The Gospel

By God’s grace our goal is that this basic gospel message would be heard and received by anyone who worships with or encounters our church:

My only comfort in life and in death is that I am not my own.
But I belong – body and soul, in life and in death –  to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with is precious blood  
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way  
that not a hair can fall from my head  
without the will of my Father in heaven.
In fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit,  
assures me of eternal life  
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready  
from now on to live for him.

(Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1)

What We Believe

We hold out that gospel message based on the ancient foundations of the Christian faith, which have been held by most Christians throughout time and around the world:

  • There is one God who exists in Trinity (three persons) – Father, Son & Holy Spirit
  • The Bible is God’s Word to us, our authoritative rule for faith and life
  • Every human being is inherently valuable having been created in the image of God
  • Every human being is tainted with a sinful nature and is in need of a merciful Savior
  • Jesus Christ, Son of God and Israel’s Messiah, lived, died and rose again in fulfillment of God’s promises
  • Jesus’ sacrifice of his perfect life on the cross paid the penalty for sin, allowing for God’s forgiveness
  • Human beings receive forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Christ, not by what our works earn
  • God’s Holy Spirit entering and living within human beings regenerates new spiritual life in believers
  • God’s design for believers is to share life together in the Church around Word, sacrament and service
  • There will be a final judgment when believers and unbelievers are divided between Heaven and Hell
  • Christ will keep his promise to come again, bringing heaven and earth together in a new way

Our church holds the following creeds and confessions as faithful summaries of Christian doctrine: the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed (325), the Athanasian Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), the Belgic Confession (1561), the  Canons of Dort (1619), and the Belhar Confession (1986).

Contemporary Topics

In every time and place, Christians face unique sets of moral and social issues. In every instance, Christians studying Scripture together and praying for God’s Holy Spirit must be our faithful guide. Below are links to thoughtful, Scripture-grounded summary statements on a selection of relevant contemporary topics provided by the Reformed Church in America General Synod: