We are Christians.

What do you believe about God?

We believe in the triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). We believe that God created the world and everything in it. We believe Jesus was God’s son, who:

• came to earth 2,000 years ago
• lived a life as both 100% God and 100% man
• performed many miracles and spoke many truths that proved Him to be the Son of God
• endured great temptation but lived a life without sin
• willingly died on the cross as payment for humanity’s sins
• resurrected on the third day, defeating death
• ascended into heaven after resurrecting
• sits today enthroned at God’s right hand
• will one day return to earth to judge the living and the dead

We believe that all humans are sinful and have failed at being capable (worthy) of interacting with God. We deserve immediate death as justification for our sin. However, God in his mercy sent Jesus to die for our sins as payment for the death we deserve. Jesus died to forgive every sin every human has ever committed or will ever commit. To receive this forgiveness, all one has to do is confess that they are sinful, that they believe in God, that they believe that Jesus died for their sins, and show true repentance (desire to stop sinning) of their sins. Jesus’ sacrifice for us enables every human to have fellowship with God once again, even though we are not worthy on our own (we continue to struggle with sin every day). With Jesus as our mediator, we have constant access to God through prayer and will one day dwell with Him in Heaven for eternity. Heaven is eternal, perfect, fellowship with God (the ultimate satisfaction to our human soul). Hell is eternal, pain-filled, torment completely separated from God (the ultimate suffering for our human soul).

We believe God is perfectly just and therefore capable of great wrath and destruction against sin (and sinful people).

We also believe God is perfectly loving (He is our perfect Father), full of grace for those who ask for it. No matter what you’ve done in your life, God is willing and ready to forgive you.

We believe God’s greatest desire is for us to worship Him and bring glory to Him through our lives. We do this by following His commands, which are designed not to keep us from enjoying life, but give us the most fulfilling and enjoyment of life possible.

We believe God calls us to love those around us (every single person on earth), including those the world looks down upon (outcasts).

We believe all humans are sinful.

We believe God is heartbroken by all the sin and suffering in this world.

God’s heart breaks for every moment you are not experiencing the fullness of His love, as it is the most satisfying, joyful, peaceful, long-lasting fulfillment that is available for us to find.

Every pain, suffering, or loss you have ever experienced breaks God’s heart as well. God does not bring this pain on you, but He does allow it. We believe our pain and suffering is due partly to humanity’s collective sin that has broken this world, as well as Satan’s work in this world to get humans to give in to their sinful desires.

Jesus was sent to this world to die so He could fully identify with what our sorrow is like here on earth. Christians do not need to fear pain, loss, death, or suffering because we have a great Comforter here on earth as well as a promise of heaven for those who die.

There is so much hope, meaning, and purpose for those who are believers in Christianity, compared to a life without hope, meaning, and purpose for those who do not believe.

What do you believe about the Bible?

We believe that the Bible is the true inspired Word of God, written by humans. However, the Bible must be read in context or it can be easily misinterpreted. We believe the Old Testament is the “old law” and, although valuable and applicable to Christians, it has been replaced with the “new law” of the New Testament. To know if an Old Testament verse applies to Christians today, one must determine if a command or verse in the New Testament replaces a command or verse in the Old Testament. One must also understand cultural context and who each verse in the Bible is being written to and intended for. The entire Bible helps Christians understand the grand story of Christianity, but the New Testament is what should be focused on because Jesus’ death and resurrection established a “new covenant” for Christians to follow (hence the name of our denomination).

What do you believe about Creation?

We believe God created the earth as described in Genesis of the Bible.

Does this mean you do not believe in science?

We believe in science, physics, and whatever evidence shows and proves to be true. Science and every physical law we experience here on earth was created by God. Our universe is a breathtaking example of Creation (everything is held together and kept from destruction). The human body, specifically the brain and our awareness of right and wrong, screams out intelligent design by a creator. The plants, landscapes, billions of unique animals, geology of the earth, weather, skies, and solar system all point to the same conclusion. Our universe was designed.

What is your stance on evolution?

We believe that *if* evidence points to evolution, then evolution occurred and is occurring. However, we also believe God could have created the earth with evolutionary history built into it. Adam was not created as a baby, but as an adult human with years of history. A geologist would have looked at Adam the day after he was created and determined him to be 20 or 30 years old. Trees, rocks, mountains, rivers, volcanos, canyons, etc. could have been created with millions of years of history that scientists today observe and conclude to be millions of years old.

We do believe the earth to be 6,000 years old as described in the Bible. We also believe catastrophic events like the flood described in the Bible could have influenced archaeological findings and conclusions. Regardless of what happened in the history of the earth, we do not find evolutionary findings or evidence to be cause for dismissal of the Christian faith. If the earth *is* millions of years old, then there is an explanation behind it that still leads to God. God created science and science answers to God!

If God created the world and Creation is so great, then why is there so much brokenness and suffering?

God’s perfect creation (in the beginning) was broken by humanity’s sin in the account of Adam and Eve in Genesis. This is why we see natural disasters, disease, brokenness, and constant decay and entropy throughout the world. Satan (the fallen angel, prince of evil spirits, and adversary of God) is also responsible for tricking humans into following their inherent sinful nature and doing despicable things (murder, abuse, etc.).

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why can’t God stop these bad things from happening if he is truly God?

God created humanity with free will. He created us as beings to love and worship Him. But love and worship isn’t real if it is robotic and forced. God gives us a choice so that our love and worship is authentic. Our ability to choose gives us the ability to choose wrong over right. To choose sinful desires over good desires. Because of this, our world and humanity itself has been wrought by billions of wrongs choices by humans over the centuries. Think of how screwed up that has made our world.

God can and does intervene in our lives and respond to prayer, but if He were to step in and stop all evil from happening, he would have to wipe out all evil people, which would include you and me. The reason evil persists is because God is patient and desperately wants as many people to choose Him as possible.

In heaven, there will be no more temptation to do wrong, no potential for evil. We will have made our choice on Earth to serve God, proving our love and worship authentic, and we will be saved by grace and taken to heaven.