What we believe...
We believe that there is one God eternally existing in three persons: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We believe in the Father. He is almighty and the creator of all that exists.
We believe in Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, death on the cross to provide for salvation from sin, bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven, present ministry of intercession for us, and His return to earth in power and glory. Jesus is the one and only Son of God.
We believe in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit performs the miracle of new birth in all who believe in Jesus, indwells believers, and enables them to live a Godly and eternal life.
We believe that the Bible is God's written revelation to humankind, inspired by God and authoritative for right relationships between humans, creation, and their Creator.
We believe that humans were created in the image of God in a right relationship with Him. Because of sin, though, humans were alienated from God. That alienation can be removed only by personally accepting, by God's grace through faith alone, God's gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.
We believe that the church (i.e.,all who believe in Jesus and follow Him as Lord and Savior) is the body of Jesus Christ. All believers are members of Jesus' body.
We believe that participation in a local church is vital for spiritual growth and that the church provides opportunities to use one's talents and gifts for the benefit of all of God's creation.
We believe that God created mankind in His image: male (man) and female (woman), sexually different but with equal personal dignity. We believe that those experiencing the desire to change or “transition” from the biological gender God assigned at conception are suffering with gender dysphoria (1). We believe that transitioning through drugs or surgery with unalterable permanent effects is a destructive act to the human spirit, soul, and body. We also recognize that those caught up in this dysphoria are deeply hurting people and they need to know that, even while we do not agree with them nor can we support them in their transitioning, God loves them, and we love them. We deeply desire the best for them, which we offer in the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Compassion and dignity for dysphoric individuals is not in conflict with disagreeing with transgenderism. (Genesis 1:26-28, Romans 1:26-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
(1) Definition of gender dysphoria, according to the Oxford dictionary: a state of severe distress or unhappiness caused by feeling that one’s gender identity does not match one’s sex as registered at birth
Definition from Psychology Today: Gender dysphoria (formerly known as gender identity disorder in the fourth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM) is defined by strong, persistent feelings of identification with another gender and discomfort with one's own assigned gender and sex; in order to qualify for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, these feelings must cause significant distress or impairment.
