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Our Worship
We believe our sole purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We purpose
to worship Him according to the simple pattern of the primitive, first-century church by regularly gathering together for
preaching, praying, and singing praise to His Holy Name. We acknowledge and agree to observe Baptism and the Lord's Supper
as ordinances of the New Testament Church. Moreover, we will follow the example of Christ in the washing of the saints'
feet.
We consent to support the welfare of the church by our regular attendance, prayer, communication of our
prosperity, Bible study, worship in our homes, and by endeavoring to attend to our ministers' needs as they spread the
gospel. We pledge to esteem our pastor highly in love for Christ's sake, as God has appointed him as our overseer. This
we will manifest by frequently and fervently praying for him, diligently attending on his ministry, encouraging his heart
and strengthening his hand to the utmost of our power in the work of the Lord. We will freely consult him as we have occasion
respecting our spiritual affairs, and communicate in a financial way to his needs as the Lord provides so that his efforts
may be wholly committed to the ministry of God's word.
With the Holy Bible as our only rule of faith and practice,
we submit the following articles to distinguish our beliefs in the areas they address.
Articles of Faith
1. We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the infallibly
inspired word of God, a thorough furnisher for every good work, and the only rule of faith and practice.1
1.) II Timothy 3:16; Acts 8:35.
2. We believe there is one true and living God2 who is eternal,3 immutable,4 the creator of all things, visible and invisible,5 who governs all things in righteousness, according to the counsel of His own will.6
He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures as Father, Word, and Holy Ghost.7 The
Word is Jesus Christ the Son of God who, while dwelling on earth in the flesh, made sacrificial atonement on the cross for
God's elect by suffering death for their sins. He is God incarnate,8 the fullness of the
Godhead manifest bodily.9
2.) Isaiah 43:11. 3.) Deuteronomy 33:27. 4.) Malachi 3:6. 5.) John 1:1-4. 6.) Daniel 4:35; Ephesians 1:11. 7.) I John 5:7. 8.) John 1:14-17. 9.) Colossians 2:9
3. We believe in total depravity: God created Adam good and upright;10
but by Adam's disobedience he became dead in trespasses and sin.11 As the fountainhead
of humanity, Adam passed his depraved nature to every human being,12 so that none are righteous,
making them unwilling and unable to change their own hearts and be saved from eternal condemnation.13
10.) Genesis 1:26-28. 11.) Genesis 2:16-17, 3:17-19. 12.) Romans 5:12-19. 13.)
Romans 3:11-18.
4. We believe in election:14 God, before the foundation
of the world,15 chose by His own sovereign will, and not by foreseen merit in any who were
chosen, a definite number of persons in Christ Jesus to salvation16 while passing by others,
leaving them in their reprobate condition.17 He thereby demonstrated His sovereignty
and power for the purpose of His own glory18 by having mercy on whom He will have mercy.19
14.) Romans 9:11. 15.)Ephesians 1:4. 16.) Romans
8:33; John 10:27-29. 17.) Matthew 7:21-23; Jeremiah 18:4; Romans 9:21. 18.) II Timothy 2:10; I Peter 5:10-11.
19.) Romans 9:15-16.
5. We believe in regeneration: All elect persons in all ages
are born again in the same manner by the operation of God's Spirit, which is a direct, immediate, and irresistible work
of the Holy Ghost,20 void of intermediate means or instrumentalities.21
Regeneration changes the heart and creates a new spirit in Christ Jesus in all who are born again22
so that, as God's workmanship, they can and should do good works as God before ordained.23
All who are thus quickened are preserved in Christ and shall never fall from grace.24
20.) John 3:5-7; Colossians 2:10-15. 21.) Matthew 27:44; Luke 23:40-43; Acts 9:3-4.
22.) John 3:6; II Corinthians 5:17-21. 23.) Ephesians 2:10. 24.) John 10:27-28.
6. We
believe that justification, the declaration of righteousness,25 is grounded entirely upon the
imputed righteousness of Christ Jesus26 through faith.27
25.) Romans 3:24-28. 26.) Romans 4:24-25, 5:1; I Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:5-7. 27.)
Romans 4:2-16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23-28; Galatians 2:16.
7. We believe the gospel is the principle
means by which the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.28 It is the
power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes,29 in that it calls on regenerates to
repent and be converted.30 The gospel is an instrument of evangelism,31
and evangelism is a principle expression of conversion.32
28.)
Romans 1:16-17; Philippians 1:7. 29.) Romans 1:16; Acts 13:48. 30.) Acts 3:19. 31.) II Timothy 4:2-5; Mark
16:9-10. 32.) Psalms 51:10-13; Galatians 1:16-17.
8. We believe the visible Church of Christ
is a local assembly composed of a body of baptized believers33 with Christ as the head,34 who have obtained fellowship by submitting themselves to each other and the Lord in regularly
assembling and worshiping together35 and keeping a godly discipline according to the word of
God alone.36 The church receives all its authority from and is wholly accountable to
Christ alone in all matters of faith and practice.37
33.)
Acts 2:44-47, 8:1, 14:27, 15:6-35; I Corinthians 12:18-27. 34.) Ephesians 1:22, 5:23-24. 35.) Acts 2:46-47; Hebrews
10:24-25. 36.) I Timothy 5:20; I Corinthians 5:4-8; II Corinthians 2:6-8; II Thessalonians 3:6. 37.) Revelations
2:1-5.
9. We believe Baptism38 and the Lord's Supper39
are ordinances in the Church that are administered by appropriately ordained ministers of the gospel; and washing the saints'
feet is a duty incumbent on those who are properly baptized and thereby privileged to partake of the Lord's Supper.40
38.) Acts 2:41-47; I Corinthians 1:16. 39.) Luke 22:15-20;
I Corinthians 10:15-17, 11:23-26. 40.) John 13:14; I Timothy 5:9-10.
10. We believe those
who are born again, profess faith in Christ, and make it known by their fruits of good works are fit subjects for baptism41 in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.42
41.) Acts 8:36-38, 8:12-13; Matthew 3:7-11. 42.) Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38, 8:12, 10:47-48.
11. We believe the proper mode of baptism is immersion.43 The proper
administrator is one called of God to preach the gospel who has come under the hands of the presbytery.44
43.) John 3:23; Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:37. 44.) Acts 19:1-6; Matthew
28:19; Acts 13:2-3; I Timothy 4:14.
12. We believe in a general, bodily resurrection of the dead,
including both the just and unjust, at the Second Coming of Christ when God shall declare His judgment toward all.45
The wicked shall be raised to receive an eternal punishment of fiery torment in hell46 for
the things they have done. The righteous, by virtue of the shed blood of Christ, shall be raised in immortal, incorruptible
bodies47 and shall forever reside with God and thereby receive eternal blessing.48
45.) Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; II Thessalonians 1:6-9. 46.) Revelations 20:12-14;
Romans 9:22-24. 47.) Philippians 3:19-21; II Thessalonians 1:10; I Corinthians 15:51-57. 48.) I Thessalonians
4:16-17.
The Community of the Church
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,
we confess that God has called us out from the world to unite in Christ as a community of believers. We submit to walk together
in a local assembly to the glory of God and the edification of each other in love, to bear one another's burdens, strengthen
one another's faith, encourage each other's gifts, and comfort one another's souls. We will spend ourselves in
seeking to uphold the spiritual, emotional, and physical welfare of one another, rejoicing with those that do rejoice and
weeping with those that do weep. In so doing, we will endeavor to have consistent, godly fellowship with all the members of
this church in times of worship and in our daily lives.
We further agree to consistently exhort one another to
deny ungodliness, charitably reprove those that need direction, and with all long suffering, rebuke those who have stepped
out of the way; while always seeking reconciliation, being mindful of our Savior's admonition that we forgive those who
repent. We further assert that if any of us move from this place we will, as soon as possible, unite with some other body
of believers where we can carry out the tenets and spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's word.
Our Witness
Inasmuch as the gospel church is a light set upon a hill, we promise to guide our
walk in a manner which becometh those who profess godliness. We also pledge to seek God's glory in our daily walk by promoting
the gospel, praying, studying the word, fleeing all appearance of ungodliness, and humbling ourselves before God and others,
being careful to maintain good works while seeking to live quietly and peaceably with all men. In seeking to present our lives
as credible witnesses, we will at every opportunity testify to others that Jesus is the Christ, endeavoring to witness as
to the goodness, mercy, holiness, righteousness, and judgment of God in our lives. In this, we commit to stand ready to give
an answer for the wonderful hope we have in Christ Jesus, our Lord. As part of our witness testimony, we will encourage others
to come hear the good news presented in the gospel.
We humbly submit to these and all other gospel duties, promising
and purposing to perform them, not in the power of our own strength, being conscious of our many weaknesses, but in the power
and strength of the blessed God, to whom we belong and desire to serve. To God be glory both now and forevermore. Amen.
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