The gospel is the good news of what God has graciously accomplished for sinners through the sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ: our forgiveness and complete justification before God. This gospel grounds our confidence in the final triumph of God’s kingdom and the renewal of all creation in the new heavens and new earth. It is centered in Christ, is the foundation of the church’s life, and is our only hope of eternal life. The gospel is not proclaimed unless Christ’s penal substitutionary death and bodily resurrection are central to the message. The gospel is not only the means by which we are saved but also the truth and power by which we are sanctified. It enables us to joyfully do what pleases God and to grow into the image of Christ. Salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No ritual, work, or other human effort is required to be saved.

(Mark 1:1; Luke 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; Romans 1:16-25; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:2; 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 9:13; Galatians 1:6-9; Ephesians 1:7-10; Colossians 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 1:8-14; 2 Peter 3:11-13; Jude 3-4; Revelation 21:1-22:21)

God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, not on the basis of foreseen faith but unconditionally, according to his sovereign good pleasure and will. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God draws his elect to faith in his Son, graciously and effectually overcoming their resistance to the gospel so that they willingly believe. Those whom the Father has given to the Son will persevere in faith and godliness, kept secure in their salvation by grace through faith. God’s sovereignty in salvation does not diminish our responsibility to believe in Christ or the necessity of prayer and evangelism. Rather, these are the very means God has ordained to accomplish his purposes.

(John 1:12-13; 6:37-44; 10:25-30; Acts 13:48; 16:30-31; Romans 3:1-4:25; 8:1-17, 31-39; 9:1-23; 10:8-10; Ephesians 1:4-5; 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Titus 3:3-7; 1 John 1:7, 9)

We rely on the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit for all of life and ministry. The Spirit is fully God, equal with the Father and the Son. His primary ministry is to glorify Jesus Christ; he also convicts unbelievers of their need for Christ and gives new life through regeneration (the new birth). The Spirit permanently indwells, graciously sanctifies, lovingly leads, and empowers all who come to faith in Christ, so that they might live in obedience to the inerrant Scriptures. Jesus himself is our model. He was filled with the Spirit and depended entirely on his power for his miracles, his preaching of the kingdom of God, and every part of his earthly ministry. The same Spirit empowers us through the spiritual gifts he gives for ministry and for building up the body of Christ. Although Christians understand the nature and function of these gifts differently, we recognize them as God’s provision for spiritual growth and effective ministry, to be eagerly desired, faithfully developed, and lovingly exercised according to Scripture.

(Matthew 3:11; 12:28; Luke 4:1, 14; 5:17; 10:21; John 1:12-13; 3:1-15, 34; 14:12; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Acts 2:14-21; 4:29-30; 10:38; Romans 8:9; 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-13, 28-31; 14:1-33; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 3:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:18)

We are deeply committed to the spiritual and moral equality of men and women, and to men as responsible servant-leaders in the home and the church. Men and women are together created in God’s image, share the same dignity and value before him, and have equal access to God through faith in Christ. Both receive spiritual gifts for ministry in the church and beyond, so women are to be encouraged, equipped, and empowered to use their gifts in ministry, service, and teaching in ways consistent with God’s Word. Husbands and wives are both responsible before God for the spiritual health of the home, but God has given husbands the primary responsibility to lead their families with the servant-leadership and sacrificial love of Jesus. This headship never means domineering control. It is the loving, tender care of a godly man who is himself under the gentle authority of Christ. The elders/pastors of each local church are given authority under the headship of Jesus Christ to oversee the church and to preach and teach God’s Word in the gathered assembly. The office of elder/pastor is restricted to men.

(Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18; Acts 18:24-26; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 3:1-7; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7)

Jesus Christ will return one day to judge the living and the dead. Until then, the church has a clear biblical mandate to look beyond itself to the neighborhood, the nation, and the world. Mission is not an optional program; it is essential to the identity of the church. We are called to make Christ known through the gospel and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring his lordship to bear on every area of life. We fulfill this mission primarily by planting churches that plant churches and by training their leaders, so that Christ is more fully formed in people through every church God enables us to plant. We neither retreat from our culture nor conform to it. With humility, through the Spirit and the truth of the gospel, we engage it boldly, seeking its transformation under the lordship of Christ.

(Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 10:5-25; 28:18-20; Luke 4:18-19; 24:46-47; Acts 28:31; Romans 10:14-15; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 3:10; 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10)