God

God exists eternally in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. God created the universe and humanity to have a personal relationship with each one of us - to show us his love.  He has done this in different ways through history, but his ultimate demonstration of love was Jesus' death on the cross.  (See Sin & Forgiveness)  God continues to be active in the world & the lives of his people.

The Bible

The Holy Bible, is a collection of 66 books in two parts - the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Together these books teach us a lot about who God is and what he has done for us.  The Bible explains our need for a relationship with God, how someone becomes a Christian and defines how Christians live their lives.
 

Reading the Bible is an important part of every person's spiritual growth.  We have four Bible reading plans and several strategies for you on our Bible Reading Plans page.

Sin & Forgiveness

Humanity was created in the image of God & lived in a personal relationship with him until Adam & Eve chose to disobey the one rule God had given them & sin entered the world.  Because of their sin, physical death & spiritual death (eternal separation from God) entered the human experience.  

As a result of Adam & Eve's sin, all human beings are born in sin. No one can live a sin-free life. Sin separates all humanity from God.  Because of his great love for us, God came to earth as the man Jesus Christ to die so our sins could be forgiven. All who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, repent of their sins & are baptized, receive three gifts: forgiveness of sins, eternal life & the Holy Spirit.

Baptism

Jesus taught that it was necessary to be baptized by immersion to be one of his followers.  The New Testament explains that being baptized frees us from the penalty of our sin - spiritual death, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are united with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection and we become a member of his Church, both globally and locally.

Discipleship

After being baptized, each follower of Jesus begins the process of learning to live the Christian life. This process is called discipleship. Because we live in a world effected by sin this process continues through the rest of our lives on earth. Reading & studying the Bible, praying, worshiping, serving with other followers of Jesus in a local church, giving some of our time, talents and finances to the work of the church help us grow in our relationship with Jesus.

The Church

The Church is all people who have been baptized into Jesus.  He is the authority of the Church around the world and locally. The purpose of the church is to tell people what God has done for them, baptize those who believe & then help people through the process of discipleship.

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Jesus clearly taught the necessity of being in a relationship with other believers. It is critical to our spiritual growth. To accomplish this, we follow the example of the early church and gather each week for worship, fellowship, remembering Jesus' sacrifice, prayer and learning from the Bible.  A group of elders is responsible for ensuring that the church submits to the authority of Jesus and fulfills its purpose.

Communion

The Bible tells us that when Jesus' believers came together for worship, they observed communion.  We continue this practice each Sunday.  It is the most important part of our worship service. Communion is a time to evaluate our relationship with Jesus, to remember his death on the cross, his burial, his resurrection, his promise to return & proclaim our faith in him.  The bread is symbolic of his broken body and the juice is symbolic of his shed blood.