What We Believe

We are…

Biblical

We believe that the Bible is God's word. God inspired men to write each of the 66 books in our Old and New Testament, and therefore the Bible is without error and everything it teaches is true.

Because it is God's word, we are dedicated to the Bible as the only rule and direction for our faith and life. In everything we do, whether on Sunday mornings or throughout the week, we seek to conform our lives to God's holy standard.

Reformed and Confessional

Though Scripture alone is sufficient for us, we are not sufficient for it. Therefore, we happily confess and believe in the historic and ecumenical creeds of the church (the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed).

In particular, we belong to the Reformed family of churches. Our beliefs are summarized in a collection of documents called the Westminster Standards, to which all of our elders subscribe. These standards consist of the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. These documents form the basis of what we believe about God and His Word. We also benefit from another collection of Reformed documents called the Three Forms of Unity (the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dort). 

We believe that all of these documents, creeds, and confessions are faithful interpretations of Scripture, though are never placed above Scripture. They are not inspired, but they are inspiring. They are not the Bible, but they are Biblical.

Presbyterian

The word “Presbyterian” simply means that we are governed by elders who have been called to serve the church. Put another way, this means that we are not a one-man or a one-church show. At the local church level, we are governed by a plurality of elders (called the Session). These men share in the work of governing and providing spiritual oversight to the congregation.

We are also a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), and a member of the PCA's Hills and Plains Presbytery. The PCA was formed in 1973 but has its roots in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries. You can learn more about the history of our denomination here.

Please look through the list below to read some more short summaries of our beliefs. A full and complete list of all our beliefs can be found in the Westminster Standards. You can also learn more about our Mission, Vision, and Seven Foundations.

  • The Word of God is contained in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. It is inerrant and the only infallible rule of faith and life.

    • Eph. 2:20; Rev. 22:18-19; 2 Tim. 3:16-17

  • God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. God exists eternally in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

    • John 4:24; Job 11:7; Psa. 90:2; Exod. 3:14; 34:6-7; Matt. 28:19; 1 John 5:7

  • God made mankind male and female, in His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.

    • Gen. 1:27-28; Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24

  • Sin is any lack of conformity to, or transgression of, God’s holy law. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. We are all born guilty in Adam’s first sin.

    • 1 John 3:4; Gen. 2:17; Gen. 3:6-8; Rom. 5:18

  • Out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, God elected some of fallen humanity to everlasting life, and entered into a covenant of grace with them. In this covenant, God delivers and saves his people from sin and death through a Redeemer. This Redeemer is Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who became man. Christ was, and continues to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever.

    • Eph. 1:4; Rom. 3:21-22; 1 Tim. 2:5; John 1:14; Rom. 9:5; Heb. 7:24

  • Our sin justly deserves God’s wrath. Yet, through faith in Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven. Saving faith is receiving and resting upon Christ alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.

    • John 1:12; Titus 3:5-6; Eph. 2:8; Eph. 3:17; 2 TIm 1:9; Acts 2:37; 26:18; Ezek. 36:26; John 6:44-45; Acts 20:21; Phil. 3:9; Heb. 10:39

  • Good works are the fruit and evidence of true saving faith, and are only those done in accordance with God’s law, comprehended in the 10 Commandments, and summarized by Christ, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

    • Mic. 6:8; Rom. 2:14-15; Deut 10:4; Matt. 19:17; 22:37-40; Exod 20:1-17

  • Marriage is to be between one man and one woman for life. It is unlawful for any to have more than one spouse at one time. Any sexual activity outside of lawful, biblical marriage is sinful.

    • Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5-6; Prov. 2:17

  • The invisible church consists of the whole number of God’s elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one body under Christ. The church being the spouse and body of Christ. We distinguish the invisible with the visible church, which is the local expression of Christ’s body in any given location, consisting of members united to one another through their common profession of faith.

    • Eph. 1:10, 22-23; 5:23-32; Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 1:2; 12:12-13; Rom. 15:9-12; Acts 2:47

  • A sacrament is instituted by Christ to be a holy sign and seal of his covenant of grace. In each sacrament, Christ and the benefits of his covenant, are represented, sealed, and applied to believers. The sacraments of the church are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

    • Gen. 17:10; Rom. 4:11; Mark 16:16; 1 Cor 11:23

  • Baptism is the washing with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, that signifies and seals our being ingrafted into Christ and partakers of the covenant of grace. Baptism is properly administered to both believers and their children.

    • Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:3-4; Acts 2:41; Gen. 17:7, 10

  • The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament where Christ’s death is shown forth in the bread and the wine. The elements do not change substance or transform, but remain bread and wine. Yet, by faith, we truly partake of Christ’s body and blood, with all his benefits, for our spiritual nourishment and growth in grace. This sacrament is for those who are of age and can make a credible profession of faith.

    • Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 10:16; 11:17-34

  • At death, our bodies return to the dust, but our souls immediately return to God. The souls of the righteous are made perfect in holiness and brought into God’s presence. The souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain, reserved for the judgment on the day of Christ’s return. On that day, the bodies of believers will be raised and united again to their souls forever. The bodies of the unbelievers be raised to suffer the judgment of Christ against sin.

    • Gen. 3:19; Acts 13:36; Luke 23:43; Heb. 12:23; Acts 1:25; Jude 6-7; 1 Pet. 3:19; 1 Thess. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; Acts 24:15; Phil 3:21