As disciples of Jesus Christ we confess our common faith in the following truths, which form the biblical foundation for our life and witness.
We believe in and worship one God in three persons. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
We believe in God the Father, who reigns with wise and loving care over his cosmos, his creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of his grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. He is eternally begotten of the Father: God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God. He is at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man.
Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven. By the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate from the virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life. In all that he does, he glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. Therefore, the Bible is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
We believe that God graciously offers salvation in Christ to all who turn to him in repentant faith. This salvation involves the redemption of the whole person. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ, which brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God. Further, God’s justifying grace must not be separated from his sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor, and justice for the oppressed.
With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all peoples, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed. Our salvation culminates in Christ’s second coming, the resurrection of the dead, and the consummation of the kingdom of God in the new heavens and new earth.
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith in Christ. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which he is the Head. As such, the church is called to participate with God in his great purpose of bringing hope, life, forgiveness, and redemption to all peoples of the earth.
The true church is manifest in local churches, which—according to the mandates of the Lord Jesus—practice baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These practices visibly and tangibly express the gospel, confirming and nourishing believers.