We believe in the inspiration and final authority of the Bible. The Bible is not a series of disconnected stories, but a unified narrative leading to and culminating in Jesus Christ. The Bible is not a flat book, but crescendos in the revelation of Jesus Christ as Lord. 

We believe the One Living True God exists eternally in three coequal persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As such, God is by nature a relational being within Himself and with us. God is the eternal King of Kings. He is infinite Spirit, perfect in love, holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice and power. Out of the love of the Trinity and for God’s own glory, He created all that is created. His love and power are revealed through creation, redemption, and the promised future consummation of the world.

Throughout the Bible we see God portrayed as Father. In the Old Testament, God is referred to as the Father of the nation, or of certain individuals. When we arrive in the New Testament, Jesus uses “Father” or “Abba” (the Aramaic word for Father) sixty-five times in the Synoptic Gospels and over one hundred times in John. Paul said that it was from the Father that “his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” It is the clear and central teaching of the New Testament that it is through the work of Jesus the Messiah that we can become God’s children and be adopted into his family and call him “Abba, Father.” 

We believe that Jesus Christ was/is the Word of God incarnate, fully human and fully God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. Jesus was anointed as God’s Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit, inaugurating God’s kingdom reign on earth, overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation, preaching the Good News of salvation, healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead.He suffered under Pontius Pilate. He was crucified, died and was buried. He arose bodily from the dead and was seen by many witnesses. He ascended into heaven where He sits at the Father’s right hand. At the end, He will be the judge of all humanity.

We believe in the current work of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ as our Helper, Teacher, and Guide. The Holy Spirit empowers us for the building up the Body of Christ and evangelism of the World through the Gifts of the Spirit. We believe also in the filling or baptism of the Holy Spirit, most often a conscious, second experience of grace, by which the believer is empowered for ministry.

We believe that humanity – male and female – was made in the image of God.  Thus, humanity is by nature relational and longs for relationship with God and each other. Though originally created good and for relationship with God, humanity is now fallen and separated from Him.

We believe that Satan and the demonic actually exist and have established a counter-kingdom of darkness in conflict with God and the Kingdom of light.

We believe that, although it has many diverse expressions, there is one universal Church made up of all who receive the Good News of Jesus Christ and are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the head of this living body which transcends the barriers of race, culture, gender, economics, and even time. The Church has two ordinances that were established by the Lord Jesus Himself: baptism and communion. Both of these are available to all believers.

The story of the Bible begins with creation. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” God is thus the sole source of the entire created order, the originator of all the laws of physical nature and human nature. Every part of creation, in its original form, bears His fingerprints and reflects His character. Creation, then, is good and no part of it is inherently evil. Humanity was created in the image of God as relational beings with the purpose of being in relationship with Him, sharing in the love of the Trinity, and having dominion over the earth.

Though created good, humanity fell into sin and thus plunged all of creation into the fall. As a result of the fall, humanity is born blind to the truth and dead in sin. Sin now literally darkens our understanding. As creation was universal in scope, including the entire cosmos, so too is the fall. Even the natural world has been terribly affected by human sin. Sin has the pervasive power to infect even our best and most noble efforts. As a result, we are incapable of saving ourselves.

As Creation and the Fall were comprehensive, so too is God’s plan of Redemption. Through the self-substitutionary atoning work of Christ – that is, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins– God has provided a way of Salvation. All who repent of their sins and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ will be saved. They are translated from the kingdom of darkness to the God’s kingdom of light. In the end, Jesus Christ will return and consummate His Kingdom which has already been inaugurated. This will include the resurrection of the dead and the final defeat of Satan. There will be a new heaven and a new earth and He will reign forever.

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Psalm 139.)

Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and Himself, New Life Church will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman. Further, the pastors, ministers, elders, and staff of New Life Church shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman. Finally, the facilities and property of New Life Church shall only host weddings between one man and one woman.

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen. 1:26- 27.) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen. 2:18-25.) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4.) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10.)

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of New Life Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to New Life Church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by New Life Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 5:22.)

We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11.)

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) 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 New Life Church.

Today’s situation requires more than a statement, but certainly no less than a statement. As an evangelical church, we at New Life Church condemn racism as contrary to Scripture and to the evangelical gospel. Evangelical history includes positively many voices for justice and pioneers of abolitionism, such as William Wilberforce, but also negatively those who assimilated the values of their surrounding unjust culture. Yet the basis of evangelical faith is Scripture, climaxing in the good news of Jesus Christ.

In this gospel, everyone must come to God on the same terms (Rom 1:16; 3:22-24; 10:12-13; Gal 3:28; Rev 5:9; 7:9), and become one body in Christ (Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 12:12-13; Eph 4:4; Col 3:15).

In reconciling Jew and Gentile in Christ (Eph 2:16), surmounting a barrier that God himself once established, God in Christ summons us to surmount every barrier erected merely by human sinfulness. Scripture does not discriminate by color, and, on the most common understanding of Acts 8, the first Gentile convert may have been Black and from Africa.

Jesus, both by his example and by his teaching, summons us to serve and love fellow believers to the point of laying down our lives for them (John 13:14-17, 34-35; 1 John 3:16-18), and to love all our neighbors as ourselves (Lev 19:18; Mark 12:31; Rom 13:8-10; Gal 5:14).

This invites us to be swifter to listen to others than to speak (Eph 4:29; James 1:19), to mourn with those who suffer (Rom 12:15), and to join them in acting for justice on their behalf (Isa 1:17; Luke 11:42; James 1:27

*Adapted from The Broken Walls of Hostility