What We Believe

We believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and the only way to salvation—the Savior for all who put their trust in Him. As we follow Jesus, He transforms every area of our lives, filling us with peace, joy, and love, and giving us strength through His power to serve Him faithfully.

Our greatest comfort, in life and in death, is that we are not our own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all our sins with His precious blood and has set us free from the power of the devil. He watches over us so carefully that not a hair can fall from our heads without our Father’s will. In fact, all things work together for our salvation. Because we belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures us of eternal life and makes us wholeheartedly willing and ready to live for Him.

We are passionate about seeing lives transformed as people grow closer to Jesus.
Jesus teaches us that loving our neighbor is second only to loving God. This shapes everything we do as a church.

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39

As followers of Jesus, we strive to live as He would live today. Our commitment to deepening our relationship with Christ inspires us to serve others in the communities where we live, work, and worship. We also believe it’s important to reach out beyond our local area, sharing Christ’s love with people around the world. Serving others—both near and far—is at the heart of what it means to be His disciples.

We believe there is one God who has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created everything we see and everything we cannot see, and He alone is worthy of our worship. God is loving, powerful, holy, good, wise, just, and merciful. He is not distant or unpredictable. He is faithful and unchanging. The same yesterday, today, and forever.

We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and fully God Himself. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and lived a perfect, sinless life. Out of love for the world, He gave His life on the cross to deal with the problem of sin once and for all. on the third day, He rose from the dead, defeating sin and death and making new life possible. Jesus ascended to heaven, where He reigns with the Father and continues to advocate for all who place their trust in Him.

We believe the Holy Spirit is fully God, one with the Father and the Son. He is at work in the world, drawing people to God and helping us recognize our need for Jesus. When a person puts their faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live within them. He transforms us from the inside out, helping us grow in our faith, understand God’s truth, and follow Him in everyday life. We believe the Christian life is not meant to be lived in our own strength, but through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We believe every person is created in the image of God and has inherent worth, dignity, and value. We were created to know God, reflect His character, and live in relationship with Him. But humanity chose to go its own way, and sin entered the world. Because of this, all of us fall short of God’s design for our lives. Sin affects every part of who we are and separates us from God. Left to ourselves, we cannot fix that brokenness. We need God’s grace and salvation.

We believe that Jesus came to restore our broken relationship with God. He lived a sinless life and willingly gave His life on the cross for our sins. God raised Him from the dead, defeating sin and death and making forgiveness and new life possible. Salvation is a gift of God’s grace, not something we can earn or achieve on our own. It is received by faith in Jesus Christ, and because of who He is and what He has done, we believe that salvation is found in Him alone.

We believe that eternal life is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. When a person places their faith in Christ, they are forgiven, accepted by God, and made part of His family forever. Our salvation does not depend on our ability to hold on to God, but on His promise to hold on to us. Because salvation is rooted in God’s grace and power, we can have confidence that He will never abandon His people. Even in our weakness and brokenness, God remains faithful and continues the work He has begun in us.

We believe that Jesus Christ will one day return to make all things new. His return will be personal, visible, and unmistakable. He will judge the living and the dead, bring justice to a broken world, and establish the fullness of God’s kingdom forever. This is the great hope of the Christian faith: that God is faithful to His promises and that one day sin, suffering, and death will be defeated once and for all. Until then, we live with confidence, knowing that history is moving toward the day when Christ will reign over all things.

We believe that God has made Himself known to us. Most clearly, He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ, who shows us what God is like in both His character and His love. God also speaks through the Bible, His inspired Word, which teaches us truth and guides us in how to live. And throughout creation, from the vastness of the universe to the beauty and complexity of everyday life, we see evidence of God’s power and wisdom,and glory. Together, these remind us that God is not distant or hidden but has chosen to make Himself known.

We believe that following Jesus is a lifelong journey of growth and transformation. Every believer is called to be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming more like Christ in the way we live, love, and serve others. We were never meant to follow Jesus alone. God places us in a spiritual family (the church) where we encourage one another, care for one another, and grow together in faith. While our families of origin are important, our deepest identity is found in Christ and among His people. As Scripture reminds us:

“We are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.”
Ephesians 2:19-21

Together, we are part of God’s family, united by Christ and growing together in faith, hope, and love.

We believe the church is more than a place people attend. It is a people sent by God into the world. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the church exists to share the good news of Jesus and help people become His followers. From the very beginning, Christians started new communities of faith so that more people could encounter the hope and transformation found in Christ. We believe that mission continues today. That’s why we are committed to investing our time, energy, and resources in starting new faith communities and helping more people discover and follow Jesus.

We believe that God created us in His image and that His design for marriage and sexuality is good and life-giving. We believe that marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman, intended to be a lifelong relationship marked by faithfulness, love, and mutual commitment (heterosexual, monogamous, exclusive, life-long). We seek to approach these convictions with both truth and grace. Recognizing that every person is loved by God and worthy of dignity, respect, and compassion. As a church, we affirm the Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality as a faithful summary of our biblical convictions in these areas.