellion. He works in the earth with his demonic host to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness, evil, wars and unrest. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross of Christ. Satan’s end is coming. He will be cast forever into the lake of fire which has been prepared for him and his angels. SIN entered through one man and as a result all men fell. All men are born into sin, and called sinners. Sin is missing the righteous standard of God. (Isa. 14:10–17; Ezek. 28:11–19; Mt. 12:25–29; 25:41; Jn. 12:31; 16:11; Eph. 6:10–20; Col. 2:15; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 12:7–9; 20:10
SALVATION is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, alone. No law, rule, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required or accepted for salvation. This saving grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God’s sight, that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ. (Jn. 1:12–13; 6:37–44; 10:25–30; Acts 16:30–31; Rom. 3:1–4:23; 8:1–17, 31–39; 10:8–10; Eph. 2:8–10; Phil. 2:12–13; Titus 3:3–7; 1 Jn. 1:7, 9)
THE CHURCH is God’s primary instrument, through which He is fulfilling His redemptive purposes in the earth. The Church is not an institution nor is it a denomination. The Church is the Body of Christ, all those who have been made alive by God’s Spirit in Christ Jesus. The Church is God’s living and breathing family on the earth. He only has ONE family. We affirm the priesthood of all believers and the importance of every Christian being joined with and actively involved in a local community of the saints. We believe that women, no less than men, are called and gifted to proclaim the gospel and do all the works of the kingdom. Every single believer in Christ Jesus is to be equipped to do the work of the ministry. God has given the Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for this very task (Mt. 16:17–19; Acts 2:17–18, 42; Eph. 3:14–21; 4:11–16; 1 Tim. 2:11–15; Heb. 10:23–25; 1 Pet. 2:4–5, 9–10).
SACRAMENTS. Water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the Church, to be observed until the time of Christ’s return. They are not a means of salvation, but are channels of God’s sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus. (Mt. 26:26–29; 28:19; Rom. 6:3–11; 1 Cor. 11:23–34; 1 Pet. 3:21)
THE HEAVENLY MANDATE. God has called the Church to work together in unity and honor in preaching and demonstrating the gospel to all nations, in making disciples of all nations, and in remembering the poor by ministering to their needs, practical service, and by our generous and often sacrificial giving. This mandate is to every believer and is how we express the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Isa. 58:6–12; 61:1; Mt. 5:1–7:28; 28:18–20; Lk. 4:18; 21:1–4; Gal. 2:10; 1 Tim. 6:8)
THE PRESENCE OF GOD. God’s people have always been marked by His strong Presence. He is Emmanuel—God with us. In His Presence there is fullness of joy, regardless of our circumstances. In His Presence there is healing, deliverance, and salvation. And as we gather, He delights to meet with us and make Himself known. (Ex 29:45-46; Ps 16:11, Heb 4:16; Rev 21:3.)
PRAYER is simply waiting on, talking, and listening to God. It includes all our communication with HIm. Prayer builds our intimacy with Him. By spending time with God we become His intimate friend. God’s Kingdom is spiritual and we learn His will and access His power through prayer. (Matt 6:9-13, 26:41; 1 Thes 5:16-18; Ps 27:14; Eph 6:18; Is 40:31, 41:1; Jn 15:15.)
WORSHIP. God seeks people who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. The core identity of the believer is “worshipper,” it is why we were created. We worship Him passionately because of Who He is. We give Him praise for what He has done and is still doing. (Jn 4:23-24; Ex 34:14; 1 Chr 16:37; Neh 9:3; Ps 5:7, 22:27, 29:2, 45:11.)
THE WORD. The sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, inerrant Word of God. The Bible is the first and final authority for all we believe and do. (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:21).
REVIVAL. We are committed to ongoing personal revival through the renewing work of the Holy Spirit that affects individuals, families, our churches, cities, and the nations. Revival brings hearts into alignment with the Lord in every area of life. (2 Chron 7:14; Tit 3:5; Ps 51:10, 119:88; Lam 5:21; Ez 9:9; Act 5:32.)
FAMILY. The Church is God’s family. God places people in His family and by His design the family grows and multiplies. God values family so much that He gave Jesus, His Son, for the salvation of every human being who ever lived and to bring them into His eternal, spiritual family. God welcomes everyone into His family. Within the biological-human family, God created man and woman to marry and enjoy each other, to love and commit whole-heartedly for life. And through God’s gift of sexual intercourse a man and a woman become intwined in an unbreakable bond, the intimate one-flesh relationship. Sexual intercourse is a divine-gift designed for us and purposed by God to be enjoyed inside the bounds of the marriage relationship. The fruit of this relationship is children. We partner with God in bringing forth children as we increase and multiply in the earth. Family is God’s gift and plan for humanity. (Gen 2:18-25; Ps 68:6; John 3:16.)
RELATIONSHIPS. God is relational and we are designed in His image. We are designed to be in relationship with Him and with each other. God is love and is involved in all relationships based in true love. We value honest, authentic, and loving relationships that build strength into peoples lives. (Jn 13:35-36; 1 Jn 4:11; Matt 18:20.)
SERVANT-LEADERSHIP. Jesus is The Servant and He demonstrated servant-leadership for us. He said, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matt 23:11). Every disciple of Jesus is called to this. We want everyone to grow into maturity for the building up of the family of God and for the advancement of His Kingdom. Jesus demonstrated servant-leadership when He washed the feet of His disciples. Ministry is serving and every believer is called to ministry. We honor all authority established by God, but we also honor all people as highly valued sons and daughters of the King of Heaven. We value everyone, giving dignity to everyone, as He does. Jesus gives the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers into the Church. These are who He has set into the Church for the building up, training, equipping, and sending of all God’s people to do the work of the ministry. These are essential to a church’s growth and maturity. A church will remain immature, spiritually-anemic, and impotent without these five gifts. (Jn 13:14-15; Eph 4:11-16; Matt 18:1-5; 20:25-28; Rom 1:11; 13:1-7; Phil 2:5-8.)
SENDING. Jesus was sent by the Father and He also appointed us as “sent ones” into the world: “Go, make disciples of all nations.” We value winning people to Jesus, building them up, and sending them to live the call of God on their lives. Jesus’ mandate “Go, make disciples of all nations” means a church’s sending capacity is much more important than any budget or seating capacity or conferences and headline/celebrity names in a pulpit. People must be trained up and sent out, this is the heavenly mandate. (Matt 28:19; Jn 20:21.)
PROPHETIC PEOPLE. God’s presence among His people has always been marked by prophecy. We have both the written Word, the Bible, and the “now” immediate word spoken by the Holy Spirit. We are to be people who hear and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Prophecy. This is the meaning of the New Covenant, to be people who “hear and obey.” (Deut 8:3; Joel 2:28; Matt 4:4; Jn 10:3-4; Act 2:17; Rev 19:10.)