What we teach:

We teach the inerrancy and infallibility of the Word of God. The Scriptures are without error in the original manuscripts, and represent the supreme and final authority for faith and practice. We believe the Bible is sufficient for all of life. Thus, we do not believe in integrating secular psychology with the Scriptures in counseling. The Bible is our guide in all matters regarding doctrine, church practice, and individual behavior. Because of this, we find ourselves "always reforming" our church life in order to be more consistent with the Word of God.

We teach that the one eternal God, eternally existent in the three persons of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. These persons are the same in substance, equal in power and glory(Mt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14).

We teach the deity, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection; and the visible, bodily, and glorious return of Jesus Christ (Jn 1:1; Is. 7:14; 1 Cor. 15:3-5; Acts 1:11).

In our teaching on the nature of salvation, we are in essential agreement with the teachings of the Protestant Reformers and the Canons of the Synod of Dort. In the rich evangelical tradition of men such as Luther, Calvin, Knox, the Puritans of the 17th century, and other evangelical leaders such as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, John Newton, Charles Spurgeon, and Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, we believe and teach that salvation is given by the sovereign grace of God.

We teach that man's condition by nature is such that he is dead in trespasses and sins, enslaved to sin, held captive by the devil to do his will, and under the wrath of God (Eph.2:1-3; Tit. 3:3; 2Tim.2:26). He is spiritually deaf, blind and dead. As such, man is completely unable to save himself, or even to cooperate with God in his salvation. He does not possess the desire or ability to turn himself to God. Since man is a sinner by nature, and will always make choices in accordance with his nature, his "free will" will always choose to reject God. Thus, God, in sovereign grace, must turn him to Himself if he will ever be saved.

We teach that before the foundation of the world, God made a choice of particular persons to eternal life (Act. 13:48;Eph.1:3-6; 2Tim.1:9). This choice was not based on the fact that God knew which persons would believe of their own free will, for no one fits that description. This choice was based upon God's good pleasure alone.

We teach that Jesus Christ came for the purpose of saving those chosen to salvation and given to Him by the Father. After living a perfect life, He bore the full fury of God's wrath against sin as a substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. Because this sacrifice is sufficient for all, God can sincerely and genuinely offer the gospel to all men. Because this sacrifice is efficient for the elect, it will infallibly result in their eternal salvation (Mt. 1:21; Jn. 10:15; Acts 20:28; 1Pet.1:18-21).

We teach that all the elect will in time be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This regeneration is a spiritual resurrection given to sinners who are spiritually dead. It results in faith, repentance and obedience. This regeneration is accomplished by the irresistible power of the Holy Spirit (Jn.6:37,44; Eph.2:4-5; Ps.110:3).

We teach that all those regenerated are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise unto the ultimate day of redemption. Therefore, if a person has been effectually called and drawn to Christ, he will never lose that salvation (Jn.10:27-30;Rom.8:28-30).

We teach that all those drawn to Christ are sanctified by the Holy Spirit. This sanctification is a work of God in which the believer participates by confession of sin, repentance, and submission to the will of God (1Thess.4:3-8; Rom.8:29).

We teach that the Holy Spirit sovereignly gives at least one spiritual gift to every believer, that he/she might minister to others within the Body of Christ. We do not dogmatically affirm that the "spectacular gifts" of 1 Cor. 12 have passed away, because of lack of solid scriptural support for that position. However, we are committed to the Biblical guidelines given for the use of these gifts. We see much in the Pentecostal/Charismatic/Third Wave movements that troubles us and seems to be abusive in this area. We desire simply that God would do all He wants to do in His church. He gives gifts when, where, and to whom He pleases.

We teach the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do not teach dogmatically any of the major millennial views, but encourage each one to study the Scriptures and come to their own conclusion. We don't see the specifics of the when, where, and how of Christ's return to be as vital as the what. He is coming. We need to be prepared, and in the meantime live holy lives. A person could be a member of the fellowship and be Premillennial, Postmillennial, or Amillennial without it becoming a problem.

We teach that it is the responsibility of every Christian to search the Scriptures for themselves, rather than to accept whatever is taught (Act. 17:11). Each one will have to give an account for themselves as to what they believed and how they lived on Judgment Day. In order for the body to "grow up into all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ" (Eph.4:15), we must "speak the truth in love." The way God has designed the body to grow is by speaking the truth; however we must always remember that our speaking must be done in love. When a disagreement over doctrine arises, instead of polarizing and splitting up into different camps, we need to learn to accept one another while at the same time dialogue and study with one another for the purpose of sharpening our understanding of God's Word. Yes, we are called to defend the truth (Ju. 4) against heresy, but we need not to split and divide over secondary doctrinal matters. The way to preserve the unity of the body in the midst of disagreement is to manifest the graces of humility, meekness, and a teachable spirit. Therefore, we recognize that our understanding of truth is and always will be "in transition." The moment we believe we've finally arrived with nothing more to learn about a particular subject is the moment we're in serious trouble. It is our aim, therefore, to be just as committed to loving one another in a spirit of meekness, acceptance, and humility, as it is to know and declare the truth.

-composed by Ken Petty