We believe in one God, creator and sustainer of all His creation, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1, 2, 3:22; Deuteronomy 4:13; Psalm 34:8, 89:14, 90:2; Proverbs 3:13; Isaiah 25:8, 40:10; Jeremiah 10:10, 12; Ephesians 4:2, 32).
We believe that Jesus Christ is the one true Son of God, fully God and fully human, our only Savior and Lord. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, and rose to life on the third day. He ascended into Heaven, where He intercedes for us. We believe that He will come again in glory (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:20, 24:30; John 1:1, 2, 3:16; Acts 1:11; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 7:25).
We believe in the person and work of the Holy Spirit, who is God. We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to reveal and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, and to convict humanity of sin and their need for God, to regenerate those who believe by faith, and dwell within them. The Holy Spirit also guides, instructs, and empowers the believer for godly living, witnessing, and service. The Holy Spirit incorporates and unifies believers into the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the giver of spiritual gifts for the common good of the church and produces the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. We believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a special experience following salvation that empowers believers for witnessing and effective service as in Acts 1:8 and Chapter 2 (John 14:16–18, 16:7–15; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:13, 14, 26, 10:8–10; 1 Corinthians 12:7–13; Galatians 5:22–23; Ephesians 4:1–6, 5:18; Titus 3:5).
We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God without error in the original writings. They are the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of humanity, and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith, life, and conduct (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 33:4; Mark 13:31; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; 1 Peter 1:24–25; 2 Peter 1:2–21).
We believe we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and repent of their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19–21; Romans 3:23, 10:9–10; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11).
We believe that eternal life with God is offered as a free gift, not the result of any human works or goodness. We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and such as receive Jesus are born of the Holy Spirit, and they become children of God. This salvation requires an individual acknowledgment of sin and a recognition that the penalty for that sin was paid by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. This act of salvation thereby transfers our trust from ourselves and our own merits or work to trust in Christ and His substitutionary death as the only means of salvation (Exodus 15:2; Psalm 27:1; John 1:12, 3:16, 6:47; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 1:7–9; Rev. 7, 10).
We believe that man was directly created by God in His own image, but fell into sin. All of humanity is, therefore, lost, and only through repentance, faith in Jesus Christ, and regeneration of the Holy Spirit, can salvation and spiritual life be obtained.
We believe that the true Church is composed of those who, through saving faith in Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the body of Christ, of which He is the head. We believe that only those who are believers in Jesus Christ shall be eligible for membership in the local church (Matthew 16:18, 28:19; Luke 22:14–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–29, 14:12; Ephesians 1:22–23, 2:19–22, 4:11–16, 5:23; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 10:24–25).
We believe that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are sacraments to be observed by the Church during this present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as a means of salvation.
We believe that the Scripture supports marriage as distinctly between one man and one woman united together before God (Genesis 2:18–25; Matthew 19:5–6; Ephesians 5:31; 1 Corinthians 6:15–7:4; Hebrews 13:4).
Everyone is welcome at Bethlehem. We believe that all people — including the unborn — have been created in the image of God, and we fully recognize the sacred worth of life (individual). Every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior and attitudes directed toward any individual are to be rejected and are not in accord with Scripture (Acts 10:34–35; Galatians 3:28; Mark 12:28–31; Luke 6:31).