I. Scripture | The Bible is God’s inerrant revelation of himself to humanity. It was written by men divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. All Scripture testifies to Jesus Christ, who is the fullest revelation of God and the focus of Scripture.

II. God the Father | God is a person, not just a spiritual force. He created the world and continues to preserve it. God is eternal and infinite, so he is all powerful, all knowing, all wise, perfect, unchanging, the highest good and beauty, and completely holy and pure. He deserves complete worship from everyone just for who he is, even if he did nothing, but he also deserves praise for all his good works, not least of which includes creation and salvation.

III. God the Son | God the Son is fully God in himself, just like God the Father, and together they are one God. The Son of God demonstrates every attribute of God to the infinite degree and is one with God in nature, will, knowledge, and power. Jesus Christ is the incarnation of the eternal Son of God. While remaining fully divine, he took upon himself a fully human nature and lived a completely human life. Although totally human, Jesus lived in complete obedience to God, never sinning, even to the point of dying on the cross. On the cross, he took upon himself the judgment of God for sin, and he was physically raised from the dead three days later, appearing to his disciples and followers before ascending into heaven, where he intercedes for believers and rules his church. He will return one day in power and glory to judge the world and renew creation. 

IV. God the Holy Spirit | God the Spirit is fully God in himself, just like the Father and the Son, and the three are one God. The Spirit holds every attribute of the Father and Son to the infinite degree too, as he is one with them in nature, will, knowledge, and power. He inspired the writing of the Bible and helps people understand it. He came upon Mary to actualize the incarnation of the Son and aided the Son throughout his earthly ministry. He has been sent by the Father and the Son to convict people of their sin and call them to repentance. The Spirit applies salvation to believers, indwelling them at conversion and bestowing upon them the gifts of salvation. He sanctifies believers, comforts them, and empowers their evangelism, worship, discipleship, and service.

V. Salvation | Salvation should be offered freely to all and is given freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Salvation is by grace through faith. Salvation can only be found in Jesus Christ for those willing to repent of sin, trust in Jesus as Savior, and declare him as their Lord. Following conversion, believers continually seek to learn more about Jesus and develop a better relationship with him with the goal of being conformed to his image. All true believers will persevere in their faith until the end due to God preserving them. Christians experience many blessings of salvation now, like justification, regeneration, and adoption, but salvation will culminate when Jesus returns with the resurrection and glorification of the body.

VI. Church | All God’s people under the new covenant make up one church from all ages, nations, and tongues. This spiritual church manifests itself in local churches, which gather together regularly for worship, prayer, care, fellowship, discipleship, service, and missions. The church is a group of believers who have covenanted to walk the Christian life together. Membership should require believers’ baptism. A true church is gospel-centered in its teaching/preaching. A church should recognize only the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The church should be pastor led, deacon served, and congregationally governed. Both men and women are equally gifted for service in the church and should be held accountable to the church for unrepentant sin, but the office of pastor is reserved for qualified men, according to Scripture. While never perfect, the church is the instrument for the spreading of God’s kingdom on earth and is the only place where people can receive a foretaste of what’s to come with the new creation.

VII. Assocation | While local churches are autonomous, they should work with other like-minded churches. We are Southern Baptists in association with the SBC and with the SBCV, so we adhere to the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. We also agree with the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, to the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and to the Nashville Statement on Biblical Sexuality.