: : THE CHURCH : :

We believe the Universal Church, the Body and Bride of Christ, is not an organization but a spiritual organism comprised of all who have expressed saving faith in Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord. The Church is not a religious institution or denomination. Rather, the Church is made up of those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It also exists to serve Him by faithfully doing His will on earth. We believe the church began at Pentecost and that a believer is placed into the church by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. We believe that the local church is an assembly of professed believers in Jesus Christ who are voluntarily joined together in one locality for the purpose of worship, study of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances, Christian fellowship, and equipping for Christian service. We believe that the local church has the right under Christ to decide and govern its own affairs through the leadership of the Church Elders. We believe it is God’s intention that all believers publicly identify with a visible local fellowship (Acts 2:1-4, 2:41-47, 4:19, 5:29; I Cor. 1:1, 2, 5:3-8, 10:32, 12:12-13; Eph. 1:22-23).

: : CHURCH GOVERNMENT : :

We believe that the terms “elder”, “bishop”, and “pastor” are synonymous in scripture and that the church is to be ruled by a plurality of elders, and that none of these elders is to be of higher “rank”, either in theory or in practice, than the other elders. Some elders may have a teaching gift and may appear more visible, but all authority is in Christ the head with the elders accepting the stewardship of shepherding the flock. Only the Lead Pastor (Elder) may receive financial pay (I Pet. 5:1-2; Acts 14;20; Phil. 1:1, I Tim. 5:17).