Gospel

The Gospel of Jesus is the centerpiece of all that we say and do as a community of faith.

The word gospel simply means "good news." It is news that has transformed our lives and news that we now live to share with those around us.

Influences

The Gospel Coalition

The Gospel Coalition (TGC) is a Christian organization that seeks to serve the local church by providing gospel-centered and Christ-focused content.

The Keystone Project

The Keystone Project's discipleship training teaches you to launch movements of disciples making disciples in every nation.

John Piper, Founder of Desiring God

Wayne Grudem, Professor and Theologian

Timothy Keller, Pastor and Author

Convictions

God
We believe that the Divine Godhead exists eternally as a loving community of three all-glorious persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Though three, they are of one essence, perfect in love and harmony. God is creator and sustainer of all life and is present in his creation while at the same time being separate and distinct from it. God is sovereign over all things and ordains in his loving wisdom all that comes to pass as a means to his glory and the everlasting joy of his people.

Jesus
We believe that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. He is the creator of the universe who humbled himself to serve and die for the people who he created. He was born of a virgin, lived a life of love and obedience to his heavenly Father, was crucified as a criminal, and on the third day rose from the dead. After showing himself to many witnesses, he ascended into heaven where he now reigns over all creation and intercedes on behalf of his people.

The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells all believers and baptizes them into the Body of Christ the moment they first put their faith in Jesus. The Spirit illuminates the Scriptures to their hearts, leads them in becoming more like Christ in their lives, and empowers them for ministry. Believers are called to pursue the continual renewal and filling of the Holy Spirit through the means that God has provided, including prayer, scripture meditation, fasting, and repentance.

The Scriptures
We believe that the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are true and without human contamination or error in their original documents. The present copies of the Scriptures that exist today are faithful to these original manuscripts to such an extent that they remain true and authoritative. We follow Jesus’ example in teaching the Scriptures as the inspired Word of God that is complete in its revelation and sufficient for all matters of life and teaching.

Mankind
We believe that all people are created in God’s image as eternal beings with value, dignity, and worth. We were created as male and female with equal standing before God and complimentary roles within marriage and the church. Our highest purpose is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.

Sin
We believe that sin in its essence is building our identity on anything other than Jesus Christ. Individually this leads to emptiness, craving, and spiritual slavery and socially it leads to exclusion, conflict, and injustice. All people are born with a sin nature inherited from the first man Adam and confirm this nature through their willful rebellion against God. We are therefore all under the just wrath of God and are unable to seek or please Him on our own.

The Cross of Christ
We believe that the cross is the greatest offense to the self-sufficient pride of sinful human nature but it is the sweetest and most liberating news to those who are being renewed by the Holy Spirit. With the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, God has provided the way of salvation which is available to all people through faith in Christ. On the cross, the justice of God was satisfied and the love and mercy of God were displayed as Jesus was punished as a substitute for the sins of all those who trust him.

Salvation
We believe that the benefits of the cross are available to all who turn from sin and trust Jesus as their perfect righteousness and only hope for freedom, healing, and joy. The blessings of salvation are fore-tasted in this life and are given in ever-increasing portions in the eternal life to come. God has promised to redeem and keep for himself a chosen people and he will give them the strength to persevere in faith until the end.

Spiritual Gifts
We believe that the gifts of the Spirit are divinely empowered abilities given for the purpose of strengthening and building up the Church. All of the gifts that are found in the New Testament are still freely given today and in order to honor God, they must be used in an orderly fashion according to the Scriptures. Believers are encouraged to seek those gifts that would be of most benefit to the church. God is sovereign and free in bestowing the gifts as he chooses.

The Church
We believe that the universal Church is the community of people who Jesus is gathering to himself from all the world. They form one united body, of which Christ is the all-sufficient Pastor and Head. The universal Church is expressed in local churches in which believers gather together under biblically-qualified male elders to hear the Word of God, to worship, to practice the ordinances, to hold each other accountable through church discipline, to minister to one another in love, and to serve the mission of God in the world. The two ordinances of the Church are Believer’s Baptism and The Lord’s Supper, which symbolizes the body and blood of Christ.

The Future Things
We believe that in his perfect and mysterious timing, Jesus will return to earth in glory to judge the living and the dead. Those who have refused to trust Christ will be sentenced to eternal and conscious punishment in Hell. Those who have trusted Christ and persevered in faith will be raised with new glorified bodies to enjoy Christ’s Kingdom forever.

Christian Liberty
We believe that in issues of liberty, forbidding what the Scriptures allow is just as dangerous and dishonoring to God as allowing what the Scriptures forbid. The former leads to false legalistic righteousness and the latter to destructive indulgence. The gifts that God has given can be enjoyed in thankfulness or abused and turned into an idol. The Scriptures allow freedom in many areas while also calling Christians to examine their motives and to never be controlled by anything other than Christ. In the exercise of their liberty, a follower of Christ bears the responsibility to obey the Scriptures, care for their body, and be sensitive to their conscience. All practice of liberty must be governed by love and should never directly tempt another Christian to compromise their personal convictions.