He’s not just the gateway to heaven, he’s the difference in our lives and our access to God’s kingdom now. Jesus is the difference between a life of guilt or grace. He’s the difference between a life of emptiness or fulfillment. He’s the difference between wandering and purpose. He’s the difference between discouragement and hope.
The only way to follow Jesus is by putting love in action. If we say we love God and others but do nothing as a result, we don’t really love.
We understand that God’s kingdom is made up of many diverse people and different cultures. We choose to unite around the most important beliefs and not divide over secondary issues.
The gospel came to you on its way to someone else. Every believer should learn to be a missional Christian, living out their faith in public and introducing people to Jesus wherever they are.
Groups are the hub for everything we do: community, care, service, and growing with God. God designed His children for close relationships with each other. We believe everyone in our church should belong to a group. Groups are a safe place for broken people.
We develop leaders who impact the world for Jesus in all walks of life. Everyone can grow to be a better leader. Leadership development is a lifelong process directed by a sovereign God. It happens both continually and episodically, often through challenges, and sometimes through training or trying leadership opportunities.
God is the creator of all things, holy, eternal, and limitless in knowledge and power.
God has spoken through human authors in the Scriptures. The original writings are inspired by God and without error. The Bible teaches us about God’s plan for salvation and how He wants us to live.
Because of the sin of the first two people, Adam and Eve, all people are sinners by nature and by choice. This sin separates us from God, a divide that can only be reconciled through Jesus Christ.
Jesus is God incarnate, that is, He is fully God and fully man. He lived a sinless life and died so that sinners could live. He rose from the dead and now serves as our representative before God.
The Spirit convicts the world of sin and dwells in those who trust in Jesus for salvation. He equips us for services and guides us to live like Christ.
The true church includes all people who have trusted in Jesus alone for salvation. Jesus mandated two ordinances for the church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, that are important for us but not the means of salvation.
God continues to refine our lives and commands us to love Him and love others. Reading the Bible, walking closely with the Holy Spirit, being fervent in prayer, and sharing Jesus with others are important aspects of the Christian’s life.
We believe that Jesus Christ will return in person at a time known only to God.
God commands everyone to believe the Good News about Jesus and turn away from sin. One day, God will judge every person who has lived and those who trusted in Jesus will spend eternity in the new heaven and new earth but those who did not will spend eternity in eternal punishment.
God
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Bible
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition
We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus–Israel’s promised Messiah–was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
The Work of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christlike living and service.
The Church
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
Christian Living
We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
Christ’s Return
We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Response and Eternal Destiny
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
Read our position paper on Women in Church Leadership.
We have adopted the position of the EFCA on issues of human sexuality.
We’re a “free” church because we are self-governed. First Free Church is guided by our pastors, overseen by our elders, and ultimately responsible to our congregation of members.
Newsletters are sent out once per month. We will never share or sell your information.
