Mission: To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Our Beliefs
- We believe that God is the Lord of all creation and of all history. We believe that God is everywhere at once, all powerful and all knowing. God is absolute, infinite, righteous, just, loving, merciful, and so much more.
- We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s son who was sent to earth and died on the cross to save humanity from our sins. We proclaim that Jesus is our Lord, the one to whom we give our devoted allegiance.
- We believe that the Holy Spirit is God’s present activity in our midst. When we sense God’s leading, God’s challenge, or God’s support or comfort, it’s the Holy Spirit at work.
- We believe that humans have been made in the image of the Creator. Like God we have the capacity to love and care, to communicate, and to create.
- We believe that the church is the body of Christ, an extension of Christ’s life and ministry in the world today.
- We believe that the Bible is the primary authority for our faith and practice.
Additional Beliefs about God.
- God creates. In the beginning God created the universe, and the Creation is ongoing. From the whirling galaxies, to subatomic particles, to the unfathomable wonders of our own minds and bodies—we marvel at God’s creative wisdom.
- God sustains. God continues to be active in creation, holding all in “the everlasting arms.” In particular, we affirm that God is involved in our human history—past, present, and future.
- God loves. God loves all creation. In particular, God loves humankind, created in the divine image. This love is like that of a parent. We’ve followed Jesus in speaking of God as “our Father,” while at times it seems that God nurtures us in a motherly way as well.
- God suffers. Since God is present in creation, God is hurt when any aspect of creation is hurt. God especially suffers when people are injured. In all violence, abuse, injustice, prejudice, hunger, poverty, or illness, the living God is suffering in our midst.
- God judges. All human behavior is measured by God’s righteous standards—not only the behavior itself but also the motive or the intent. The Lord of life knows our sin—and judges it.
- God redeems. Out of infinite love for each of us, God forgives our own self-destruction and renews us within. God is reconciling the individuals, groups, races, and nations that have been rent apart. God is redeeming all creation.
Additional Beliefs about Jesus
- Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, which means God’s Appointed One.
- Jesus lived as a human in every sense. He was tempted, he wept, he expressed anger.
- We believe that Jesus is our savior, the one through whom God has freed us of our sin and has given us the gift of whole life, eternal life, and salvation. We believe that God has done this through the mystery of Jesus’ self-giving sacrifice on the cross and his victory over sin and death in the Resurrection.