John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, lived a sinless life on earth and voluntarily paid for our sin by dying on the cross as our substitute. This accomplished salvation for all who receive grace by trusting in Him alone. He rose from the dead and is the only mediator between God and us. He baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit and will return to earth to fulfill prophecy.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand-new person inside. The old passes away, a new life has begun.”

Matthew 16:25 Jesus: “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.” ption text goes here

God created humans to have fellowship with Him, but they defied God by sinfully going their own way. As a result, we need God’s saving grace to end our alienation from Him. Salvation comes only through God’s grace - not human effort - and must be received personally by repentance and faith. At the end, everyone will experience bodily resurrection and the judgment. Only believers will enjoy eternal fellowship with God.

Holy Spirit baptized believers into Jesus. 1 Corinthians 12:13

The resurrected Christ breathed new birth Holy Spirit into believers. John 20:22

The ascended Christ baptized believers with Holy Spirit. Acts 1:4,5

Acts 1:8 “...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”

Luke 11:13 “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

We believe the only possible way to live a Christian life is by God’s power working within us. Every believer can be filled with the Holy Spirit by simply asking. We seek to practice a daily dependence on God’s Spirit to enable us to do what is right.

The sacrifice of His only Son showed that God places present and eternal value on every human life! Because of this demonstration, our responsibility (as the church) is to move beyond mere words and emotions and to recognize the value in each person. The Biblical use of the word "love" is intended to elicit action, not only emotion. Therefore, we will go above and beyond in order to show anyone just how loved they really are! (John 3:16; Matthew 5:38-48; 1 John 3:16-18)

We know that everything we have comes from God, so we will not take Him or His people for granted. We live this out by the way we steward our time, our talents, and treasure. (1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 1 Peter 4:10; Malachi 3:10)

We believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who is one God eternally existent and revealed in three distinct persons.

GOD THE FATHER

We believe God the Father demonstrated His love for all people by sending His Son to die for the sins of the world. He is the creator of all that is or ever will be and that He has made mankind in his image. We believe it is the will of the Father that everyone would be granted eternal life through the acceptance of His Son, Jesus Christ.

GOD THE SON

We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is the prophesied messiah; was born of a virgin; attested to by a multitude of signs and wonders; falsely accused, arrested and crucified in accordance with the predictions of the Scriptures; was buried; raised from the dead; was seen by over five-hundred witnesses; was taken up into the presence of God the Father to be seated at His right hand; and will come again to receive the church unto himself and pass eternal judgment on the living and the dead.

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe the Holy Spirit to be fully God. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son to vitalize life, communicate God’s truth, apply his salvation to people and enable them to obey God’s will (or word). It is through faith in God’s word and by the Holy Spirit that all the provisions of God come into the life of a believer. We believe the full expression of spiritual gifts are available to the local church as each member is gifted and empowered to be a witness for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to enable the Ekklesia/church in its mission.

We believe in the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written Word of God. We believe that the scriptures represent the only infallible rule of faith and practice for all of mankind. We believe that the bible has been miraculously preserved down through the ages and today represents a more than sufficient transmission of the original manuscripts. Finally, we believe the Bible to be unchangeable in its central purpose of recording God’s interaction with man. The Bible also reveals how the life and ministry the Lord Jesus Christ can now affect the believers.

We believe all of mankind is, both by nature and action, sinful and therefore precluded from fellowship with God, fulfillment of Divine purpose and entrance into eternity with God. We believe that God has made a way through a relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ, for sinful mankind to be reconciled to Himself, fulfilling their God given purpose and guaranteed entrance into His heaven. This way is freely given by God and is known as “salvation”. This gift of salvation is received by faith into an individual’s life. This involves the individual acknowledging a need to be saved and receiving by faith Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Believers further acknowledge His death, burial, resurrection and ascension back to the Father, and His coming return to finalize salvation. There is no other way for mankind to enjoy restored fellowship with God outside of recognition of Jesus Christ as The Lamb, The Lord, The King of life.

We believe every believer should be baptized by total immersion in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name. We believe that water baptism does not save a person, but rather provides every believer with a vital point of identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is the outward declaration of the work of Holy Spirit in innermost heart of the person, baptizing them into Christ.

We believe the church, Ekklesia, is God’s sovereign creation; the specific object of Christ’s love and His exclusive instrument to advance the Kingdom of God in the earth. Its function and organization are clearly put forth in the pages of Scripture and represents structure and grace for dispensing spiritual provision, oversight, instruction, discipline and protection of God’s people. The Ekklesia/churches primary function is to extend Christ’s Kingdom on earth. We also affirm the role of the local church as the platform for the most vital ministries mentioned in the New Testament. Finally, we believe the church will one day be presented to Christ as a perfect bride.

We believe in the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment of all people before God’s throne. We believe in a literal heaven and hell. Hell is the final, eternal state of all persons who have not received the redemption of Jesus Christ. Hell will be a place of unceasing torment and anguish where the flame does not go out and the worm is never satisfied. We believe there will be a new heaven and a new earth where God’s dwelling will be among all believers for eternity. We believe this to be a wonderful paradise beyond present comprehension.

We believe Jesus Christ is the head of the Church and that all Church leaders are obligated to exercise their responsibilities in conformance with the character and example of Jesus Christ. We believe in the five gift ministries mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-12 and that these offices are given to the Church for the edification and equipping of all church members.

We further believe the local church is governed by local elders as described in the scriptures. These elders are to be set in office at the local level and are ultimately responsible for the entire oversight of the local church. We believe the eldership must endeavor to maintain accountable relationships with others who occupy positions representing the gift ministries referred to above and appeal to such ministers as required for encouragement, insight and instruction.

We affirm the biblical application of Church discipline in the life of an unrepentant member of the local church. This discipline must be administered carefully, judiciously, in the spirit of love and without favoritism according to the guidelines found in the Scriptures. The ultimate goal of church discipline is restoration of the disciplined person to the fellowship of believers (1Co. 5:1-13, 1Ti. 5:20-21; Ga. 6:1).

We believe in the regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion) as we remember the substitute of Jesus in our place. We remember His shed blood, and adhere to its power and effectiveness. We remember Jesus’ physical body broken, taking our sins and judgment upon Himself in the flesh, and the liberation and enabling effect upon our physical life. We are now one body with Christ as the Head. We believe this ordinance should be observed only after careful examination of one’s heart before God and in a spirit of reverence and thanksgiving before the Lord.

IWe believe the institution of marriage to be exclusively defined in the Bible as a covenant relationship, witnessed by God, and solely between a man and a woman. Modification of such union, regardless of the source of such modification, is not recognized or sanctioned by the leadership or congregation of GO Church.