OUR CORE VALUES & DECLARATION OF FAITH

THE BIBLE
We believe the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant and inspired in its original autographs, a complete and final revelation of God (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 22:18 – 19)

2Timothy 3:16 “¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness

2 Peter 1:19 NLT “¹⁹ Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines^[a] in your hearts”.

 Revelation 22:18-19 NLT “¹⁸ And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

The Nature of God
We believe in one god, personal and knowable, who manifests Himself in three persons, the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit, co – eternal in being, co – identical in nature, co – equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfection (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19 – 20; Jn. 6:27; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Jn. 5:20).

Deuteronomy 6:4NLT “⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one”.

 2 Corinthians 13:14NLT “^14 [a]May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

 1 John 5:20NLT “²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God.^[a] And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

 Matthew 28:19NLT “¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,^f baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 Bible Verses of Trinity

Matthew 3: 16-17NLT (Luke 3:21:22) “¹⁶ After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened^[g] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

 Genesis 1:26 NLT “²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings^[a] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,^[b] and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

 The Deity of Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus is God manifested in the flesh, born of a virgin, without sin and the chosen Messiah Who will one day set – up His kingdom on earth (Isa. 9:6 – 7; Matt. 1:23; Luke 1:35; Jn. 1:1; 14; 20:30 – 31; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:15; Rev. 11:15; 19:11 – 16; 20:1 – 6).

Isaiah: 9:6 “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor,^[a] Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 Matthew 1:23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel,^[a]which means ‘God is with us.’”

 John 1:1-3 “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He existed in the beginning with God. ³ God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him”.

 John 17:21 “²¹ I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

 John 10:30 “The Father and I are one.

John 3:31-36NLT ³¹ “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else.^{[b] 32} He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! ³³ Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. ³⁴ For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. ³⁶ And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

The Salvation

We believe that all men are sinners and guilty before God, deserving judgment in needs of a Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 5:12 – 21; Eph. 2:1 – 2).

Romans 5:12 “¹² When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. — ²¹ So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 3:23 ^“23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”.

We believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead, ascended back to heaven, and one day will return to this earth (Jn. 14:1 – 3; Acts 1:9 – 11; 1 cor. 15:1 – 28, 50 – 58).

John 14:1-3 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. ² There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.^[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?^{[b] 3} When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

 Acts 1:9 ^9” After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him”.

We believe salvation from sin, death, and hell, is by God’s grace based on the finished work of Jesus Christ alone, and is received by faith apart from any human performance or merit (Jn. 14:6; Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:1 – 10).

 John 14:6 “⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Acts 16:31 “³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”

 Romans 10:9-12 ^“9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. ¹¹ As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”^{[a] 12} Jew and Gentile^[b] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him”.

The Church

We believe that the Church, which is the Body and espoused bride of Jesus Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of born – again people that should assemble in local churches for mutual edification, encouragement, service, evangelism and worship (Acts 2:42 – 47; 14:21 – 27; Eph. 4:1 – 6).

 Acts 2:42 “⁴² All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper^[a]), and to prayer. ⁴³ A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴⁴ And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity^[b]— ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Ephesians 4:1-6 “Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ² Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. ³ Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. ⁴ For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
⁶ one God and Father of all,who is over all, in all, and living through all.

Psalms 133:1  “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!”

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
We believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers in the dispensation, and is received subsequent to the New Birth.  This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance (Matt. 3:11; Acts 1:8; 2:38 – 39; 19:1 – 7; Mk. 16:16).

 Matthew 3:11 ¹¹ “I baptize with^[a] water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.^[b]

 Acts 1:8 ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

 Acts 2:38 ³⁸ Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away^[a]—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

 Acts 19:1-7 “19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers.^{[a] 2} “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.  “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.And they replied, “The baptism of John.”⁴ Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”⁵ As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues^[b] and prophesied. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.

Gifts and Fruit of the Holy Spirit
We believe that God gives spiritual gifts and that all the gifts in the New Testament are still available to the Church today (1 Cor. 12:1 – 11, 28; Eph. 4:7 – 11; Rom. 12:6 – 8).

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 “⁴ There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. ⁶ God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.⁷ A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. ⁸ To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice^[b]; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.^{[c] 9} The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. ¹⁰ He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages,^[d] while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. ¹¹ It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

Ephesian 4:7-11″ ⁷ However, he has given each one of us a special gift^[a] through the generosity of Christ. ⁸ That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.”^{[b] 9} Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.^{[c] 10} And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

 Romans 12:6-8 “⁶ In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. ⁷ If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. ⁸ If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

We believe that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is being wrought by God Himself in the life of the believer and such fruit shall be evident in the believer’s life (Gal. 5:22 – 23).

Galatians 5:22-23 ²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

The Sanctification – Not Believing Once Save Always Save
We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite yet progressive work of grace commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation of Christ’s return (Heb. 12:14; 1 Thes. 5:23; 2 Pet. 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Cor. 1:30; Phil. 3:12 – 14).

Hebrews 12:14 ¹⁴ Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ²³ Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

 2Corinthians 3:18 “¹⁸ So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

 The Divine Healing and Deliverance
We believe that healing is for physical ills of human body and is wrought by the power of God through the prayer of faith, and by the laying on of hands.  It is provided for in atonement of Christ, and is the privilege of every member of the Church today (Mk. 16:18; Jm. 5:14 – 15; 1 Pet. 2:24; Mt. 8:17; Isa. 53:4 – 5; Luke 4:18 – 19; Isa. 61:1a; Acts 10:38)

James 5:14-15 ¹⁴ Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

 Luke 4:18-19 ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, ¹⁹ and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.^[a]”

 Mathew 8:17 “This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.”^[a]

The Church Ordinances
1. Water Baptism – We believe that Baptism by immersion in water is a public declaration of our identification with Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 28:19 – 20; Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:41, 8:36 – 39; 10:47 – 48; Rom. 6:3 – 4; Col. 2:12

Mathew 28:19″¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,^[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 Colossians 2:12″ ¹² For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead

2. The Lord’s Supper – We believe that this sacrament proclaims the death of Christ and bring to mind the fellowship meals of the risen Lord with His disciples (1 Cor. 11:23 – 32).

1 Corinthians 11:23-27″ ²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.²⁷ So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

Tithes and Offerings
We believe that God has instructed every Christian to participate in advancing His Kingdom by giving their Tithes and Offerings (Mal. 3:10; 2 cor. 9:6 – 10).

Malachi 3:10 “¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

 2Corinthians 9:6-10 ” ⁶ Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. ⁷ You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”^{[a] 8} And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. ⁹ As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”^{[b] 10} For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity^[c] in you.

Final Judgment
We believe that each person will stand before God in judgment and receive either eternal reward or eternal judgment (Rev. 20:11 – 15; Matt. 25:31 – 46).

Revelation 20:11-15 “¹¹ And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. ¹² I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave^[a] gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. ¹⁴ Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Second Coming of Christ
We believe that Christ will return to this earth with power and visible to all and His return can be anytime (Matt. 24:30 – 31; 1 Thes. 4:16 – 17; 1 Thes. 5:1 – 2; 1 Cor. 15:51 – 53).

Matthew 24:30-31 “³⁰ And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.^{[a] 31} And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world^[b]—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

 1 Thessalonians 4:16 “¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died^[a] will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.

 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2″ Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] we don’t really need to write you. ² For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.

 The Great Commission
We believe in Evangelism and Missions, that winning individuals, families and nations to God through the good news of Christ is the principal purpose of the church (Prov. 11:30; Matt. 28:19 – 20; Mk.16:15; 2 Cor. 5:18; James 5:20).

Proverbs 11:30 “The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends.^[a]

 Matthew 28:19-20 “¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,^[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 Mark 16:15 “¹⁵ And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.

 2 Corinthians 5:18 “¹⁸ And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.