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We believe that God exists and is
pleased with all who draw near by faith. We worship the one holy and
loving God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit eternally. God has
created all things visible and invisible, has brought salvation and
new life to humanity through Jesus Christ, and continues to sustain
the church and all things until the end of the age.
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We believe in Jesus Christ, the Word
of God become flesh. He is the Savior of the world, who has delivered
us from the dominion of sin and reconciled us to God by his death
on a cross. He was declared to be Son of God by his resurrection from
the dead. He is the head of the church, the exalted Lord, the Lamb
who was slain, coming again to reign with God in glory.
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We believe in the Holy Spirit, the
eternal Spirit of God, who dwelled in Jesus Christ, who empowers the
church, who is the source of our life in Christ, and who is poured
out on those who believe as the guarantee of redemption.
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We believe that all Scripture is
inspired by God through the Holy Spirit for instruction in salvation
and training in righteousness. We accept the Scriptures as the Word
of God and as the fully reliable and trustworthy standard for Christian
faith and life. Led by the Holy Spirit in the church, we interpret
Scripture in harmony with Jesus Christ.
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We believe that God has created the heavens
and the earth and all that is in them, and that God
preserves and renews what has been made. All creation has its source
outside itself and belongs to the Creator. The world has been created
good because God is good and provides all that is needed for life.
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We believe that God has created human beings
in the divine image. God formed them from the dust of the earth and
gave them a special dignity among all the works of creation. Human
beings have been made for relationship with God, to live in peace
with each other, and to take care of the rest of creation.
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We confess that, beginning with Adam and Eve, humanity has disobeyed
God, given way to the tempter, and chosen to sin.
All have fallen short of the Creator's intent, marred the image of
God in which they were created, disrupted order in the world, and
limited their love for others. Because of sin, humanity has been given
over to the enslaving powers of evil and death.
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We believe that, through Jesus Christ, God offers salvation
from sin and a new way of life. We receive God's salvation when we
repent and accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. In Christ, we are
reconciled with God and brought into the reconciling community. We
place our faith in God that, by the same power that raised Christ
from the dead, we may be saved from sin to follow Christ and to know
the fullness of salvation.
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We believe that the church is the
assembly of those who have accepted God's offer of salvation through
faith in Jesus Christ. It is the new community of disciples sent into
the world to proclaim the reign of God and to provide a foretaste
of the church's glorious hope. It is the new society established and
sustained by the Holy Spirit.
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We believe that the mission of
the church is to proclaim and to be a sign of the kingdom of God.
Christ has commissioned the church to make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all things he has commanded.
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We believe that the baptism of
believers with water is a sign of their cleansing from sin. Baptism
is also a pledge before the church of their covenant with God to walk
in the way of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Believers
are baptized into Christ and his body by the Spirit, water, and blood.
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We believe that the Lord's Supper
is a sign by which the church thankfully remembers the new covenant
which Jesus established by his death. In this communion meal, the
church renews its covenant with God and with each other and participates
in the life and death of Jesus Christ, until he comes.
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We believe that in washing the feet
of his disciples, Jesus calls us to serve one another in love as he
did. Thus we acknowledge our frequent need of cleansing, renew our
willingness to let go of pride and worldly power, and offer our lives
in humble service and sacrificial love.
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We practice discipline in the church
as a sign of God's offer of transforming grace. Discipline is intended
to liberate erring brothers and sisters from sin, and to restore them
to a right relationship with God and to fellowship in the church.
The practice of discipline gives integrity to the church's witness
in the world.
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We believe that ministry is a continuation
of the work of Christ, who gives gifts through the Holy Spirit to
all believers and empowers them for service in the church and in the
world. We also believe that God calls particular persons in the church
to specific leadership ministries and offices. All who minister are
accountable to God and to the community of faith.
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We believe that the church of Jesus Christ is one
body with many members, ordered in such a way that, through
the one Spirit, believers may be built together spiritually into a
dwelling place for God.
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We believe that Jesus Christ calls us to discipleship,
to take up our cross and follow him. Through the gift of God's saving
grace, we are empowered to be disciples of Jesus, filled with his
Spirit, following his teachings and his path through suffering to
new life. As we are faithful to his way, we become conformed to Christ
and separated from the evil in the world.
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We believe that to be a disciple of Jesus is to know life
in the Spirit. As the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
Christ takes shape in us, we grow in the image of Christ and in our
relationship with God. The Holy Spirit is active in individual and
in communal worship, leading us deeper into the experience of God.
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We believe that God intends human life to begin in families
and to be blessed through families. Even more, God desires all people
to become part of the church, God's family. As single and married
members of the church family give and receive nurture and healing,
families can grow toward the wholeness that God intends. We are called
to chastity and to loving faithfulness in marriage.
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We commit ourselves to tell the truth,
to give a simple yes or no, and to avoid the swearing of oaths.
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We believe that everything belongs to God, who calls the church
to live in faithful stewardship of
all that God has entrusted to us, and to participate now in the rest
and justice which God has promised.
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We believe that peace is the will
of God. God created the world in peace, and God's peace is most fully
revealed in Jesus Christ, who is our peace and the peace of the whole
world. Led by the Holy Spirit, we follow Christ in the way of peace,
doing justice, bringing reconciliation, and practicing nonresistance,
even in the face of violence and warfare.
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We believe that the church is God's holy nation, called to give
full allegiance to Christ its head and to witness to every nation,
government, and society about God's saving love.
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We place our hope in the reign of God
and its fulfillment in the day when Christ will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead. He will gather his church, which
is already living under the reign of God. We await God's final victory,
the end of this present age of struggle, the resurrection of the dead,
and a new heaven and a new earth. There the people of God will reign
with Christ in justice, righteousness, and peace for ever and ever.
