We believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

 

We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

 

We believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic* church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

1. We believe in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God and without error in the original manuscripts and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life.

 

2. We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We accept the Apostles’ Creed (above) and the Nicene Creed which describe for us the true faith.

 

3. We believe in the bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

4. We believe mankind alone was created in the image of God. Man fell from the state of righteousness in the disobedience of Adam, the head of the human race. Thus, all men have a sinful nature in their natural condition. All are born sinners separated from God, guilty under God, and justly condemned by God. God’s free provision and solution for man’s sinful condition is the Man, Jesus Christ. Salvation is wrought by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Belief in Christ secures eternal life in Heaven, deliverance from and provision for all sin, and provides the desire and resources to lead a new life that is pleasing to God. Repenting of one’s sins is evidence of new life in Christ. Those who do not trust Christ for salvation will spend eternity in Hell.

 

5. We believe the Church is the universal Body of Christ. All true believers belong to the universal church. The body of Christ shall have its local expression in the locally organized church overseen by appointed elders. The local church shall meet together for worship, teaching, fellowship, prayer and edification. The local church shall be committed to making disciples in Jesus Christ. Christ ordained that the church should observe the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper until He returns.

 

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all that is visible and invisible.

 

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God; begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made; being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation he came down from Heaven: And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures: And ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father: And He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

 

And we believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son): Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified. Who spake by the Prophets.

 

And we believe in one holy, catholic* and apostolic** church:

We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins:

And we look for the resurrection of the dead: and the life of the world to come. Amen

 

The Role of Tradition within the Church

“We do not despise the interpretation of the Greek and Latin fathers and the teaching of the councils, but subordinate them to the Scriptures; honoring them as far as they agree with the Scriptures; and modestly dissenting from them when they go beyond or against the Scriptures. In matters of faith we cannot admit any other judge than God himself, who through His Word tells us what is true and what is false, what is to be followed, and what is to be avoided. We reject traditions which contradict the Scriptures, though they may claim to be apostolic.”

 

*catholic - the whole Christian body or Church throughout the world, at all times and in all places

**apostolic - pertaining to the apostles’ teaching