What we believe
The Doctrinal Standard
Our complete doctrinal standard is open for you to read: what we believe, what we do, and where we stand. Our bylaws require every doctrinal position to be published.
Download the Doctrine and Positions PDFPublishing the complete doctrinal standard is required by our bylaws, which are also available to read in full.
Part One
What We Believe
Held because Scripture establishes it, and we are not free to hold otherwise.
Read full sectionGod
One God, eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — the Father sends, the Son is sent and is Himself God come in the flesh, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and is sent by the Son.
Humanity
God formed us and breathed His own breath into us. His act, not our capacity, is what makes us His image, so the image neither increases with intelligence nor diminishes with disability.
Sin and the Fall
Everyone in this church sins and falls short of the mercy and grace of God. The Christian life is the active pursuit of repentance and forgiveness, not the achievement of sinlessness.
Christ
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, crucified, risen bodily, ascended, and returning. His words carry absolute authority, and what He established stands until He Himself sets it aside.
Salvation
Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Free will and the sovereignty of God are both fully true, and we hold both rather than resolving the tension toward Calvin or Arminius.
The Church
The church is the body of believers gathered in His name — a people one belongs to by faith. Wheat and tares grow together, and the sorting belongs to Christ.
The Last Things
Christ will return, the dead will rise, and all will be judged. We hold those certainties with full confidence and leave the schedule to God, welcoming believers who read the timing differently.
Creation
God is the supreme architect of the universe. Scripture leaves the age of the earth open, and so do we — what is established is the Creator.
Spiritual Gifts
We hold generally to cessationism regarding the sign gifts: the gathering keeps to worship, the Word, and prayer, without tongues, prophecy, or public displays of miraculous gifting.
The Sabbath
Both the Father and the Son command that a Sabbath be kept, and we keep it. The command is given to each person, so which day and what it requires is between that person and God.
Part Two
What We Do
A church must act, and where Scripture leaves the manner to us, we have decided. These are held with conviction and are open to revision as we are corrected by Scripture.
Read full sectionBaptism
We baptize anyone who asks — any age, any prior baptism or none. Everyone who comes to the water is received; Christ will sort the sheep from the goats, and that work is His.
The Lord’s Supper
As often as possible, and no less than weekly. The table is open, as it was with Christ; those partaking should be baptized, and participation is on the honor system between each person and God.
The Gathering
Worship, then the message, then the business of the church. The church is elder-led, and all who come and worship the Lord are the church — we keep no membership roll.
Ordination
We ordain our own pastors and ministers and hold the authority to revoke that standing. Our ministers may sign state marriage licenses.
Living in the World
We take no side among the nations of men, and we are not Christian nationalists. Our only agenda is to make the kingdom of heaven as crowded as possible.
Part Three
Positions on Contested Questions
These are stated plainly because people ask, and a church that will not answer is no use to anyone.
Read full sectionMarriage
Marriage is the union of one man and one woman, grounded in creation and affirmed by Christ Himself.
Divorce and Remarriage
The only acceptable ground for divorce is adultery. We take people as they come and leave their history to God — we exist to help and to heal in the name of Jesus Christ.
Same-Sex Sexual Relations
Same-sex sexual relations are forbidden. Anyone may come and seek the light of Jesus Christ; serving, working, and the Supper are for those not living in open, unrepentant sin, and that standard applies to every sin alike.
Sex and Gender
We recognize people in the form in which God knit them together at birth and teach the Genesis understanding of male and female.
Cohabitation
Christ did not explicitly forbid cohabitation, and we teach only what He commanded. We counsel toward righteous living and defer to the Lord in these matters.
Abortion
We are absolutely against abortion. The unborn bear the image of God, formed by Him and given His breath.
Contraception
We honor each person’s decision of conscience on contraception, since Scripture gives no direct principle governing it. We encourage sexual relations within marriage.
IVF and Medical Intervention
IVF is a gift from God. Medical miracles are evidence of God’s mercy and love.
End of Life
The intentional destruction of life is an abomination. But relief from suffering is the promise of Christ, and no one should be forced to be artificially sustained in suffering.
Suicide
Suicide is categorically impermissible. Anyone in this church who is suffering to that degree should come to us — that is what we are here for.
Funerals
We conduct funeral services for anyone who asks, committing the body back to the earth and the spirit into the hands of Jesus Christ.
Women in Ministry
Christ kept women in His company and in His service, and He forbids them no part in the ministry of His church.