Pastor Edward Holsworth has been shepherding our church for the past eighteen years. He holds an associates degree in education, a bachelor of theology degree in theology and a masters degree in counseling. He has over forty years of pastoral experience as well as seventeen years as a chaplain in various ministries. His preaching and teaching is straightforward, true to the Word of God, and practical for everyday living.
Dr. David Cropsey has come alongside our Pastor as a missionary with Bibles International Ministries. He has spent many years on the mission field and is an excellent Bible teacher in our adult Sunday school class.
We believe the Bible is the perfect Word of God. We believe every word was inspired by God exactly as He wanted it. We also believe that God has preserved His Word throughout the centuries. Since we believe the Bible is God's Word for us, we strive to follow it in all we do. Our preaching is centered on the Bible. While we certainly address issues of the day, we always strive to expound Biblical principles that will help us to face these issues in a way that pleases God. Our focus is not on making Christianity fit with modern culture, but rather confronting and challenging modern cultural ideas with the unchanging principles of the Bible.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternally existent only begotten Son of God. He took on a human body some 2000 years ago and was born of the Virgin Mary. In the flesh, He was completely man, and yet completely God at the same time. He lived a perfect sinless life and died on the cross for our sins. He rose again and is seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. He will one day return to gather His children to Himself. He will establish a physical kingdom on this Earth for 1,000 years, before the final destruction of this earth in judgment, and the bringing in of a new heaven and a new earth. Since we believe Jesus died to be the Savior of all men, we encourage everyone to place their trust in Him. We believe it is the duty of the church to tell the world of their need to make a decision about Jesus Christ. To accept Him is to be saved from the consequences of sin, to become the children of God, and to live with Him for all eternity. To reject Him is to answer for your own sins on judgment day, and spend eternity in Hell.
We believe that salvation has everything to do with Jesus Christ. We are all sinners, and deserving of God's wrath. Jesus paid the price for our sins by offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sins. The Bible makes it very clear that we are forgiven based on God's grace, and not on our own works.
Although we are not saved by anything we do, we accept the Bible's teaching that it is the duty of every Christian to strive to live a Christ-centered life. When God saves us, we are born again, and receive a new nature from God. God's Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. The daily battle for Godliness is then not a matter of our effort, or how good we can make ourselves. It is rather a matter of letting God's Spirit guide our lives, and not listening to our old sinful nature. As a result, we give all glory to God for the changes He makes in our lives. There is no room for arrogance or boasting, and we seek to remain humble while pursuing His ways.
This has been a relatively short description of our beliefs, but we feel it will give you a good idea of who we are. We believe the Bible is our authority for all matters of faith and practice and it is relevant to all issues in our modern society.
