Salvation
Sin separates people from their Creator. We believe that Jesus came to forgive our sins by dying for us on the cross, and rising from the grave, showing that death has been defeated. We believe that people can be healed from sin by trusting and following Jesus Christ. Our salvation is not a result of doing the right things or being a good enough person, but is a free gift from our loving God. Salvation is holistic. It is about preparing for eternity, but it is also about the kind of people we are becoming here and now. As we follow Christ he changes us from the inside out. Being a Christ follower isn’t simply believing in something or praying a prayer. It is about being reborn as a new creation in Christ.
Baptism
Christ left all believers the example and command to be baptized. Baptism is a powerful outward symbol of what Christ is doing in the inward life of a person. In baptism, we are buried with Christ, and also raised to new life by Christ.
Communion
Christ instructed his followers to remember his death through the celebration of communion, or the Lord’s Supper. In communion we remember Christ’s body and blood which were given for us.
God
We believe in one God, who in the beginning, created everything good. He was and always will be in a communal relationship with himself—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We do not believe that God is distant or removed from his world, but that he is close and intimate, longing to have a relationship with all people. God’s desire is to rescue a world broken because of sin, and to heal and redeem all that is lost.
Jesus, the Christ
We believe that God’s plan to rescue the world was brought to fulfillment in Jesus, his son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, mysteriously, God wrapped in skin. Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted and set captives free, and to proclaim the Kingdom of God as a present reality among us. Although Jesus did not sin, he became a sacrifice for sin for us. Through faith in his death on the cross and resurrection from death, we can find forgiveness and salvation. Jesus is the world’s true Lord. We anticipate a day when Jesus will return to judge the world, bringing an end to injustice and restoring all things to God’s original intent.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to all people who have surrendered themselves to Christ. The Spirit in us affirms our identity as God’s children, empowering, convicting, counseling, comforting, and leading us to become the people that God has created to be in Christ. The Spirit enables us to do ministry by giving us gifts and guiding us to use them to expand the Kingdom of God.
The Scriptures
We believe that God inspired the authors of Scripture to speak to every generation. God calls us to immerse ourselves, communally and individually, in his authoritative Word as we continue to live out his story today. The Scriptures teach us how to live God’s way in God’s world, and they are the authority on all matters of faith and practice
Human Beings
God created people in his own image and, as originally created, they were innocent before God. By choosing to sin by disobeying God, we are separated from our Creator. All people are born with a sinful nature, and cannot please God on our own. By trusting and following Jesus, God forgives and rescues his creation, and restores them to a right relationship with himself and each other.
We want our core beliefs to be centered in Christ and his message as found and supported by the clearest passages of Scripture. Other doctrines or teachings with less support are left to individuals to sort out on their own. We take no official position in these areas.
