Statement of Faith

This Statement of Faith is intended to be the basis of our fellowship and unity (Acts 2:41-42) as the scripture encourages, “that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
No Claim is made that this Statement contains all Biblical truth, only that it meets our need to teach fundamental doctrines deemed necessary to our Full Gospel Fellowship.

We believe that the Holy Bible, consisting of both the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and is the written Word of God – it contains the infallible guidelines of our worship (Exodus 20:1) as we move forward to strengthen our faith during our daily walk with the Lord. It is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. God used His holy men to speak on His behalf making Him as the true “ultimate” Author (2 Peter 1:21).

We believe that there is only one true and living God, eternal, and self-existent (Isaiah 43:10-11; John 1:1-4), the Maker of heaven, earth, and all things (Genesis 1:1-3) and who is the Redeemer of mankind (John 3:16).
We believe that we may speak in agreement with the Scripture of the “Lord our God” (Deuteronomy 6:4) as the Trinity or as a Being of three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - distinct in personality, yet perfect in unity, never existing or working separately or independently and that this relationship cannot be understood or comprehended because mankind has no parallel and it is not explained in Scripture (Zechariah 14:9; Matthew 11:25-27, 28:19; John 1:18, 5:17-30, 37; John 8:17-19, 15:26, 17:11, 21; 1 John 1:3).

The Father
We believe in God, our infinitely loving, kind and merciful Heavenly Father, whose glory is so bright that man cannot look upon His face and live (Exodus 33:18-23; John 1:18), but who so loved and pitied his lost children that He sent His only begotten Son that we might be reconciled to Him (John 3:16-17; 2  Peter 3:9).

The Lord Jesus
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16), co-existent and co-eternal with the Father (John 1:1-4), who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:31-33, 35), who took the form of a man, lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15; 7:24-28; 1 Peter 2:22), performed miracles (Acts 2:22; 10:38), atoned for our sorrows and sins, suffered and died on the cross in our place (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21), freely gave His life (John 10:17-18), burst the bonds of hell and the grave, rose bodily from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4), ascended to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9, 11; 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:1-3), and where He intercedes as a Mediator between men and God, for whom He gave His life. (1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24).
We believe that the title, Lord Jesus Christ, is a proper name belonging only to the Son of God (Romans 1:1-3, 7; 2 John 1:3), that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16), and that the title, Son of God, is not derived from His incarnation or redemptive work (John 1:1-4), that the Lord Jesus Christ is Immanuel (God is with us) because He is God and Man (Matthew 1:21-23; 8:20; 9:6; Hebrews 1:1-14; 7:3; 1 John 3:8; 4:2, 10, 14; 2 John 1:3; Revelations 1:13-18).

The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit: the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient third Person of the Godhead (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 139:7; 1 Corinthians 6:11), co-eternal with and proceeding from the Father and the Son (John 15:26; 16:7; Romans 8:9; Galatians 4:6).  He convicts the world of sin, and of righteousness and judgment of sin (John 16:7-11) and draws sinners to the Savior, comforting, guiding, teaching, regenerating, interceding, sanctifying and baptizing with power from on high those who yield to His tender ministry (John 3:5-6; 14:16;  16:13-14; Acts 2:1-4; Romans 8:26-27; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).

We believe that man was created in God’s image and lived uprightly and in purity before Him, but man, by choice voluntarily transgressed, falling from his upright state of fellowship with God into a state of sin, which is a separation from God, incurring not only physical death but spiritual death. All men are sinners by choice and consequently need a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ restores that fellowship with God (Genesis 1:26-3:24; Romans 5:12-21).

We believe that the plan of salvation was born in the great and loving heart of God (Romans 5:8) to redeem fallen man to Himself (John 3:16-17; 2 Peter 3:9); that our only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:13-14); that salvation is wholly of grace and not by our works (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 2:11); that we are saved by confessing and truly repenting of our sins to God (Romans 3:23; 6:23) and by faith receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Luke 24:47; John 1:12-13; 3:16-17; 6:68-69; Romans 10:8-13; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelations 3:20); that “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration; which He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7).
We believe that salvation is confirmed inwardly as direct witness of the Holy Spirit and outwardly in a life of “righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 1:10; Titus 2:11-12).

We believe that baptism by water immersion in the Name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit is commanded in the Scripture for all who repent and believe in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior (Matthew 28:19), that it is an outward sign of an inward work - declaring before all men that the old person has died and been buried with Christ; rising with Him to walk in newness of life.  (Matthew 3:1-6, 11, 13, 17; Mark 16:16; Luke 3:3; Acts 8:36-38; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:1-14)
We believe that the Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, is to be observed by all believers “till He comes” in remembrance of: His suffering and death on the cross, the prophecy of His return (1 Corinthians 11:26), and our identity that we all share in the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ.  (2 Peter 1:4).
We believe in the observance of the Lord’s Supper consisting of:  the bread, which represents the body of our Lord that was broken for us, and the fruit of the vine which represents His precious blood that was shed for our sins (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30).

We believe that sanctification is separation from sin and evil (Ephesians 4:20-32; 5:1-21) and whole-hearted dedication to God (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:12-13).  Separation from sin and walking in holiness before the Lord is required of the believer (Hebrews 12:14; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; 1 Peter 3:15); that sanctification is achieved as we walk daily before the Lord, submitting our whole being continually to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the direction and ministry of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-14; 8:1-14,16; Galatians 2:20; 5:16-26).

We believe that divine healing is an integral part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Exodus 15:26; Psalm 103:3; Matthew 12:15; Luke 9:1-2, 6); that deliverance from sickness is the privilege of all believers and is provided for in the atonement (Isaiah 53:4; Matthew 8:16-17; James 5:14-16).

We believe that Spiritual Gifts are bestowed upon the believers for the edification of the Church by one and the same Holy Spirit, “dividing them individually and severally as He wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:11) and that we should “pursue, love and earnestly desire the best spiritual gifts especially the gift of prophecy” (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1) as Scripture encourages (1 Corinthians 12:1-12, 24-25, 29-31; 13:1-2; 14:1-33, 37-40).

We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:22, 5:22-33), divinely appointed for the fulfillment of the Great Commission to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Mark 16:15, 20; Acts 1:4-5, 8).
We believe that having accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is being born into the family of the Lord, the Church, that it is the sacred duty of every believer to identify with and stir up good works with a group of believers (Hebrews 10:23-25) for fellowship, encouragement, and to fulfill the Great Commission (Acts 2:43-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14).
We believe that a divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been established in the Scriptures, “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 1 Timothy 2:7-8).
(I) MARRIAGE
We believe that marriage is a gift from God and is a union of a couple’s hearts and lives - it involves love, commitment, and a partnership between a man and a woman (Genesis 1:27; 2:1-25; 24:58-60; Ephesians 5:21-33).  Men and women may have various tasks but they ultimately lead to the same goal – honoring God (Philippians 2:10). God has not only planned for a couple’s physical oneness but intended:  for a man to leave his parents (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31-33) and in a public act promise to love his/her spouse above all others and things, to take care of each other, raise Godly children (Proverbs 5:18; Malachi 2:14-15; Galatians 3:28); and  spouses to communicate on spiritual, emotional, and intellectual levels with “unwavering” openness to ideally squash barriers between themselves and God (Genesis 3:7; Ephesians 5:23-32) while helping each other grow to all he or she can be. We believe in looking for reasons to restore a marriage rather than excuses to leave it   (Matthew 5: 31-32; 19:4-6; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 7:1-40; Ezra 9:2; Mark 10:2-9).
(II) SINGLENESS
We believe that both marriage and singleness can be a gift from God. Blessed are those who want to dedicate their time to promote God’s glory or to make it their personal choice. The most important thing is praying for God’s calling and direction (Matthew 19:3-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-40).
(III) FAMILY
We believe that spiritual leadership begins at home (1 Timothy 3:5). To strengthen a family, we must speak about how our living God has touched our lives in the past -  on what has drawn us closer to Him and how He still intervenes and gives us hope in the present.  We believe in teaching the Bible, God’s Word as guidelines on how it applies in our daily living and future (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). We believe in doing Christian good works (Luke 2:41-52) without neglecting to honor our family members (Ephesians 6:1-4; 1 Samuel 3:13-14). To honor means to respect and love.
Further, we are a spiritual family of God. We belong to the same Father God, the Creator, who loves us and He provides His children with the fullness of life (Ephesians 3:14-21). It is important that we spend time together with other believers not only to give and gain support but also to reveal and  strengthen God’s power when we commit to the task to reconcile people to Him (2 Corinthians 5:11 – 6:2; Exodus 7:1).

We believe that tithing is the method ordained by God for the support of His Church and ministry (Malachi 3:10; Luke 11:42) and is a commandment of God with a promise (Malachi 3:11-12) that giving, in addition to tithing, is ordered and blessed by the Lord (Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

We believe that, “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). It is the imminent and blessed hope of the Church (Romans 8:23; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Titus 2:13).

We believe that the second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the Church, our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:27-30; Revelations 1:7; 19:11-17; 20:1-6) to reign on earth for a thousand years bringing the salvation of the nation of Israel (Ezekiel 37:21-22; Zephaniah 3:19-20; Romans 11:26-28) and universal peace (Isaiah 11:6-9; Psalm 72:1-9;    
Micah 4:3-4).

We believe in a final judgment, when the dead, small and great, will be raised and judged according to their works and that whosoever is not written in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire along with the devil and his angels, the beast and false prophet, which is the second death (Matthew 25:34; 41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelations 19:20; 20:10-15; 21:8).

We believe “according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness” (1 Corinthians 2:9; 2 Peter 3:13;
Revelations 21:1-27; 22:1-5, 14, 17).