OUR CORE VALUES

1. Christ exalted preaching.

2. God-centered Worship

3. Kingdom-focused prayer

4. Life transforming community

5. Cross-cultural diversity

6. Spirit-empowered outreach

Often, we are asked, “What are your basic beliefs?” We always start by saying that we believe that the Bible is God’s Word and is to be interpreted by the literal method, where the rules of grammar, literature, history and culture are consistently applied. In this way, we can accurately understand the author’s meaning and properly apply the Bible’s principles.

The Bible: (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Hebrews 4:12) We believe that the Scriptures in all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired of God, error free in the original manuscripts, and the supreme authority of faith and practice for followers of Christ.

God: (Deuteronomy 6:4) We believe there is one living and true God, who is one in essence, while eternally existing in three distinct persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Father: (Matthew 6:9; John 5:19-24; Ephesians 1:3-6; 2:1-10) We believe the first person of the Trinity orders and directs all things according to his purpose and pleasure. He has created humanity to bring him glory and honor, through his grace. While he is transcendent, he is also actively involved in his creation- offering an eternal relationship with us through his Son Jesus Christ

The Son: (John 1:14-18; I Corinthians 15; Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 2:9; Revelation 20:11-15) We believe Jesus Christ is both the eternal Son of God and virgin-born Son of man. Fully God, fully man, He surrendered nothing of His deity during His earthly life. His sinless, sacrificial offering on the cross satisfied the Father's justice, offering atonement for all of humanity's sins, for all time. We believe in his bodily resurrection, His physical ascension, and His visible return back to earth to establish His earthly kingdom

The Holy Spirit: (John 16:5-16; I Corinthians 12; Ephesians 2:10; John 3:1-8; Ephesians 1:1; Galatians 5:16-25) We believe the third person of the Trinity executes the will of God in this world through humanity, by leading, guiding, filling, teaching and convicting. The Holy Spirit is not merely an impersonal force, but is a person, displaying the qualities of personhood (intellect, emotions and will). He equips believers upon conversion by giving them gifts to be used for the building up of the church, and by bearing fruit through their yielded lives

Man: (Genesis 1:26-27, Romans 1:18-32; 3:10-23) We believe that mankind was directly created in the image of God to enjoy His fellowship and fulfill His purposes on earth. However, in Adam, all mankind fell into sin; consequently all people are spiritually dead and subject to the certainty of both physical and spiritual death apart from faith in Jesus Christ.

Salvation: (John 1:12; 3:16; 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9) We believe that salvation is by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. All who believe in Him are declared righteous by the Father on the grounds of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection, being regenerated by and baptized in the Holy Spirit.

The Church: (Acts 2:41-47, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 Corinthians 12-14) We believe that all who are “born again” by the Holy Spirit belong to the one true church and are instructed by the Scriptures to associate themselves in local, visible churches.

Leadership: (1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9, Acts 6:1-6) We believe that Jesus Christ leads the local church through a plurality of men called elders who have been called, gifted, and appointed by Him. By seeking the mind of Christ, depending upon the Holy Spirit and diligently examining the Word of God, the elders provide spiritual oversight and direction for the church. The qualifications of elders are character based as defined in 1 Timothy and Titus, and the decisions of the elders require unanimous agreement.

Ordinances: (Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 6:3-7, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29) Baptism is a clear injunction of the Scriptures which outwardly expresses the inward reality of new life in Christ. Our method of baptism is immersion as described in the New Testament and practiced in the early church. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ and His redemptive death. It is also an expression of our fellowship with one another. In communion we are reminded of Christ’s first coming and encouraged to look forward to His coming again.

The Future: (Matthew 24-25, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) We believe the next great event of human history will be the personal return of Jesus Christ. This is the blessed hope for which all those who love Christ yearn. While the exact time of Christ’s return is unknown, it is imminent and certain.

Non-essentials: We affirm that the doctrines of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and salvation by grace through faith make up the essential, distinctive nature of Christianity. In regards to these essential doctrines there can be no conflicting opinions of those who call themselves true followers of Christ. However, we do acknowledge that there are peripheral or non-essential doctrines that are important, but not critical to the follower of Christ as it relates to our salvation. While our church will be diligent to establish positions as it relates to non-essentials we will not allow “peripheral” doctrines to cause division within the church. We will accept into our body those who have differing views on the non-essential doctrines, but will not allow those of a different opinion to fracture the church. We must always seek the unity of the Body.

What is the good news?

The gospel, or "good news", of the Bible is that our sin separates us from God, but there is still hope because of God’s great love for us. The gospel is the “good news” of our salvation from sin and the ushering in of the kingdom of God through the person and work of Jesus Christ. 

In 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, Paul provides a succinct summary of the gospel: a baby named Jesus was born to us as God in the flesh, lived a perfect life and then willingly submitted to death on a cross in our place, giving his perfect life to pay the penalty for our sins. Three days later, He rose to conquer sin and death forever and give the gift of salvation to all who believe in Him alone for eternal life.

The key response to this good news is simple: it is belief. Most people think we either earn or disqualify ourselves from God’s approval based upon what we have or haven’t done with our lives. But that’s not the gospel! The gospel says that God Himself declares you righteous not on the basis of anything you have or haven’t done in your life, but instead on the basis of what Jesus has done for you! In response, God asks only that you believe.  

Our entire church is built on this foundation of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ in whom we believe and place our faith. We proclaim and seek to live out gospel-centered lives, together learning and sharing what it means to embrace the reality that Jesus is both our Lord and our Savior and that we are his messengers to the world. 

We invite you to join us in believing this gospel with your whole heart and placing your faith in Jesus Christ.  Wherever you are in your personal journey of belief, you are welcome to join us at TheNations.church. You can join us at our services, you can attend our small groups, you can come to any of our events, or you can serve with us on mission trips or within the church.

If you’d like to talk about the gospel in person, please contact any of our pastors to set up a time to visit. The opportunity to visit with you about the gospel is the main reason all of us do what we do!