Statement of Faith

God’s Word is living and active, able to judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. God’s Word is the truth, the bread of life, the light to guide us, and is to be read, studied, and meditated on and hidden in our hearts.

He is our Heavenly Father, who is Spirit, light, love, and truth; eternal, almighty, infallible and unchangeable, infinitely wise, just, and holy; and that God eternally exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each member of the Godhead, while executing distinct but complementary roles in redemptive history, share the same attributes and are equally worthy of the same honour, obedience and glory.

He is the Alpha and the Omega, who is, who was, and who is to come. We believe that He is in very nature God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born in human likeness of the Virgin Mary, and that He was fully God and fully man. He is the image of the invisible God and in Him, all things hold together.

Jesus died as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood.

We believe that Jesus’ resurrection body is the pattern of that body which, at the return of Christ, will be given to all resurrected believers. We also believe that all who confess Jesus as Lord, and are born again, live with the resurrection power of Christ in their body here on earth, and that by the power and help of the Holy Spirit, experience ongoing redemption and resurrection in their hearts, minds, emotions and bodies in line with God’s will and God’s kingdom building purposes on the earth, which all believers are called to take part in building while on earth as we wait for Christ’s imminent return.

We believe that Christ has established the Kingdom of Heaven already on earth, and followers of Christ are called to pursue Kingdom building through loving God with all their heart mind and soul, loving their neighbors as themselves, through pursuing evangelism, standing on and sharing biblical truth, pursuing social Justice and embodying Kingdom principles in every action, thought, and deed. Christ is our king, and His followers serve Him here on earth for His kingdom purposes, while they await the final culmination of God’s purposes; Christ’s return and the final restoration of all things.

He will come for His Church (Rapture) and He will come again for His own (Millennium), to establish His Kingdom of righteousness and peace. The blessed hope of His return has vital bearing on the personal life, service and mission of every believer. No one knows the day or hour of His return but believers are to keep faithful watch and live ready. Immediately upon a believers physical death they will be resurrected into heaven, to eternal joy in the presence of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We also believe that all who reject Jesus as Lord and Saviour, the lost, will be raised to judgment and God’s eternal wrath in hell.

The Spirit is the Counsellor sent by God to convict men of sin, to regenerate, indwell, baptize, seal and set believers apart to a holy life and to keep and empower believers day by day. We believe the Spirit gifts every believer with spiritual gifts and provides fruit to develop spiritual character. We believe that He is the teacher of the Word of God and the guide for daily living.

We believe that he can exert vast power to deceive and destroy, but only so far as God allows him to do so; and that he will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and shall be tormented day and night forever.

Tempted by Satan, but within the Sovereign plan of God, humankind freely chose to disobey God bringing sin, death, separation for God, and condemnation on all of humankind, now subject to the power of the devil. Separated from God, and without excuse, all are subject to God’s righteous wrath and in desperate need of the salvific work of Christ, that when accepted overcomes the authority of Satan in a born again believer’s life, and replaces the rule of darkness with the rule and ultimate authority of Christ who is seated in victory at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

Tempted by Satan, but within the Sovereign plan of God, mankind freely chose to disobey God bringing sin death and condemnation on all of mankind, now subject to the power of the devil. Separated from God, and without excuse, all are subject to God’s righteous wrath and in desperate need of a Saviour.

We also believe that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Furthermore, we believe that love, compassion, respect, and dignity must be extended to every person, including those who are involved in sexual sin. We repudiate all hateful conduct and attitudes toward anyone, but we believe that the faithful communication of Holy Scripture, including the call to repentance, does not constitute hate speech. We believe that God offers redemption and forgiveness to all who confess their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that at the moment of conversion or rebirth, a new spiritual and eternal life begins.

We believe that a believer is publicly identified with his Saviour by water baptism, and that baptism is to be administered to believers by immersion. We believe that infants of believing parents may be dedicated to the Lord but not baptized in His name. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ’s death, the elements being symbols of His body and blood.

These are the redeemed, those chosen of God, those washed in Christ’s blood, those born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit. They are saved by God’s grace through faith to live holy lives, sanctified and conformed into the image of Christ and purposed to worship and to serve God as living sacrifices. They understand their commitment to a life that is modelled after the example of Jesus Christ. They endeavor to walk in the steps of Jesus, empowered by the Spirit of God, informed and shaped by the instruction of the Word of God, and lived out of gratitude to God for His Covenant love. They will accept the responsibility to walk in accountability to God for their actions and attitudes. They commit to worship God corporately, to edify brothers and sisters through mutual exhortation and service, to cooperate in mission, and to hold each other accountable to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord as a witness to the truth of Christ in the world. They understand their responsibility and privilege to give Glory to God, to share the Gospel, to seek to win others to Christ, and to separate themselves from and forsake all that might dishonor God, cast discredit on His cause or weaken their testimony for Him in this world.

This is necessary to accomplish our religious mission, goals and purpose.  Behavior or counter-witnessing that does otherwise will impede and burden our integrity and religious mission.  We believe that God’s grace can wipe clean the slate of guilt and sin, though consequences are still incurred.