We believe in God’s story.

This epic is revealed within the grand narrative of Scripture in a collection of 66 books known as The Bible. Inspired by God yet written by human hands, the infallible words of Scripture are God-breathed, without error, and are the supreme and final authority for life and faith.

In eternity, this story was formed.  It begins with the Author and Creator of all things- the one, true, sovereign God. He exists in community with Himself as Father, Son, and Spirit yet remains one God. He is altogether good, holy, just, wise, powerful, and loving.

In love, the Author created a world of wonder, beauty, and harmony for his masterpiece creation, humanity. Created in His image, human beings walked in relationship with the Creator and enjoyed the paradise of His creation. This is the beginning.  All was as it should be.

Then the story took a dramatic turn. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Sin entered the story through the deception of an evil serpent and the rebellion of humanity. Creation had fallen, paradise was lost, and separation came between humanity’s relationship with God and each other. Life was broken and nothing was as it should be. In the darkest moment in human history, sin bled into the story resulting in shame, suffering, pain, distrust, despair, and pride. Although still bearing the image of God, all of humanity would now live in a fallen state of sin unable to rescue ourselves from destruction.

In the midst of this horrific event, hope and restoration is promised by God as He reveals the climax of His story. God would become a man with a mission to rescue his beloved creation and crush the evil serpent. God would write clues of His arrival into the story through various messengers, laws, events, and promises. All of which would be fulfilled through the hero of God’s epic- Jesus Christ.

Jesus entered human history miraculously as he was conceived by the Spirit of God and born to a virgin mother. Fully God yet fully human, he did what humanity could not do. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life teaching us to love God and others as ourselves. But it was his exclusive claim to being the only way to God, as well as his claim of being God, that led to his arrest, torture, and execution on a Roman cross.

He would show his great love for us through his willful yet excruciating sacrifice on the cross.  There is no greater love.

It is on the cross where the hero would redeem and rescue his beloved creation.
It is on the cross where the hero became the worst of all of humanity, enduring the just wrath of God.
It is on the cross where the hero became our substitute and paid the penalty for our sins.
It is on the cross where those who believe in him have right standing before God.
It is on the cross where we are cleansed from the curse of sin- past, present, and future.
It is on the finished work of the cross where Jesus died for us so that we might live.

But the story doesn’t end there…He came back!

Three days after being buried in a tomb, he rose from death defeating hell, conquering sin, and crushing the sting of death. He appeared to hundreds of witnesses and then physically ascended into Heaven and is presently seated at the right hand of God the Father.  Salvation is only found by God’s saving grace in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  God’s grace is not earned, it is freely given to all who truly believe. Those who believe will spend eternity with Him. Those who don’t, get exactly what they want, a life and eternity apart from Him.

The story continues to be written through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God was promised by Jesus to supernaturally guide our stories, work in the hearts of humanity, and draw us near to Jesus. The Spirit resides within us and works to teach and transform us,  help us when we are in need, convict us of our sin, secure our salvation, and empower us with spiritual gifts to advance the Kingdom of God on earth today.

The mission of Jesus was, and is, crystal clear: to seek and save that which was lost.  And that’s exactly what He did…and what He’s doing.

Through the Church, followers of Jesus are united as one body made up of local communities.  They gather in prayer, worship, teaching, community, and service with baptism and communion being visible expression of the gospel story. The mission of the Church is to be a worldwide movement that advances God’s Kingdom and proclaims the story of God’s amazing grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ, to the ends of the earth- starting in our local communities.

Today, Jesus Christ reigns supreme as King of kings and Lord of lords. This epic will end when the King returns to earth in all his power and glory to gather his people, judge the living and the dead, and usher in a new Creation, a new Paradise, a new Kingdom, where we will worship and enjoy him forever.

In the end, Jesus wins.

This is God’s story. This is what we believe.