Basic Doctrines

* We believe that love one for another as Jesus loves the believer manifests our discipleship proves our love for God and symbolizes our authority as New Testament churches. Love is therefore the great commandment of the LORD Jesus Christ upon which all others are dependent (Matt. 22:35-40; John 13:34, 35; John 15:12; 1 John 4:7-21; 1 John 5:1-3; Rev. 2:4, 5).

* We believe in the infallible, verbal inspiration of the whole Bible and that the Bible is the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice. We use the King James Version exclusively for English language ministry.  (Psalm 119:160; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17).

* We believe in the personal triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in divine perfection (Matt. 28:19).

* We believe in the Genesis account of Creation (Gen. 1; 2).

* We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, the archenemy of God and man, the unholy god of this world, and that his destiny is the eternal lake of fire (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-19; Matt. 25:41; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:10-17; Rev. 20:10).

* We believe in the virgin birth and sinless humanity of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:18-20; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22).

* We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ (John 10:30; John 1:1, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19).

* We believe the Holy Spirit is the divine Administrator for Jesus Christ in His churches (Luke 24:49; John 14:16, 17; Acts 1:4, 5, 8; Acts 2:1-4).

* We believe that miraculous spiritual manifestation gifts were done away when the Bible was completed. Faith, Hope and Love are the vital abiding Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. chapters 12-14).

* We believe that Man was created in the image of God and lived in innocency until he fell by voluntary transgression from his sinless state, the result being that all mankind are sinners (Gen. 1:26; Gen. 3:6-24; Rom. 5:12, 19).

* We believe that the suffering and death of Jesus Christ was substitutionary for all mankind and is efficacious only to those who believe (Isa. 53:6; Heb. 2:9; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Peter 3:18; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2).

* We believe in the bodily resurrection and ascension of Christ and the bodily resurrection of His saints (Matt. 28:1-7; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor. 15:42-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

* We believe in the pretribulational rapture of the saints and the premillennial, personal, bodily return of Christ. This event will include the resurrection of the righteous to eternal heaven who shall rise first and those who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The Millennium will be followed by the resurrection of the unrighteous unto eternal punishment in the lake of fire and that the righteous shall enter into the heaven age (John 14:1-6; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19; Rev. 20:4-6; Rev. 20:11-15; Rev. 21:8).

* We believe that God deals with believers as His children, that He chastises the disobedient, and that He rewards the obedient (Matt. 16:27; Matt. 25:14-23; John 1:12; Heb. 12:5-11; 2 John 8; Rev. 22:12).

 

On Missions

* We believe that the depraved sinner is saved wholly by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and the requisites to regeneration are repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 13:3-5; John 3:16-18; Acts 20:21; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8, 9), and that the Holy Spirit convicts sinners, regenerates, seals, secures, and indwells every believer (John 3:6; John 16:8, 9; Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Eph. 4:30; Titus 3:5).

* We believe that all who trust Jesus Christ for salvation are eternally secure in Him and shall not perish (John 3:36; John 5:24; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:35-39; Heb. 10:39; 1 Peter 1:5).

* We believe that the position of missionary is a divinely called ministry. The Biblical pattern for missions can be found in Acts 13. Men called of God and ordained to the ministry for which they were called are sent out by a scriptural, local church, and led of the Holy Spirit of God to accomplish the work of God. (Acts 13:1-4)

* We believe that the work of missions, which is the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishing of local churches throughout the world, is and properly should be solely the responsibility of local churches, without outside authority from any governing body, organization, committee, convention, association or otherwise any entity outside that of the local church.  All fellowship and associations are and must be to aid the missionary effort without usurping authority of the local church. (Matt. 28:19, 20; Matt. 16:18-19; Eph. 3:21)

* We believe that a missionary is and scripturally should be a member of his sending church; he should submit to the authority of that church and should report back to that church as to the progress of the mission work. The responsibility of the sending church to the missionary should be that of sustaining and prayerfully upholding him to the Lord. (Acts 13:1-4; Acts 14:26-27; I Thes. 5:25; 2 Thes. 3:1; Eph. 6:18-19)

Ecclesiology (On the Church)

* We believe that Jesus Christ established His church during His ministry on earth and that it is always a local, visible assembly of scripturally baptized believers in covenant relationship to carry out the Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ, and each church is an independent, self-governing body, and no other ecclesiastical body may exercise authority over it. We believe that Jesus Christ gave the Great Commission to the New Testament churches only, and that He promised the perpetuity of His churches. The line of true churches that date back to apostolic times resides in what are today known as Baptist.  (Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 16:18; Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark 1:14-20; John 1:35-51; Eph. 3:21).

* We believe that there are two pictorial ordinances in the Lord's churches: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Scriptural baptism is the immersion of penitent believers in water, administered by the authority of a New Testament church in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Lord's Supper is a memorial ordinance, restricted to the members of the church observing the ordinance who are in a right relationship with God; elements being unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine. (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 8:12, 38; Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 5:11-13; 1 Cor. 11:1, 2, 17-20, 26).

* We believe that there are two divinely appointed offices in a church, pastors and deacons, to be filled by men whose qualifications are set forth in Titus and 1Timothy.