We are bound by our love for God and one another, not primarily by doctrine. The following expressions of commonly-held core beliefs, then, are not intended to be exhaustive, definitive or static. We seek to be comfortable with disagreement and diversity as we trust and learn from the Word and the work of God in one another. We desire to be responsive to the ongoing revelation of God as God exposes, corrects, heals, and frees us.
God
God is triune: one being in three persons—Father, Son and Spirit—existing eternally in a relationship of joyful, mutual self-giving.
God the Father created and rules the universe out of his inherent goodness and perfect love.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became incarnate in history, fully sharing and fulfilling our humanity in a life of perfect obedience. He was crucified, died and was buried, rose bodily from the grave, appeared to his disciples and ascended to the right hand of God, where he intercedes for his people and reigns as Lord.
The Holy Spirit is the continuing presence of God on earth and the power of God influencing and indwelling humanity: the Spirit convicts of sin, reveals truth, renews hearts, empowers faithfulness, and prompts movement.
Humanity
God made humans in God's own image as free, creative, relational creatures designed for fellowship with God, one another, and creation. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made," proclaimed good and beloved by God. As dust animated by the breath of God, we are finite, dependent people who are complete only in God.
Sin
Doubting God's goodness and desiring control, humanity separated itself from fellowship with God through choices that do not align with God's good will and design. Sin universally infects our hearts and continues to fracture our relationships with God, others and creation, leading to spiritual and physical death.
Forgiveness & Freedom
God triumphed over sin and death through Jesus's birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection, thereby providing the means for salvation, forgiveness of sin and freedom from its power. Acknowledgement of our need and faith in Jesus's work on our behalf restores us to life-giving fellowship with God, empowered by the Spirit.
Restoration
Restoration--to God, one another, and creation--is both an ongoing process and the central vision of God’s promise to redeem the world. The Spirit leads believers to grow in dependence on God and to trust the person and work of Jesus more fully. Ongoing healing and transformation are the miraculous, mysterious gifts of God that involve our repentance, honesty, active participation and obedience born out of gratitude.
Revelation
In desiring relationship with creation, God speaks to us, revealing God’s heart, power, character and will. While nature, history, science, philosophy and reason are sources of God's self-disclosure, God's primary revelation is the person and work of Jesus. The Bible, as a means and record of revelation, is inspired, alive and authoritative for faith and practice.
Church
The Church (universal) is God's family—a community of the forgiven and adopted. We are charged to represent the Kingdom of God by loving God, others and the created world through testimony, baptism, communion, discipleship, worship, the pursuit of justice and embodied care. The body of Christ is an invitational community of equality, mutuality and responsibility that relies on the engagement and gifting of all members. As we enact faith, hope and love, the Church participates in and anticipates Jesus's full and final restoration of the world.