Repentance is the act of changing one’s mind regarding sin. Where once a person’s affections were gripped by sin, he turns from that sin, recognizing its filthiness, its danger to his own well being, and dishonoring God. He then humbles himself and turns to God. This is not merely a one-time event, but a daily way of life where the individual strives to obey God rather than the sin that once controlled him.

We believe that the Bible, or Scripture, is the written Word of God. Although the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments that comprise the Bible were physically written by about 40 human authors, the Bible was ultimately inspired by God; and though it is not completely clear on all subjects, it is complete and clear in giving Christians everything they need to know for faith and life. We believe that the Canon of Scripture is complete in its original manuscripts, and authority of the Bible rests not on any man or church, but on God Himself. We believe that our duty as Christians is to believe and obey the Bible. The proclamation of the Word rests at the center and is the apex of the worship service. We believe that a person can only come to a saving knowledge of Scripture through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, who helps us interpret the Bible.

We believe that faith is the God-given ability whereby Christians are enabled to believe the promises of God as outlined in Scripture to receive salvation for their souls. We believe that faith is the only way to please God; by faith, Christians believe that all of Scripture is true because it is God’s authoritative Word. Faith leads the sinner to rest on Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. Though salvation comes through faith alone rather than by works, true faith is always accompanied by good works. Since faith is a gift of God, it is something that the true believer can never lose.

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper); governed by His laws; exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation (Adapted from the Baptist Faith and Message 2000).

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord (Baptist Faith and Message 2000).

Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature enslaved to sin. Therefore, as soon as he is capable of moral action, he becomes a transgressor and is under condemnation. (Adapted from the Baptist Faith and Message 2000)

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. (Baptist Faith and Message 2000)

The family is the God-ordained foundation to human society. It is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for life that reveals the union between Christ and His church. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent example and loving discipline in the fear of the Lord. Children in turn are to honor and obey their parents.