Our confession & distinctives

We believe the Bible is enough to reveal to us the triune God and how we are to live in response to all He has done for us in Christ and His gospel (2 Pet. 1:3). The Bible is our highest authority, having been breathed out by God Himself (2 Tim. 3:16).

We look for no further word of God than that already revealed in the 66 books of Scripture, with Christ Himself — and by extension the ministry of His apostles — being God’s final Word to His people (Heb. 1:2). The Bible is enough to teach us to live for Christ, order His church, reach every generation with the gospel, counsel, and make disciples.

Above every other ministry we prize the ministry of the Word. We preach it on Sundays, teach it in Sunday School and on Wednesday nights, hide it in our hearts, and talk about it with one another (Ps. 19:7–14). In all we do, we seek to be biblical.

We believe God truly saves the vilest of sinners by His marvelous grace through the righteous life, prophetic fulfillment, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who are truly born again persevere in grace and holiness (Jer. 31:33).

We acknowledge the sad reality of false converts (Matt. 7:21–23) and teach against false assurance. Genuine Christians desire to be a holy people (1 Pet. 1:14–16), and holiness is defined by God’s Book (Jer. 6:16; John 17:17).

The mainstay of our preaching is expository sermons through books of the Bible, where the text itself drives the sermon. Sermons ought to be weighty in both theology and application, with the exaltation of Christ our King as their goal.

There are appropriate times to preach topically, but God’s people should desire the full counsel of His Word (Acts 20:27). Healthy exposition takes time, so the sermon ordinarily fills most of our Sunday morning gathering.

Local churches are to be led by qualified, godly men who are able to teach (1 Tim. 3:1–7), called in Scripture elders, pastors, bishops, or overseers (Titus 1:5; Eph. 4:11; Phil. 1:1). New Testament churches had a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23), equal in oversight though differently gifted (1 Tim. 5:17).

The only other office in the local church is that of deacon (Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8–13): qualified men who assist the elders with the physical needs of the church, freeing them for the ministry of the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4).

Membership in a local church is a biblical and precious privilege, limited to believers (1 Cor. 1:2) who have been baptized by immersion upon a credible profession of faith (Acts 2:41).

Membership means a covenant commitment to weekly assembly (Heb. 10:25), to watch over one another in love (Gal. 6:1–2), to practice discipline when necessary (Matt. 18:15–17), and to support the needs and mission of the church (1 Cor. 16:1–2). Every member, man and woman, is called to serve the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:14).

Our triune God alone determines how He is to be worshiped (Deut. 12:32; John 4:24). We therefore seek to follow the regulative principle of worship: only what God has commanded His church to do in worship should be done. Only qualified men preach or publicly lead the singing, Bible reading, and prayer in our main Lord’s Day assembly (1 Tim. 2:8–15).

We prize Sunday, the first day of the week, as our day for corporate worship (Acts 20:7). We believe biblical worship is for all ages and that every family ought to worship God together, so we do not hold separate children’s classes during corporate worship (Matt. 19:14).

The local church is the missions organization and sending agency of the New Testament (Acts 13:1–3). Churches should partner with like-minded churches to send missionaries, and every church is called to care about missions (Matt. 28:18–20).

The primary focus of missions giving ought to be planting churches and helping churches align themselves with God’s Word (Acts 13:1–14:28; 15:36). Missionaries and evangelists are accountable to local churches.

Before the foundation of the world God chose a people for salvation (Eph. 1:3–14). It is the church’s great honor and obligation to proclaim the gospel — the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for sinners — to all people, offering a real pardon from our gracious King (2 Cor. 5:20; Ezek. 33:11).

Because God is sovereign in salvation, we ought to be the most evangelistic of people. Every member is responsible to speak the gospel to friends, neighbors, coworkers, and relatives. Salvation is not achieved by a sinner’s prayer, baptism, or any work of man; it is all of grace — planned by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit.

God’s design for marriage is one man and one woman for life (Mark 10:1–9). The home ought to be a place where Christ’s reign is recognized and rejoiced in, and where family worship happens often (Deut. 6:7).

We believe husbands are to lead their homes, loving their wives as Christ loved the church; wives to follow their husbands’ godly leadership; and children to honor their parents (Eph. 5:22–6:4; 1 Pet. 3:1–7). We disciple men, women, and families to prize the Scriptures and to practice regular family worship (Titus 2:3–5; Josh. 24:15).

A local church is not something one simply “goes to.” It is a family with bonds more lasting than blood (Eph. 3:6; 4:25). Members should intentionally and joyfully spend time together outside our Sunday meetings, for the good of the church and the glory of Christ (John 13:35), and to spur one another on in holiness (Heb. 3:13).