God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three co-equal persons: the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are one God.

Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

Genesis 1:1; Psalm 19:1-3; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; 1 Timothy 1:17

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is God with the Father and Holy Spirit. Jesus has eternally existed and became man at His incarnation. Born of a virgin, He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross according to the Father's will. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to the Earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Matthew 16:16; John 1:1-18; 17:1-5; Hebrews 1:1-3

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He guides people into all truth; exalts Christ; convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; cultivates Christian character; comforts believers; bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God; and seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ.

Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 61:1-3; John 4:24

The Bible is God's word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for the Christian. Because it is inspired by God, it has salvation for its end and is truth without any mixture of error.

Exodus 24:4; Psalms 40:8; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12

People are made in the image of God and are the supreme object of God's creation. All of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. Sin separates people from God and results in death. Only the grace of God can bring people into His holy fellowship and enable us to fulfill the creative purposes of God.

Genesis 1:26-30; Psalm 8:3-6; Acts 17:26-31

Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.

John 10:9, 28-29; Romans 10:9-10, 13; Ephesians 2:8-22; Titus 2:11-14

Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.

John 3:16

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40

We believe that scriptural baptism is for the believers and is the first act of obedience to Christ. Baptism should be by immersion in water and represents several things: 1) the believer’s faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, 2) the believer’s death to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ, and 3) the Christian’s belief that we will die, be buried and that Jesus will resurrect us from the dead.

Mark 1:9-11

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second coming. The bread is symbolic of His body and the juice represents His blood.

Matthew 3:13-17

At Connect Church, we believe in giving the tithe - 10% of income - as the biblical minimum standard of giving. According to the Scriptures we are to give cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.

Leviticus 27:30-32; Matthew 22:15-17; 1 Timothy 5:3

It is the duty of every born again follower of Jesus Christ and of every church to endeavor to make disciples of all people everywhere. It is the command of Christ for every believer to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

Matthew 28:18-20

It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all in their power to put an end to war. The true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord. The supreme need of the world is the acceptance of His teachings in all the affairs of men and nations, and the practical application of His law of love. Christian people throughout the world should pray for the reign of the Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 5:9,38-48; 6:33; 26:52; Luke 22:36,38; Romans 12:18-19; 13:1-7; 14:19; Hebrews 12:14; James 4:1-2.

To live in harmony with other believers is clearly the teaching of the New Testament. It is the responsibility of each believer to endeavor to live in fellowship with each member of the congregation. As members we recognize the authority and responsibility of the local church to exercise discipline in a compassionate and restorative way. It is the purpose of church discipline to ensure harmony among members, maintain order in its practices and promote reconciliation in the event of conflict.

Matthew 18:15-20

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.