Statement Of Faith

The Word of God

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in the original manuscripts, though written by human authors, were breathed out by God, and are therefore authoritative, inerrant, and sufficient, containing all things necessary to be known and believed for salvation, life, and godliness. (Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:3-4, 19-21)

The Triune God

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that these three are equal in every divine perfection; and that this God is the Creator and Ruler of all things and is the center of our worship. (Genesis 1:1-2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Chronicles 16:23-25; Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19-20; John 1:1-3)

God the Father

We believe in God the Father who sovereignly rules over all that He created and continues to care for and sustain in providence all that exists. (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 115:3; Daniel 4:35; Matthew 6:9; Ephesians 1:11)

God the Son - Jesus Christ

We believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, God’s only Son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and is fully God and fully man—the only mediator between God and man. (Matthew 1:23-25; John 1: 14; John 3:16; John 20:28; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Philippians 2:5–7; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:15)

God the Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit who glorifies the Father and the Son, convicts the world of sin, regenerates hearts, indwells all believers, gives gifts to all believers, and guides all believers in obedience to the truth. (John 16:8, 14-15; 1 Corinthians 12:7; Romans 8:13-14; Titus 3:5)

Humanity

We believe humans were created by God in His own image as perfect, holy, and upright, able to keep God’s law, yet liable to fall. As the representative of the human race, Adam freely chose to disobey God, thereby plunging humanity into the death of sin, thus all men are now sinners by nature and practice, deserving eternal condemnation and unable to rescue themselves apart from God’s free and sovereign grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe God created humans as male and female and ordained marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:24; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12-13; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-10)

Atonement

We believe Jesus Christ, according to the will of God the Father, offered Himself as a substitutionary atoning sacrifice, and all who repent from their sin and believe in Him have eternal life; by His death on the cross and resurrection, Jesus defeated evil, sin, and death. (Isaiah 53:10; John 3:16; Acts 2:38; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:14)

Salvation

We believe salvation is accomplished alone by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and true faith in the gospel will be made evident by a life of repentance and godliness. (Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12)

Resurrection

We believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead as the first-fruits of our resurrection, and in His ascension into heaven to the right hand of the Father. (Acts 1:9-11; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8, 20)

The Church

We believe in the universal Church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerate persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a body of baptized believers in Jesus Christ, assembled for the purpose of: joyfully exalting the Lord in corporate worship; edifying one another; and equipping the saints to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and make disciples of all nations, thus fulfilling the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:42; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 2:19-22; Ephesians 4:4-6; Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:9)

The Ordinances

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe water baptism by immersion of a believer into the name of the triune God signifies one’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We believe the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for: a continual representation of the gospel, a memorial of Christ’s suffering and death, and the anticipation of the return of Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 22:19-20; John 6:48-58; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Last Things

We believe in the imminent, personal, and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the endless suffering of the wicked, and the eternal joy of the righteous. (Matthew 16:27; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:20, 54-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Titus 2:13; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:1-9)

Guiding Principles

1 – God’s Word will Govern and Guide:

The Bible will take precedence in our church. Clear preaching and teaching of God’s truth with active application at every age level will be our mainstay. Our formal teaching should prompt us toward greater personal study and its implications in our life. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; James 1:22-25)

2 – Grace and Truth Will Permeate Everything:

The gospel of Jesus Christ will be central in all that we do. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is the only way to find forgiveness and enter a restored relationship with God. Our relationship with each other and with those who have not yet recognized their need for Jesus will be characterized by grace and truth. (John 1:14; 1 Peter 3:15)

3 – Life Change is a Normal Expectation:

With Jesus, everything about us is impacted and we are responsible to make clear choices of obedience to him. We should expect to be challenged to say “No” to sin and “Yes” to God in practical steps of action. (Matthew 7:24-27; Titus 2:11-14)

4 – Prayer is Our Heartbeat:

Our desire to seek God’s direction will be reflected in our communication with him. We will eagerly look for opportunities to partner with others in prayer as we look to see God active in our passions, needs, concerns, and opportunities. (Matthew 6:5-15; Philippians 4:6-7)

5 – Unity in Relationships is Key:

The defining characteristic of our relationships is to be love. We are designed to be in relationship with both God and others, and God uses relationships to help us grow. We are committed to providing contexts for relationships to thrive and grow. (John 13:34-35; Hebrews 10:24-25)

6 – Everyone has a Role:

We recognize that every Christian in our church has a role to play in helping us grow as a healthy ministry. We will honor Jesus Christ as head of the church and show proper respect and support for those in positions of leadership. We will encourage everyone to step up with a willingness to serve and to lead. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Peter 4:10)

7 – Missions is Our Privilege:

When Jesus gave us his Great Commission, it was made clear that we are to share the gospel throughout the world. Toward that end, we want to maintain a perspective of what God is doing around the globe. We want to commit ourselves to partnering with individuals and organizations who have a primary goal of bringing people to Jesus and establishing ministries of discipleship. We will endeavor to be a church with a sending culture where we are encouraged to be involved first hand. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8)

8 – Bring Joy to Our Community:

God has placed us in Hamilton to demonstrate the joy that comes through knowing Jesus and we want our reputation to support that effort. We will serve Jesus by endeavoring to help those who are hurting or in need and by engaging in good deeds for his honor. We will make every effort to show appropriate respect to everyone in our community and to come alongside them in assistance whenever possible. In our relationship to other churches, we will strive to advance the kingdom of God together while maintaining our doctrinal distinctive. (Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 2:8-10)

9 – Risk is Worth the Reward:

Sacrificial love and action should be our aim, not comfort and convenience. The world and culture around us is in an increasing state of change. We will be eager to adapt and adjust our ministry approach to the context in which we live in order to win people to Christ and effectively make disciples. We will hold up the worth of Christ in the midst of costly obedience as we seek to wisely engage a culture that needs Jesus. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23; Philippians 2:5-8)

10 – Worship is a Lifestyle, not an Event:

Worship is so much more than a musical experience. Worship is standing in awe of who God is and what he has done and responding in acts of generosity with every resource at our disposal. (Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15)

11 – Kids are Highly Valued:

We see children as a gift from God that should be prized. We will place a high priority on the needs and training of children so that they can grow up with confidence in a God they can trust and a Savior they can rely upon for their salvation. We will strive to keep them safe and work to create a place where they can flourish and then launch out to serve Jesus. (Mark 10:13-16; Ephesians 6:4)