Becoming a Christian has everything to do with our relationship with God. Our salvation hinges on the fact that we are either in a right relationship with God, or we are not. Salvation is about our personal relationship with God right now. It is possible to go to worship, be a generally nice person and still not be right with God. God wants all of us to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), yet he does not force himself on us and take away our free will. We have the right to accept him or reject him, and based on that decision, we will receive the blessings or the consequences of that choice.

Sin

    Sin is an offense of God's will. It is what makes having a right relationship with God so difficult. In Romans 3:23, we learn that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In this matter, we are all in the same boat. Romans 6:23 teaches us the consequence of our sin is separation from God and spiritual death. The first step to spiritual wellness is accepting the fact that we are sinners and that we must confront the sin in our lives. No excuses, no blaming others - just total honesty with ourselves and with God.

Grace

   There are many people who believe that they can somehow work their way to heaven by doing good deeds. Yet, sin isn't made right by doing good deeds. Sin can only be made right by God's grace (Ephesians1:7). This grace is ours through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus came to earth to give his life as a ransom for our sins (1 Timothy 2:6). He paid the price that we should have paid. He endured the pain, suffering, and separation of the cross so that we might be set free from sin. This wonderful gift is grace.

Living Our Faith

    Faith is a way of life for Christians. Hebrews 11:1 teaches us that "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we have not seen." Faith goes beyond seeing with our eyes or touching with our hands. In Romans 10:17 we learn that faith comes by hearing the word of God. The foundation of Christian faith is our belief that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus became like us, He died on the cross and was raised from the dead that we might be forgiven of our sins and have the hope of heaven. Our faith will continue to grow as we listen to His word and put it into action in our lives. We must live our faith.

Living a Life Of Repentance

    Repentance simply means to turn away from something completely. As we look at our lives and see the sin that is there, we need to have hearts that want to turn away from that sin. We want God to know that we don't take His grace for granted -- that we truly want to be the people that He wants us to be. Repenting of sins is a way of life for a Christian. We are continually turning away from our sins and striving to be more like Jesus. 

Living Our Acknowledgement

    Jesus taught us that to be a follower of His, our lives must acknowledge  our relationship with Him. There is no such thing as a neutral Christian. Jesus said, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10:32 and 33. Romans 10: 9-10, says, "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Confessing our faith with our mouths and lives is a part of our salvation and a way of life for Christians.

Living Our Baptism

    When the Church first began, people listening to Peter asked what they must do to be saved. Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38 Baptism is the moment in faith when we submit our lives to God. We obey Him and allow ourselves to be immersed in water. By faith, we believe that it is during this moment that God keeps His promise to us and washes away our sins.

The basics of what we believe:

·     We believe in one God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
(Matthew 5:16, 45; 6:1, 4, 8, 9; James 1:17 / John 1:1; 14:9 / Genesis 1:2; John 4:24; 14:16-20; 2 Peter 1:21)

·     We believe in God the Father, Creator of all things visible and invisible.
(Genesis 1:1; Acts 17:24-28; Hebrews 11:3)

·     We believe in Jesus Christ, God's one and only Son, my one and only Savior,
(John 1:14; 1 John 4:9 / John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:18)

·         Who was born Jesus of Nazareth, both fully human and fully divine, conceived of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, (Matthew 21:11; John 19:19 / John 1:14; Romans 5:15-17; Colossians 2:9; 1 John 1:1 / Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:26-38)

·         Who suffered and was crucified, (Luke 23:1-46)

·         Who died and was buried, and Who rose again bodily from the dead on the third day,
(Luke 23:44 - 24:8; John 20:24-29; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

·         Who ascended into Heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father,
(Luke 22:69; Acts 1:1-9; Colossians 3:1)

·         Who will return to earth to judge both the living and the dead.
(Matthew 24:36-42; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:10-11; 10:39-42; 1 Peter 4:5) 

·     We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is active and operative part of the triune God.
(John 16:5-15; Acts 1:7-8; Romans 8:26-27)

·         and indwells every Christian.
(Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 2 Timothy 1:14)

·     We believe in the Bible and God's Holy Word, Scripture.  We believe God inspired the original writings of the Scripture and those writings are without error.
(Mark 12:36; John 14:26; 16:12-15; Acts 1:16; 1 Corinthians 2:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:14-16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

·     We accept the Bible as the final authority for all matters of faith and practice.
(Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; Romans 15:4; Hebrews 4:12)

·     We believe the Bible teaches that man, created by God, willfully sinned against God and is consequently lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ.
(Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23)

·     We believe the Bible teaches that salvation and the forgiveness of sins are achieved only by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 26:28; Romans 5:9; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7)

·     We believe the Bible teaches that one receives God's grace by putting faith in Christ, repenting of sin, confessing Christ, and being immersed into Christ, but that none of these is sufficient in and of itself for the assurance of salvation. (Romans 5:1-2 / Luke 24:45-47; Acts 3:19; 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9 / Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:9; Philippians 2:11; 1 John 4:15 / Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-7; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21)

·     We believe in the Church of Jesus Christ, founded on the Day of Pentecost and consisting of all Christians everywhere.
(Matthew 16:13-18; Acts 2:14-47)

·     We believe that each congregation within the Lord’s church is independent and is overseen by Elders and Deacons.

(Colossians 1:18, 1 Timothy 5:17-19, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 1 Timothy 3:8-13, Ephesians 4:11-12)