about

We believe there is one God, creator, and sustainer of all things, infinite in love, perfect in judgments, and unchanging in mercy. God exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe in the divine inspiration, truthfulness, and authority the Old and New Testaments — the written Word of God, without error in all it affirms. The Scriptures are the infallible rule of faith and practice. The Holy Spirit preserves God’s Word in the church today and speaks God’s truth to peoples of every age.

Human beings were created in the image of God. This image was marred in every part through the disobedience of Adam & Eve, who broke fellowship with God. God, by His love and grace, restores moral sensibility to all humankind and enables all to respond to His love and to accept His saving grace, if they will.

We believe Jesus Christ is God’s Son incarnate, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus took God’s judgment upon Himself for sinful persons. He rose bodily from the grave and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is God present and active in the world. The Holy Spirit was fully given to the church at Pentecost. By the Spirit, Christ lives in His church, the gospel is proclaimed, and the kingdom of God is manifested in the world.

We believe God graciously justifies and gives new life to all who repent and have faith in Jesus Christ. Believers become children of God and begin to live in holiness through faith in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

We believe God calls all believers to live sanctified (separated) lives of obedience and surrender. The grace and power of the Holy Spirit changes a rebellious heart to one that loves God and others. This grace does not make believers faultless nor prevent them from falling into sin. They must live daily by faith in the forgiveness and cleansing provided for them in Jesus Christ.

We believe the inward witness of God’s Spirit assures believers that they are children of God by faith in the gracious promises of God’s Word and the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

We believe Christians are called to live in daily witness to the grace, which comes to them in Jesus Christ, to preach the Gospel to every person according to the command of Christ, and to declare God’s insistence upon righteousness and justice in all relationships and structures of human society.

We believe the Church is composed of all those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The church is Christ’s body and is visible wherever believers — in obedience of faith — hear the Word, receive the sacraments, and live as disciples.

We believe in the personal return of Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection of all persons, the final judgment, and eternal reward and punishment.

We believe in God’s ultimate victory over Satan and all evil and the establishment of His perfect kingdom in a new heaven and a new earth.

We encourage those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to participate in a water baptism. It is an external testimony of something that has occurred in the believer when (s)he was saved. Baptism is the Christian identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a picture of spiritual baptism as defined in Romans and 1 Corinthians.

The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself — the inspired Word of God, which has final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind contains all that we believe. For purposes of church doctrine, the Senior Pastor under the authority of the Pillar of Fire General Superintendent is the church’s final interpretive authority. The Senior Pastor and Board are the final authority regarding practice, policy, and discipline of the church.

The membership of this Church shall be composed of individuals who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and offer evidence (confession and conduct) that they are living in accord with their affirmations, the church Bylaws, and are actively pursuing and continuing in a vital fellowship with Jesus Christ. The Senior Pastor, in consultation with his pastoral staff and the Board, has the final authority in all matters of church governance, as described in the Bylaws.

We believe that the term marriage refers to something sanctioned by God, which joins one man by birth and one woman by birth in a single, exclusive union — as delineated in Scripture. God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other and has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of this union.

We consider all marriage ceremonies to be worship services. Due to our biblical conviction and denominational precepts, a pastor (or other qualified official or organizational representative) will not be permitted to perform a transgender or same-sex “marriage” on the property or within facilities under our or Pillar of Fire control.

We believe that any form of sexual immorality, as stated in the Bible, is sinful and offensive to God.

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the church as the local Body of Christ and to provide a biblical role model to the church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in a capacity, or who serve as volunteers in a ministry capacity, abide by and agree to this Statement on Marriage 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 the doctrines of the church.