God: We believe in one creator God who eternally exists in the loving unity of three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Gen 1:26; Deut 6:4–5; Matt 28:19–20). God created our good world out of his self-giving love, which is to the glory of his name (Gen 1–2; Psalm 19; Acts 17:25).

The Bible: We believe that the Bible—both the Old and New Testaments—is the story of God creating the world and then rescuing it from the sin and evil that has broken it to ultimately bring about a new creation. This story is the very word of God, and therefore it carries his authority and is the measure of what is true. The climax of the story is the coming of God’s own Son Jesus, the Word of God in flesh (Heb 1:1–3; Luke 24:44–49; 1 Cor 15:3–4; John 1:14).

Jesus Christ: We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is Israel’s Messiah and the embodiment of the one true God (Mark 8:27–30; John 1:1–18; Heb 1:1–3). He was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, and inaugurated the kingdom of God through his public ministry and ultimately through his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven (Matt 12:28; Mark 9:1, 15:26; Luke 1:26–38; John 19:19; Acts 1:1–11).

The Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is God’s presence poured out into the world following Jesus’ ascension into heaven (Acts 2:14–47; Rom 8:9–11; John 16:7; Matt 28:20). Consequently, the overarching mission of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus (John 16:14). The Spirit does this through convicting the world of sin (John 16:8–11), giving people new spiritual life through hearing and believing in the gospel (John 3:1–16; Titus 3:4–7), and leading believers to live their lives in conformity to the image of Christ (Rom 8:12–17, 29; Gal 5:1–26).

Humanity: We believe that all humans—male and female—are made in the image of God and are consequently called to be a royal priesthood: ruling over creation with God’s wisdom and love and leading creation in the worship of God (Gen 1:26–28; Exod 19:6; 1 Pet 2:9–10; Rev 1:6, 5:10).

The Fall and Sin: We believe that Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent into disobeying God, which resulted in sin entering the world, a curse falling on the world, exile from God’s presence, and ultimately death for all (Gen 3; Rom 5:12–19, 8:18–25; Rev 12:9). All humans have joined in with this original sin, which at its heart is idolatry, or worshipping other gods (Rom 1:23–28). Furthermore, we believe that there are evil powers behind the idols we worship, the chief of which is Satan or the devil (Eph 6:11–12; Rev 12–13).

The Gospel: We believe that the gospel is the good news that God has established his kingdom through the death and resurrection of Jesus (Mark 1:15; 1 Cor 15:3–4; Isa 40:9, 52:7). As Israel’s Messiah, Jesus’ death in the place of humanity breaks the power of sin, and consequently death and the powers of evil are defeated and dethroned since sin is the source of their power (Isa 53:4–6; John 12:31–32; Rom 8:1–4; Col 2:13–15; 1 Cor 15:54–57). This results in the resurrection of Jesus—the beginning of the new creation and the first and chief sign that sin and death have been defeated (1 Cor 15:17–28). The response that the gospel calls for is repentance and faith, which means turning away from worshipping idols and instead worshipping the one true God (Mark 1:15; Acts 14:15; 1 Cor 15:2).

The Church: We believe that the church is the Spirit-filled people of God who have been justified by faith on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus (Rom 3:21–26, 4:16–25, 8:9–11). The church is both the sign that God’s new creation has begun and participants in God’s work of renewing all things (2 Cor 5:16–21; Gal 6:15; Eph 1:14).

The Sacraments: We believe that Jesus gave the church two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the rite of passage for Christians as they place their faith in Jesus and become a part of his family. The plunging into the water and coming out again represents the death of the old life that was crucified with Jesus and the new life that comes through his resurrection and by the Holy Spirit (Rom 6:1–4; Matt 3:1–11). The Lord’s Supper is an ongoing sacrament through which the church remembers Jesus’ death, experiences communion with Jesus and one another, and looks ahead to Jesus’ return and the feast to come (Luke 22:19; John 6:56; 1 Cor 10:17, 11:26; Rev 19:1–10).

Christian Living: We believe that Christians are progressively transformed by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of Jesus, the true image of God (Rom 8:28–30; Heb 10:14; Col 1:15). This is a restoration of the original human vocation to be the royal priesthood, and it can be summarized in a word as love—love for God and love for our neighbors (Matt 22:37–40; Rom 12:1; Col 3:14; 1 Cor 13; James 2:8; 1 John 4:7–12).

Christ’s Return: We believe that one day Jesus will come again to make all things new (Acts 1:9–11; Rev 19:11–16, 21:1–7). He will justly judge the living and the dead (John 5:22–30; 2 Tim 4:1; Rev 20:11–15). The righteous will be resurrected in glorious, transformed bodies in God’s restored creation—a new heaven and a new earth—while the wicked will suffer away from this new world (Isa 65–66; Rom 2:5–11, 8:18–25; Rev 20–22).