Core Values
Communion
As a church, we celebrate Communion monthly, keeping Christ central—His body broken for us, His blood shed for our forgiveness, and His promise to come again.
Communion is open to all who have confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9–10). As such, each believer is called to examine their heart before partaking of the elements (1 Corinthians 11:28).
Communion is taken in remembrance of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, a proclamation of His death and resurrection, and an anticipation of His return. In our services, the elements are passed out during worship, but the meaning is the same—we look back with gratitude, inward with humility, and forward with hope.
We believe Communion (the Lord’s Supper)—along with baptism—is one of the two ordinances Jesus gave His Church. On the night He was betrayed, He told His disciples to eat the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of Him (Matthew 26:26–29; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).
Baptism
We believe baptism—along with Communion (the Lord’s Supper)—is one of the two ordinances given by Jesus Christ to His Church (Matthew 26:26–29; Matthew 28:19–20). Baptism is a step of obedience that publicly identifies a believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:3–4; Colossians 2:12).
Baptism is not an empty ritual. It is a command of Christ (Matthew 28:19–20) and an essential act of discipleship (John 14:15). In baptism, the believer declares allegiance to Jesus Christ, testifies to the gospel before the church and the world (Acts 2:38–41), and obeys the Lord who saved them by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). Baptism does not save, but every true disciple should be baptized as the God-ordained way to confess Christ publicly (Acts 22:16) and walk in obedience to Him.
Baptism is an outward testimony of an inward reality. Going under the water represents union with Christ in His death, and rising up out of the water represents new life in His resurrection (Romans 6:4; Galatians 2:20). It is a symbol of cleansing (Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21), identification with Christ (Galatians 3:27), and entrance into the fellowship of His Church (1 Corinthians 12:13). It is also a call to the Christian brothers and sisters to partner with the believer as a member of Christ’s family (Ephesians 4:4–6).
We practice baptism by full immersion as the consistent biblical pattern. The Greek word baptizo means “to immerse” or “to dip,” and every example in the New Testament describes baptism by going down into and coming up out of the water (Mark 1:9–10; John 3:23; Acts 8:36–39).
Baptism is for those who have personally trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It follows repentance and faith—it does not precede them (Acts 2:38; Acts 16:31–33). Baptism does not regenerate, forgive sins, or save; only Christ’s finished work, received by faith, does that (Titus
3:5; Ephesians 2:8–9). For this reason, we do not baptize infants. Instead, we invite anyone—whether young or old—who has come to personal faith in Jesus Christ to step into the waters of baptism as a bold and joyful testimony of identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.