What Do We Believe

Christ– We believe in Jesus Christ as God incarnate, Lord, Savior, and coming King. We believe in the one triune God, made up of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Humanity– God created people in His own image. But rather than loving and obeying God, human sin has resulted in eternal separation from God and causes many problems in life.

Redemption– We believe that people are completely unable to make up for sin by self-improvement or doing good things.Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ; it is a free gift of God.

Inspiration of Scripture– We believe that the Bible is God's Word.It is inspired by God, completely accurate and flawless, and our only authority regarding our Christian beliefs and living.

Spirit and Spiritual Gifts– The Holy Spirit is co-equal with God the Father and Jesus the Son. Having a relationship with Him is vital to a healthy Christian life.

When it comes to the topic of spiritual gifts, no other area of theology within the church has caused more division. Anything that causes division is sin. Some in our church believe all of the spiritual gifts spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12-14 are for today.Many believe some of the gifts are for today, some believe none of the gifts are for today. You can see the potential problems. We do not believe that this subject constitutes a salvation issue. Here is where we stand as a church specifically on the issue of speaking in tongues, which seems to be the most outward and debatable of the issues:

First, we believe the Spirit of God does not work contrary to the Word of God.

     God gives rules for the use of the gifts (specifically the use of tongues).
     1.  If someone speaks in a tongue it will be one at a time (1 Cor. 14:27)
     2.  There must be an interpreter. (1 Cor. 14:28)
     3.  There must be someone who discerns whether it comes from God. (1 John 4:1)
     4.  It will not be done in a public assembly, which includes TLC Groups. (1 Cor. 14:23) 
     5.  If it is a prayer language, there is a place to pray. (Matthew 6:6)
     6.  The gifts must be used to edify the church, not the individual. (1 Cor. 14:4)
     7.  No one has all the gifts, but the church is to be a body. (1 Cor. 12:27-30)

Transforming Worship-Worship, both private and public, is an essential, transforming ingredient in the Christian life. We put God first in our lives by making Sunday worship a priority.

Immersion and Communion– Since we seek to follow the Bible in faith and practice, we practice believer baptism under water and we celebrate the Lord’s Supper every Sunday.

Authority of the Local Church– In the Bible there were no denominations; churches were self-governing. Independent Christian Churches allow both leaders and members maximum growth.

New Life-  Only through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit are Christians able to grow, to live Christ-like lives, to witness, to serve and to give.  As Jesus said, "Apart from me, you can do nothing."