805 Straley Avenue, Princeton, West Virginia 24740, United States
What We Believe
From Our Church Constitution
- We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God revealing the love of God to the world. 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; John 3:16.
- We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; Ephesians 4:4-6.
- We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood on the cross, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-4 and 1:29; Acts 1:11 and 2:22-24; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-4 and 4:15.
- We believe that all men everywhere are lost and face the judgment of God, that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ is necessary. Furthermore we believe that God will reward the righteous with eternal life in heaven, and that He will banish the unrighteous to everlasting punishment in hell. Luke 24:46-47; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:10-11; Ephesians 1:7 and 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; Revelation 20:11-15.
- We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, whose indwelling enables the Christian to live a godly life. John 3:5-8; Acts 1:8 and 4:31; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Galatians 5:16-18; Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:6-10.
- We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and that all true believers are members of His body, the church and all believers can share in communion. 1 Corinthians 12:12, 27; Ephesians 1:22-23.
- We believe that the ministry of evangelism (sharing and proclaiming the message of salvation only possible by grace through faith in Jesus Christ) and discipleship (helping followers of Christ grow into maturity in Christ) is a responsibility of all followers of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:9-15; 1 Peter 3:15.
- We believe that we must dedicate ourselves to prayer, to the service of our Lord, to His authority over our lives, and to the ministry of evangelism. Matthew 9:35-38, 22:37-39, and 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:9-15 and 12:20-21; Galatians 6:10; Colossians 2:6-10; 1 Peter 3:15.
- We believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including all pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect and value all human life and we must have concern for the physical and spiritual needs of our fellowmen. Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 12:20-21; Galatians 6:10.
- These statements of faith do not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe as interpreted and applied by our governing Board. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible Word of God and is final authority concerning morality and conduct of mankind.
- We believe God's plan for human sexuality is to be expressed only within the context of marriage, that God created man and woman as unique biological persons made to complete each other. We believe that the term "marriage" has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man (genetic male) and one woman (genetic female) in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one's gender, or disagreement with one's biological gender, is sinful and offensive to God. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:18-25; Exodus 20-14, 16, 22:18; Leviticus 18:22-23, 20:13, 15-16; Deuteronomy 22:5; Matthew 15:16-20, 19:4-6,9; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 1:26-31; I Corinthians 6:9-10, 15-20; Philippians 2:14-16; Hebrews 13:4; I Timothy 1:8-11; Jude 7) We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the purposes and mission of the church and to provide a biblical role model to the congregation we serve, to the church’s members and to the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to this Statement on Marriage, Gender and Sexuality and conduct themselves accordingly.
- We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with scripture nor with the mission of the church.