Every church has its own unique way of doing things. It’s the thumbprint of who they are, what they do, and why they do it. We call these our Distinctives, which incorporate our beliefs and direct our mission. They capture and express the heart and personality of our church. We believe it’s important that these are accessible for those desiring to learn more about us or looking for a church to call home.
Every human is made in the image of God and that image remains, regardless of the good or bad choices a person will make. This means that each person is created with purpose and value and as a reflection of God who created them. We seek to treat each person we encounter as one who has innate value and divine purpose.
Key Passages: Genesis 1:26-27
Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. The second is that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves. He also said that the world will know that we follow Him by the way we love others. John even went so far as to say that God is love. This means that loving God and loving others is always our path forward in seeking to live for and follow Him. When in doubt, take a step toward love. We hold love above all else and filter our thoughts and actions through the desire to be people who love others well.
Key Passages: Matthew 22:26-40, John 13:35-35, 1 John 4:8
We see sin as a symptom of a deeper issue in people. Sin is the behavior that results when people try to deal with shame, uncertainty, fear, and insecurity without entrusting those things to Christ. A person may lie, which is a sin. However, the reason that person has chosen to lie is that they have a fear of what may happen should they tell the truth. The deeper problem isn’t the lie, but that they didn’t turn and trust Christ with their fear and instead chose to control the situation themselves. The reason sin exists is because we try to solve the uncertainty and carry the weight of our world rather than entrusting these to God. This is trusting in “the knowledge of good and evil.” When we try to overcome our humanity by choosing to “be like God” instead of trusting and living in faith with Christ, it inevitably results in sinful behavior.
Key Passages: Genesis 3:1-7
We seek, not only to emulate Christ with our lives but to trust Him with our decisions. Instead of ignoring complexity by turning to black and white thinking or basing the security of our decisions upon the notion of rules or legalism, we seek to base our trust and security on our faith in Christ. This means that, in both easy and difficult decisions, we put our faith in Christ and ask the question: “What is Christ leading me to do in my life right now?” We then make the decision in faith. This belief incorporates both the Bible and the experience of our own faith journey and trusts in Christ to lead us forward.
Key Passages: Galatians 3
We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Through the context of His original audience and the style of literature in which different scriptures are written, God reveals to us His expressed wisdom as the Spirit guides us in applying it to the present. God uses the words of the scriptures to illuminate the hearts of men and women as a means of revealing His own heart for people, His desire for each of us, and the way mankind has related to Him, as we continue to do so even still.
Key Passages: 2 Timothy 3:16
Life is a unique combination of both beautiful and difficult moments. We can experience deep pain but also know that the fullness of God is present and that we are fully loved. We choose not to see any singular moment as all good or all bad because we live in a “God-bathed world” and there is always beauty to be found amidst the mess. Life is inherently complex. We make room for that complexity by honoring and creating room for the full spectrum of human experience because God is a part of it all.
Key Passages: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
For a more comprehensive list of our theological beliefs, click to expand on any of our doctrinal positions listed below.
We believe that God is Father, Son, and Spirit and that He is three persons in one being.
We believe that Jesus is the son of God, that he was miraculously born unto a virgin and lived life on this earth as the incarnate Christ, both fully God and fully man. We believe that Christ died upon the cross for the sins of mankind and was resurrected so that all who put their faith in him, might have eternal life. We believe that Jesus is the full image of God and that He is the head of the church. We believe that all of the old and new testament serve to point us toward Jesus Christ and that we find our life, our security, and our continued hope in Him.
We believe that God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is the active presence of God, whose purpose is now to guide us and remind us of our righteousness in Christ.
We believe that all men and women are created in the image of God and that life is a precious gift, bestowed to mankind, and meant to be fully lived.
We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. God used unique human authors, illuminated by the Spirit, to convey His heart and His great story as He relates to mankind and as mankind relates to Him throughout the ages.
We believe that we are saved through Christ, and Christ alone, from the consequences and separation brought about as the result of our sin. Upon putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we become adopted as sons and daughters of God who find our life in Him. This begins in the here and now and continues into all eternity.
We believe that a life of continued faith in Christ is the ongoing path by which God grows us, refines us and makes us more and more into the likeness of his Son.
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