The lighthouse will lead you home

Statements of Belief*

Generations:
Z’s/Adaptives (12 & under)
Y’s/Millenials (13-18)
X’ers or Busters (19-36)
Boomers (37-56)
Silents (57-75)
Seniors (76 and older)

The Spiritual
You Can Know God!
Now That I'm A Christian!
What We Believe
(It's The Best)

I. The Scriptures
The Holy Bible contains 66 books that are the inspired words of God that has been revealed to men through the Holy Spirit, and is God’s revelation of himself to all people. It is infallible due to its dependability and reliability of directing the non-Christian to a loving God who desires to share His saving grace with them through his son Jesus Christ, and to the Christian it is the sole authority for which a Christ like life should be lived. It is inerrant due to all of its matter being true without any mixture of error. It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness in order that the Christian will be thoroughly equipped to perform Christ’s work in the world. It will last forever. II Samuel 22:31; Isaiah 40:8; John 3:16; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8; II Timothy 3:16.

II. One Triune God Who Is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
There is only one true and living God. He is the most intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being; the creator, redeemer, preserver, and ruler of the universe. He is all powerful, all knowing, and His presence extends to the past, present, and future. He reveals himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of Being.

The Father is the head of the trinity, into whose hands the eternal Kingdom shall be given.

He is Jesus Christ who was born of the virgin Mary. He was given so mankind could know God personally through His life, death, and resurrection as our Savior. He now sits at the right hand of God as our advocate against Satan and intercessor to the Father. He will return in visible bodily form for the final victory over sin, the triumph of His people, and the judgment of the world.

The Holy Spirit is a person who has been sent from God to initially convict each human of sin, to guide the Christian in righteousness, and to proclaim judgment. He also exists to regenerate and cleanse the Christian from sins committed after their salvation, and to teach, strengthen, and perfect the believer.

See scripture references in sections A, B, and C that follow.

A. God the Father
God as Father divinely reigns over and cares for the universe, which He created, the creatures that live in that universe, human history, present events, and the future according to His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He is the father of truth to those who become his children through faith in Jesus Christ. God is perfect in all his ways.
Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; 10:17; I Chronicles 29:10; Isaiah 43:3a; 64:6; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 28:19; John 14:6,7; 17:1-8; Romans 8:14,15; I Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:15-17; I Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:2.

B. God the Son
Jesus Christ was and is God’s son. Being fully God and fully man He is God incarnate. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. At His birth and throughout His life, He took on human nature with all its frailties, demands, necessities, and temptations to identify Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. By His substitutionary death on the cross He made it possible for people of all ages to be redeemed from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to his disciples and many other witnesses. He ascended into heaven where He is exalted at the right hand of God. He is the only mediator of reconciliation between God and man. He is the Christian’s advocate between God and sin. He will return to earth victoriously to judge the world and to complete His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all Christians through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 18:1; Psalms 2:7; 110:1; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; Matthew 28:10; Acts 13:33; Luke 22:70; Luke 24:46; Romans 1:3-4; 5:8; I Corinthians 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8, 24; II Corinthians 5:17-19; Ephesians 1:20; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 4:14-15; I John 1:9; 2:1; Revelation 12:10-11; 19:16.

C. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired all the writers of The Bible. He enables mankind to understand The Bible. He exalts Christ. He convicts all people of sin and thus calls them to the Savior. He shows God's righteousness and Gods judgment of condemnation upon Satan. He is the Comforter of all Christians. He bestows gifts upon all Christians, which they are to use for the building up of the Church. He cultivates the Christian’s character. He seals the Christian until the day of final redemption.
Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 61:1-3; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Romans 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; I Corinthians 3:16; 12:3-11; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; II Timothy 3:16.

III. Man (The Human Race)
Men and women are the special creation of God, made in His own image. They are the crowning work of God’s creation; thus the gift of gender is part of the goodness of God’s creation. From the time they were created they were without sin, but had the freedom of choice. By this free choice, they sinned against God when tempted by Satan, and brought sin into the human race. Once people become mindful of moral and immoral thoughts and/or acts, they become transgressors against God. Only the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ His son can bring people to redemption with the Father. This redemption allows men and women to truly worship God and fulfill His purpose for their lives. Since God created man in His own image, every person of every race is worthy of dignity and Christian love.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:7, 18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalm 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Luke 10: 27-37; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:20; 8:14-17; Ephesians 2:4-10; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:11.

IV. Evangelism
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man's spirit by God's Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-18; 24:46-53; John 14:11-12; 15:7-8,16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 22:17.

V. Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, who by His own blood shed on the cross obtained eternal redemption and security for the believer. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ.
Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; 3:16-18; 5:24; 10:9, 28-29; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23-25; 5:8-10; 6:23; 10:9-10, 13; I John 1:7-2:2.

VI. The Church
The Church is made up of Christians of all ages. It includes people of all races throughout the world. In many cases, members of the Church come together in one place to worship God, grow in their faith through the preaching and teaching of The Bible, and fellowship. This is called a congregation. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. Each member is directly accountable to Christ as Lord.
Matthew 16:15-18; Acts 2:41-42, 47; 5:14; 16:5; I Corinthians 1:2; 12:1-28; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:10-11; Colossians 1:18; I Peter 2:9.

VII. The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institute of human society. It is composed of persons related to each other by marriage, blood, or adoption.

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. In marriage, God provides the framework to enjoy intimate companionship, sexual relations according to biblical standards, and the means for the continued creation of the human race. Marriage is also the union between Christ and His church.

The husband and wife are of equal value to God, since He created both in His image. The marriage relationship follows the way God relates to His people. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. When the husband performs this type of servant leadership, his wife has the God-given responsibility to respect him and to submit herself graciously to him as the church willingly submits itself to the headship of Christ. She also has the responsibility of helping the husband to manage their household and nurture their children.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to love their children and not provoke them to wrath. Children are to honor and obey their parents. Parents are to demonstrate their love for each other and their love for their children through God’s pattern for marriage, and to set an example by living a Christ like lifestyle. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to make choices based on biblical truth. Parents should lovingly discipline their children.

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15b; Psalm 78:4b; 128:3; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-23; 12:4; 13:24; 15:1; 17:6; 22:6; 29:15,17; Mark 10:6-10, 13-15; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; I Timothy 5:8; Hebrews 13:4.

*adapted from The Baptist Faith and Message