Our Distinctives

Distinctives are the values, commitments, convictions, and priorities that define who you are. They’re the practical implications and applications of your doctrinal statement. In other words, our doctrinal statement is going to tell you whether or not we’re in the faith, but it’s our distinctives that are going to tell you what kind of church we are and how we’re different and what sets us apart. Here you’ll get an idea of how we put into practice the commands and principles found in God’s Word.

For our doctrinal statement, click here.

Because we believe that every word and every part of the Bible is God’s inerrant word, we believe that the Scripture carries an authority that is objective and absolute (2 Peter 1:20–21). Therefore, we seek to submit ourselves and everything we believe and do to its commands and principles, and to be careful not to go beyond what is written. Furthermore, we believe that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness, and so Scripture is sufficient for dealing with all matters of faith and practice; to all issues regarding  the soul, morality, and ethics (2 Timothy 3:15–17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 2:3).

Because we are committed to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, we are therefore committed to faithful, expositional preaching. Expositional or ‘expository’ preaching—which is commonly referred to as “verse-by-verse” preaching—simply means that the biblical text drives the content of the sermon. In other words, faithful exposition takes the point of the sermon from the text, and seeks to explain and apply it in an understandable and engaging way (2 Timothy 3:16–4:5). This enables us to go deep into God’s Word and explore all its fullness, but it also safeguards us from aberrant teaching that results from taking verses out of context, as well as the temptation to skip over difficult passages. Book by book, passage by passage, and verse by verse, we desire to unpack and apply the whole counsel of God to our hearts and lives, just as God intends (Acts 20:18–21).

We believe the biblical model of local church leadership is a plurality of qualified, gifted men who are pastors of God’s flock. Not only is this taught in Scripture, but it provides mutual accountability, collective wisdom, and a sharing of the joys and burdens of ministry among these elders while ensuring that the people of God are properly taught, protected, and shepherded (1 Peter 4:1–5).

We practice baptism by immersion for those who have professed faith in Christ not for salvation or as a work of merit, but as a symbol of the believer’s identification with Christ and His church (Matthew 28:19).

We believe that God reveals Himself in Scripture not only to be the Creator of all things, but absolutely sovereign over all things, providentially governing His universe toward His preordained ends (Psalm 119:19; Ephesians 1:11). His sovereignty not only rules over the broad scope of history, but over individuals, and especially over the salvation of sinners (Ephesians 1:3–12; Romans 8:28–30). As R.C. Sproul famously said, “If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe, then God is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, He is not God.”

As believers, we are all at different stages in our sanctification, and therefore we all have differing needs. Some need admonishment, others, encouragement, still others help of various kinds. But all people, including those of varying degrees of like-mindedness, and even those outside the fold of God, need patience and grace (1 Thessalonians 5:14–15). Regardless of how the world may change, our aim is to remain faithful to the truth of God’s unchanging Word, treating each individual—whether they belong to the family of faith or not—with dignity and respect, and endeavoring to care for him or her in a way that displays the love of Christ (Galatians 6:10).