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The Bible
The Bible is God's completely true Story about who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will
do. It was given by God to human writers and so reflects their backgrounds, styles, and use of language. The Bible is the
final authority on all matters to which it speaks.
About God
There is one God, who exists
as three persons living in perfect community—Father, Son, and Spirit. God created everything and sustains everything
by His life. He is holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, unchanging, and full of mercy and grace.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, God's Son, became fully human when He was born to the Virgin Mary. He was fully human and fully God. He lived
a perfect life in place of our imperfection. He voluntarily died on a cross to pay the price for our sins and then rose again
thereby allowing us the possibility of a renewed relationship with God. He offers us full life by the promise of his own resurrection.
He then ascended into heaven and today is our representative, intercessor, and advocate with God the Father.
Holy
Spirit
We experience the full life and presence of God in our relationship with God the Spirit, who reveals
sin, points us to Christ, and applies Christ's work to our lives, compelling us to be more like Him. The Spirit gives gifts
and power to the church and is the one who creates biblical community within the church, revealing truth and guiding our lives...
individually and together.
True Life
We are connected to God in only one way—by choosing
to accept the offer of forgiveness and reconciliation God offers to us by Christ's life, death, and resurrection. If we ask
Him to, God treats us as if we were Christ, because of what Christ sacrificed for us. God's gift of grace makes us His adopted
sons and daughters. There is nothing we can do to deserve this life—it is all a gift of God, and our job is simply to
receive it. When we do, God begins the process of changing our hearts and minds from the inside out and making our characters
more and more like Jesus'. As we have been reconciled to God, we also have hope for being more fully reconciled to other people.
The Church
If we are in relationship with Christ, we are part of the church. It is not somewhere
you go, rather something that you are. The church is universal, but it is always expressed locally. The church is the visible
and local demonstration of the new community Christ came to create. The Spirit leads our community life as we are devoted
to worshiping God, understanding and applying the Bible to our lives, offering connection to others, living life together,
serving our community, and using our Spirit-given gifts to serve Christ and others. The church celebrates the Sacraments (Baptism
and Communion), which are gifts given by Christ and are experiences of his promise and his presence with us. The church is
made up of imperfect people who are responding day by day in all their relationships to God's stunning grace.
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