1. We believe that God exists and is pleased with all who draw near by
faith. We worship the one holy and loving God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
eternally. God has created all things visible and invisible, has brought salvation and new
life to humanity through Jesus Christ, and continues to sustain the church and all things
until the end of the age.
2. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Word of God become flesh. He is the
Savior of the world, who has delivered us from the dominion of sin and reconciled us to
God by his death on a cross. He was declared to be Son of God by his resurrection from the
dead. He is the head of the church, the exalted Lord, the Lamb who was slain, coming again
to reign with God in glory.
3. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal Spirit of God, who
dwelled in Jesus Christ, who empowers the church, who is the source of our life in Christ,
and who is poured out on those who believe as the guarantee of redemption.
4. We believe that all Scripture is inspired by God through the Holy
Spirit for instruction in salvation and training in righteousness. We accept the
Scriptures as the Word of God and as the fully reliable and trustworthy standard for
Christian faith and life. Led by the Holy Spirit in the church, we interpret Scripture in
harmony with Jesus Christ.
5. We believe that God has created the heavens and the earth and all
that is in them, and that God preserves and renews what has been made. All creation has
its source outside itself and belongs to the Creator. The world has been created good
because God is good and provides all that is needed for life.
6. We believe that God has created human beings in the divine image.
God formed them from the dust of the earth and gave them a special dignity among all the
works of creation. Human beings have been made for relationship with God, to live in peace
with each other, and to take care of the rest of creation.
7. We confess that, beginning with Adam and Eve, humanity has disobeyed God, given way
to the tempter, and chosen to sin. All have fallen short of the
Creator’s intent, marred the image of God in which they were created, disrupted order
in the world, and limited their love for others. Because of sin, humanity has been given
over to the enslaving powers of evil and death.
8. We believe that, through Jesus Christ, God offers salvation from
sin and a new way of life. We receive God’s salvation when we repent and accept Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord. In Christ, we are reconciled with God and brought into the
reconciling community. We place our faith in God that, by the same power that raised
Christ from the dead, we may be saved from sin to follow Christ and to know the fullness
of salvation.
9. We believe that the church is the assembly of those who have
accepted God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the new
community of disciples sent into the world to proclaim the reign of God and to provide a
foretaste of the church’s glorious hope. It is the new society established and
sustained by the Holy Spirit.
10. We believe that the mission of the church is to proclaim and to be
a sign of the kingdom of God. Christ has commissioned the church to make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all things he has commanded.
11. We believe that the baptism of believers with water is a sign of
their cleansing from sin. Baptism is also a pledge before the church of their covenant
with God to walk in the way of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Believers are baptized into Christ and his body by the Spirit, water, and blood.
12. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a sign by which the
church thankfully remembers the new covenant which Jesus established by his death. In this
communion meal, the church renews its covenant with God and with each other and
participates in the life and death of Jesus Christ, until he comes.
