WHAT WE BELIEVE
Creation
One God eternally exists in three persons; The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is holy, just, knowable, immutable and good. He is creator, ruler and sustainer of all things. He spoke all things into existence. He made man and woman in His image, with ability to think, feel, know and create, and breathed life into them. Man and woman were designed for relationship with God and with one another. All that was needed for life and relationship was provided in the garden by God.
Fall and Redemption
When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden them to, it disconnected humankind from our natural connection with God, created disunity among our body, mind and spirit, and left us with a fallen nature. Drawing then on our own understanding left a vacuum of unmet, or dysfunctionally met, needs, pain and brokenness in the world, and an inability to save ourselves from sin and death. No one is exempt from the consequences of sin. Those needs and longings, a renewed mind, body, spirit, salvation from sin, and eternal life with God can only be fulfilled through a relationship with Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.
God had a plan for the redemption of sin. He sent His Son, born into this world of a virgin, to do what we could not do for ourselves and atone for our sin. Jesus only, being both fully God and fully man, could fulfill the payment for sin and overcome death. He was put to death, rose from the dead, resides now in heaven and will return again. Eternal Life is freely offered and those who confess their sins and believe in Him as their Lord and Savior, are shown mercy and forgiveness forever. His redeeming power gives birth to new life within us.
Transformation
When Jesus ascended into heaven he did not leave us alone. He sent a helper, the Holy Spirit, to be ever present in those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit reveals, convicts, renews, baptizes, indwells, seals, empowers, heals, comforts, equips, and sets us apart for a life consecrated to Christ. Transformation of the heart happens by going below the surface, beyond cognitive processes/ understandings and behavior changes to experience the presence of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Allowing God to teach us about Himself, interact with us in our areas of wounding, fulfill our longings and remove what is not of Him, is what sustains, change. God makes himself known through His living, active, inerrant, infallible word and through the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
Consecration
God has uniquely designed, equipped, and prepared us for purposes that are for our good and will bring Him honor and glory. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that He knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb. He set us apart for Him and appointed us. The sovereignty of God over our lives means that we believe He created all, knows all and is in all. Whatever we walk through passes through his hands and has great eternal purpose. He has given us free will to choose, surrender, and walk with Him regardless of our circumstances. He mourns the depravity of the world, comforts and heals the brokenhearted and equips those willing to answer the call to serve Him. Joy is found in Him, and in being a part of the work He is already doing, not in our circumstances.