Doctrine and Practice

Core Doctrines and Practices

  • Our most fundamental identity is “Christian” and our most fundamental allegiance is to Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 1:5, 17:14, 19:16), and to “the Kingdom of God/heaven”, of which we are citizens, and over which Jesus is reigning presently until all of His enemies are subdued in heaven and earth (Philippians 2:9-11; 3:20; Matthew 6:33; Genesis 3:15, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Revelation 11:15, 17; 12:5; Psalm 2; 110; Daniel 7:13-14, 18). As “Christians”, we are God the Father’s adopted children (Romans 8:15-16, Galatians 3:26, 4:5-7; 1 John 3:1), the true seed of Abraham and Israel of God (Rom 2:28-29; Galatians 3:7-9, 13-14, 29; 6:16; Philippians 3:3), and royal, holy priest-kings unto God (1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 1:6, 5:10). We are baptized into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19), and we believe and strive to follow/obey Jesus, who is the Truth, the Life, and the Way (John 14:6, cf Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22), in reliance presence and power of the Helper, the Holy Spirit who indwells us.  This “good confession” stands above and contextualizes all of our other commitments (1 Peter 3:15; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Timothy 6:13).
  • And as “Christians”, we are committed to discipling both neighbors and nations, unashamedly confessing Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9-10, 13) and declaring to all the good news of God’s gracious salvation and transformation of repentant sinners through our Lord Jesus Christ, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, training them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, teaching them by faith working through love to observe all that He has commanded us (Matthew 28:18-19; Titus 2:11-15; Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
  • As evangelical “Christians”, we, along with Jesus’s one, holy, worldwide, and apostolic church, — the “Christian” Church — hold to and confess the early ecumenical Church creeds (Apostles, Nicene, Chalcedonian). And we strive to walk in, preserve, and foster increasing unity and peace in the Spirit with other faithful, fruitful “Christian” churches, both local and abroad.
  • As Bible-believing, confessional presbyterian and Reformed “Christians”, we are also committed to preaching and teaching in accord with the Westminster Standards — the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), Shorter Catechism, and Larger Catechism. These do not supplant the supremacy of the Holy Scriptures as our only ultimate rule (standard) for faith and practice, but these ‘standards’ are faithful subordinate summaries of what we believe the Holy Scriptures teach.
  • We are committed to the historic doctrines of Biblical Reformed Christian faith, including the five “solas” of the Reformation, the doctrines of grace (TULIP), and covenant theology.
  • We affirm the Biblical regulative principle of worship, and in line with that we practice Biblically patterned covenant renewal worship.
  • We practice presbyterian church government.
  • We are family/generationally-integrated in our congregational worship and life.
  • We practice covenant baptism and celebrate weekly covenant communion.
  • We hold to a literal young earth six-day creation of all things out of nothing, by the word of God’s power, and all very good.
  • We believe in God’s priority and promises of covenant succession (i.e. Christian parents praying and laboring by sincere faith, love, and hope in our faithful God to raise children for God who are full of faith, love, and hope in God).
  • As we proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God to saints and sinners, we do so with a presuppositional apologetic, starting (and ending) with the bedrock assertion “let God be true, though every man a liar” (Rom 3:4a).
  • We rejoice in the sure victory of God’s heavenly kingdom on earth in history, before the final postmillennial return of Christ in glory, assured that Jesus Christ, our risen and reigning King/Head with all power and authority in heaven and earth entrusted to Him (Matt 28:18), will convert and conquer all nations by His power through His Church/Body by the effectual working of His Word and Spirit.
  • Lastly, as a local congregation of the one, holy, catholic (i.e., worldwide, not Roman Catholic), and apostolic Church that Jesus is building (Matthew 16:18), we are committed to living as a chosen, consecrated, connected, confessional, confessing, covenanted, commissioned, conquering, compassionate, and charitable Christian assembly (ekklesia) and community (koinonia), in affections, words, and deeds.