What We Believe

We believe in restoration through Jesus Christ

We believe that our world is deeply broken because of sin, but God has created a path to forgiveness, healing, and restoration through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2 provides an excellent summary of God's plan for restoration through Jesus.

We believe Christians are called to follow the example and teachings of Jesus

Of course, no one is morally perfect, but as followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to pursue a life of righteousness and justice that reflects his character and teachings. Jesus taught that we should be most concerned about our hearts and not “looking good” to others (Mark 7:1-19). Jesus taught that certain actions “defile us” including, “sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly” (Mark 7:20-23). Jesus taught that caring for the vulnerable and practicing justice, mercy, and faithfulness is more important than doing religious activities (Matthew 22-23).

We believe in the authority of the Bible

We agree with the following statement from the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978):

Holy Scripture, being God's own Word...is of infallible divine authority in all matters upon which it touches: it is to be believed, as God's instruction, in all that it affirms: obeyed, as God's command, in all that it requires; embraced, as God's pledge, in all that it promises.

We believe working toward racial justice and unity is encouraged by Scripture

Working toward racial justice and unity helps us to fulfill Christ’s commandment to love one another (Jn 13:34-35) and make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19-20). It is inline with the example and instructions of Jesus, the biblical authors, and the early Christians (Gen 18:19-20; Deut 10:17-19; Isa 56:7; Mt 22:35-40; Jn 17:20-23; Acts 2:42-47, 6:1-7; 1 Cor 12:12-30; Eph 2:1-22; James 2:1-13; 1 Pt 2:4-12; 1 Jn 3:11-24).