About God
We believe there is one God who has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (1 Peter 1:3, Hebrews 1:8, Acts 5:3-4) He is uncreated and the Creator of all. (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3, Acts 17:24-28) The Father is God. His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is God. The Holy Spirit is God.
About the Bible
No summary could adequately capture the whole of what we believe, but the foundation of our faith is God’s Word, the Holy Bible. We believe that the Bible is the living, unchanging, inspired, Word of God. It is completely relevant and reliable and is sufficient to meet all of our spiritual needs. (2 Timothy 3:16) Holy men of God were moved by the Spirit of God to record the infallible Word of God in their own vocabulary (2 Peter 1:21).
About the Gospel
The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. We believe that Jesus Christ is God and that He became a man to die on the cross for sinners. (John 1:1, 14).
He rose from the dead bodily three days later, and today He is in Heaven at the Father’s right hand. (1 Corinthians 15:3,4; Hebrews 1:3).
Each person is born with a sinful nature which brings death. (Romans 5:12) Regardless of who we are, we all sin and are accountable to God for our sins. (Romans 3:23) God offers eternal life by grace to anyone willing to repent of their sins and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. (Romans 6:23, Acts 20:21)
When an indivdual has trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, God changes them and they are born again. (2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 1:23) When a person is born again, they can never be lost, but instead show proof of this change by living their life for God (John 10:27-30, Romans 6:1-2)
We believe that Heaven is the home of those who believe. (John 14:1-3, Luke 23:43, Philippians 1:21). Hell and then the Lake of Fire are the destiny of those who remain in unbelief (John 8:21; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:14-15).
About the Local Church
The local church, or more properly local “assembly,” is a group of baptized believers (Acts 2:42) in the Lord Jesus Christ who are gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:20). An assembly meets regularly in a specific locality in accordance with the pattern of precepts, principals, and practices found in the New Testament (Acts 2:42). 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy are two books which give specific teaching about the local assembly.
Such an assembly is a spiritual fellowship (1 Corinthians 10:16-17), which is expressed visibly as they meet for the breaking of bread, prayer, collective testimony, the teaching of the Word of God, and the preaching of the gospel. They have been gathered together by the Holy Spirit (Mark 14:13, Romans 8:14); their sole authority is the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and they have the promise of Christ to be in their midst (Matthew 18:20). They are a residence of the Holy Spirit on earth, so they are a temple unto the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:15-16).
Such an assembly is guided by godly overseers and served by faithful deacons in both a temporal and spiritual ministry (I Timothy 3:1-16). The overseers, shepherds, and elders are all descriptions of this same group of men who engage in the work of watching over, working among, possess spiritual maturity, and exhibit specific character traits given by God (Ephesians 4:11, 1 Peter 5:1-4, Titus 1:6-9) .
The priesthood of all believers is exercised in worship, praise, and prayer, and the gifts, given by the risen Head of the church (Ephesians 4:8-13), have liberty to function under the control of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:23-40).
There is a clear line of demarcation between the within and without of an assembly and purity is maintained be a careful, compassionate and godly exercise of discipline (1 Corinthians 5:1-13).
[adapted from: Norman Crawford (1985). Gathering Unto His Name. Truth and Tidings]