Community

We are part of many communities: Our families, the fellowship of believers, the neighborhoods and towns in which we live and work, and our extended influence throughout the world. We have a sense of mutual responsibility to people in all these communities--those who are believers and those who are not.

Worship

We express our love and gratitude to God, publicly and privately. Our worship is Christ-centered, participatory and purposeful.

Following Jesus

Our intention is to be Christlike in character and behavior; we endeavor to manifest spiritual disciplines in heart, mind, body and spirit.

Service

Our love for God is lived out through acts of mercy and compassion, offered to all people. Our sense of care and concern affects every dimension of life.

1. We believe in one Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We understand these are the persons through whom God reveals himself and relates to humans. [Matthew 3:16-17; 28:16-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6]
2. We believe God the Father freely created all that exists because of love, which is the core and essence of God’s being. God the Father maintains relationship with Creation as Sovereign Lord and Redeemer. [Genesis 1; Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Psalm 19:1-3]
3. We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth as a human, gave his life on the cross for our sins, was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and lives eternally. [Acts 2:22-36; Colossians 1:12-22]
4. We believe the Holy Spirit reveals God to all who want to be aware of Him in this world and dwells in those who believe in Him. [John 14:15-18; 16:5-11; Galatians 5:15-18]
5. We believe God so deeply loves people that He has provided for their redemption by graciously forgiving their sins and making them spiritually alive. [John 3:16]
6. We believe humans were created in the image of God and were meant to live in close fellowship with God. However, evil in the world and each person’s selfish choices have distorted that image and broken that relationship. [Gen. 1:26-27; Gen. 3; Rom. 1:20-32]
7. As a result, all people are separated from God unless and until they repent of their sins and accept God’s forgiveness and spiritual life through faith in Him. Jesus Christ then becomes their Savior and Lord. [Romans 3: 21-26, 10:9-10]
8. The life, death, and resurrection of Christ makes possible the restoration of the original image and relationship. That possibility becomes reality for anyone who shares in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection by confronting evil and selfishness, and by relying on God for forgiveness and grace. [Rom. 5:6-11; 8:16-18; 2 Cor. 3:18; 5:18-19]
9. We believe the appropriate response to God’s love and grace is our expression of gratitude through worship. [Mark 12:29-31]
10. We believe God’s Spirit fully dwells in and transforms persons to become like Jesus Christ in character and attitude, affecting their thoughts, words, and actions. This transformation begins at conversion and continues through the experience of sanctification, as the person commits him/her self totally to Christ and grows in God’s grace toward Christ-likeness. [Romans 8:1-27; Ephesians 3: 14-19; Colossians 3:1-17]
11. We believe Christians become part of a worldwide community of faith known as the Church, which is composed of all who are born again in Christ. [Acts 2:32-47]
12. We believe the Church has a divinely ordained purpose and mission in the world that is revealed in the Bible. [Matthew 28:16-20]
13. We believe the sacramental actions of Baptism and Holy Communion symbolize the life and relationship a believer has with God through His love and grace. [Matthew 18:16-20; Romans 6:3-4; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 10:14-21]
14. We believe in the resurrection of the dead, and in a future judgment in which every person will appear before God. Glorious and everlasting life is assured to all who believe in, and obediently follow Jesus Christ as Lord. [Matthew 25:31-46; John 3:16-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57]
15. We believe in the revelation of God through the Holy Bible as the inspired and authoritative source of truth in all things concerning salvation and sanctification. [2 Timothy 3:15-17]

In light of our common missions and our shared values, we seek to become a church that:

• Shows hospitality to people of all races, cultures, and ethnicities.
• Learns about those with whom we are least acquainted as they become part of our congregation.
• Gives to others in our faith community by being loving, hospitable, and authentic.
• Worships God intentionally, in culturally relevant ways that invite participation, while being grounded in historical Christian practices.
• Trusts the Holy Spirit to grow the Church and to guide our contemplation, imagination, and creativity.
  Feels compelled to bring people to Christ by helping the church and individual Christians to live according to the "Great Commission."
• Aims for transformational holiness; that is, being shaped by God into the image of God.
• Is shaped in our character and in our actions by God's Word, which we understand to be God's will for us as revealed in the Bible (the written Word) and in Jesus Christ (the Living Word).
• Equips people for works of service.
• Serves the poor and powerless.
• Practices biblically-based social action.