When we put into words what we believe about God, we discover that God has been writing a story of hope and redemption for the whole world. This story is a movement from creation to new creation, and God has given us a role to play in that story through the restoration of our relationships with God, each other, within ourselves, and in creation.
We believe the story of God follows this basic narrative:
In the beginning God created all things good. He was and always will be in a communal relationship with Himself—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God created us to be relational as well and marked us with an identity as His image bearers. God created humans in His image to live in fellowship with Him, one another, our inner self, and creation.
The enemy tempted the first humans, Adam and Eve, and as they chose to disobey God, darkness and evil entered the story through human sin and are now a part of the world. This devastating event resulted in our relationships with God, others, within ourselves, and creation being fractured and in desperate need of redemption.
We believe God did not abandon His dream for His creation; rather He promised to restore this broken world. This restoration began with His Son, Jesus the Messiah, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, mysteriously God having become flesh.
Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, and set captives free, proclaiming a new arrival of the Kingdom of God and setting in motion the restoration of our fractured world.
He and His message were rejected by many. Yet His path of suffering, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection has brought hope to all creation. Jesus is our only hope for bringing peace and reconciliation between God and humans. Through Jesus we have been forgiven and brought into right relationship with God. God is now reconciling us to each other, ourselves, and creation.
The Spirit of God affirms all those who trust Jesus as children of God. The Spirit empowers us with gifts and convicts, guides, comforts, counsels, and leads us into truth through a life of devotion and growth in the way of Jesus.
The church is rooted and grounded in Christ, led by His Spirit, practicing spiritual disciplines and celebrating baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The church is the local and global expression of living out the way of Jesus as we embody the resurrected Christ, who lives in and through us, and participate with Him in the restoration of a broken and hurting world.
We believe the day is coming when Jesus will return to judge the world, bringing an end to injustice and restoring all things to God’s original intent. God will reclaim and renew this world and rule forever. The earth’s groaning will cease, and God will dwell with us here in a restored creation.
We believe that, as a community and as individuals, God is calling us to participate in His great unfolding story of rescue, redemption, reconciliation, and restoration. Our Kingdom theology embeds our beliefs in the context of here and now, perpetually inspiring our community to participate in what God is doing in our world.
The Essentials
In the words of Augustine, we hold to the philosophy, “In our essential beliefs we have unity. In nonessential beliefs, we have liberty. In all beliefs we show charity.”
We believe in the one true Creator God who shows Himself through self-giving love in a communal relationship of oneness displayed in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1; Matthew 3:16–17; Mark 1:10–11; Luke 1:35, 3:22; John 1:32; Hebrews 9:14; Acts 7:55; Romans 8)
We believe God created all things good and all people in His image for a relationship characterized by harmony with God, each other, ourselves, and creation. (Genesis 1-2; 1 Timothy 4:4)
We believe people’s sin, their rebellion against God, broke their relationship with Him and continues to perpetuate sin, death, brokenness, and destruction in our world. (Genesis 3:15; Romans 5:12; Colossians 1:21)
We believe God has not abandoned creation and in love sent to earth His one and only Son Jesus, fully God and fully human, born of a virgin and without sin, to redeem, reconcile, and restore all creation. (Matthew 1:28-55; John 1; John 3:16-17; Romans 8:19-25; Colossians 1:15-20)
We believe Jesus came to save the world by defeating sin and death through His life, death, and resurrection. Jesus came proclaiming a new arrival of the Kingdom of God and inaugurating a new creation that makes eternal life available now to all those who choose to trust and follow Him. Jesus is the only way to access the free gift of grace, renewed peace, and reconciliation with God. (John 1:29; Romans 3:22-26; 5:1-9; Mark 4:26; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 4:20; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 21:5)
We believe Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of believers, empowers them with gifts, convicts, guides, comforts, counsels, and leads us into truth through a communal life of worship and a missional expression of our faith. (John 14:26; 20:21-23; Ephesians 1:17-19; Acts 1:8)
We believe Jesus calls us to be His disciples who learn how to live in all areas of our lives from Him. We exhibit our faith and love through obedience to His teachings by expression in social and personal practices, which bring glory to God’s name and help fulfill His purposes in the world. (Matthew 5:14-16; 22:36-40; Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 4:11-12; 2 Peter 3:18)
We believe the church is the local and global community of Jesus followers called to be and make disciples and to proclaim (through word and action) the good news of forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration available to all through Him. (Matthew 22:36-40; 28:19-20; John 20:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21)
We believe the Bible was written by people guided by God’s Spirit for all generations and affirm what it says it is: authoritative, inspired, illumined by the Spirit and useful for teaching, correcting, and wisdom. (Psalm 119:105-112; John 16:12-14; 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
We believe Jesus will return to judge the world, bringing an end to injustice and restoring all things to God’s original intent. God will reclaim this world and rule forever. Our relationships with God, others, creation, and ourselves will be whole. All will flourish as God intends. (Isaiah 11.1-9; Isaiah 65.19-25; Matthew 19:28; Acts 3:21; Colossians 1:19-20; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21)