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Distinctives

Reformed

We hold to, affirm, and celebrate the distinctives of the historical Protestant Reformed tradition, especially as embodied in
these distinctives:

Scripture alone is the Church’s sure and certain guide, and the ultimate source of true authority concernineverything in our lives and in our world.
True salvation for righteousness and eternal life before God comes to us through Christ alone. We can never earn it. We receive it only by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.
God alone has complete sovereign rule over all persons and all things in all creation, including all aspects of the salvation and sanctification of His people.
The single intended purpose of all life and all history is for the glory of God alone. Everything we are responsible to do in our lives and in our Church can be done for the glory of God. Living for His glory alone is the highest vocation of every believer.
In submission to the Word of God and in conformity with biblical principles recovered and revived for the Church in the historical Reformation, we believe the Church must especially be marked by (1) the preaching of the Word of God as revealed throughout holy Scripture, and (2) the right ordering and practice of the sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper).

In addition, we value the various creeds and confessions most generally recognized in the historic Reformed tradition. Although in regard to authority, infallibility, comprehensiveness, and depths of richness and beauty no creed or confession can ever match or surpass the holy Scriptures themselves, we acknowledge the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed tradition as being helpful and trustworthy guides for believers in summarizing the true Christian faith which we are to live out. While these creeds have occasional doctrinal differences from one another, we recognize the overwhelming doctrinal agreement that is evident among them. They unitedly affirm Scripture’s divine inspiration and supreme authority for
all of faith and life, and they help us gain a coherent and unified understanding of the whole scope of Scripture. They mirror
the Bible’s fundamental doctrines and the unchanging truth of God. We acknowledge this to be especially true of the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms, among others.

Believers Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordained by the Lord Jesus Himself. Baptism is connected with entrance into the global body of believers, and the Lord’s Supper is connected with ongoing covenant renewal. Together they are simultaneously God’s pledge to us and serve as divinely ordained means of grace. They reflect our public vows of submission to the once crucified and now resurrected Christ, and they anticipate His return and the consummation of all things. In addition, we believe that baptism is a public act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s association with the Triune God. Baptism reflects faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior; the believer’s death to sin; the burial of the old life; the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus; and a testimony to faith in the final resurrection of the dead. While baptism is a one-time act of obedience, the Lord’s Supper is an ongoing act of obedience. When we eat the bread, we are reminded of Christ’s suffering on our behalf, and we affirm that at a moment in historical time, His physical body was broken for us. Likewise, when we drink the fruit of the vine, we recall that His blood was shed to pay the penalty for and cleanse us from our sin.

Complementarianism

We believe and teach that men and women are equal as God’s fellow image bearers, but not interchangeable in their roles in Christ’s Church and in the home (Gen 1:26–28). Men and women are fellow partakers in the grace of God, with no special grace given to one gender over the other (Gal 3:28). Any distinction in role does not imply distinction in worth, dignity, or value.

In Ephesians 5, Paul gives clear distinctions between man and woman within the covenant of marriage and explains how each is to fulfill their role in a way that displays the gospel. The danger in diminishing the God-ordained differences between men and women is not merely practical but theological. After describing the distinct responsibilities of husband and wife, Paul writes, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Eph 5:32). Since marriage is a God-ordained institution designed to reflect Christ’s sacrificial love for His church, we should avoid flattening or erasing the distinctions God has established.

Flowing from this biblical pattern is a vision of biblical masculinity that is neither domineering nor passive, but shaped like Jesus. Scripture consistently presents masculine leadership as a call to responsibility, initiative, and sacrificial love. Husbands are commanded to love their wives “as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25). Biblical masculinity is therefore marked by self-giving, protection, provision, humility, and a willingness to bear responsibility before God for the spiritual health of one’s household (Gen 2:15; Eph 6:4). Christ Himself shows us true manhood not by the pursuit of power, but by obedient service, suffering love, and faithfulness unto death.

This same pattern carries into the life of Christ’s Church. Scripture consistently assigns the office of elder-pastor—those charged with authoritative teaching, oversight, and shepherding—to qualified men (1 Tim 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9). This is not grounded in cultural norms, but in God’s created order and redemptive design (1 Tim 2:12–13).

At the same time, women played a significant and indispensable role in the life and ministry of the early church. Priscilla, along with Aquila, helped instruct Apollos more accurately in the faith (Acts 18:24–26). Paul commends their sacrificial faithfulness and notes that they risked their lives for him (Romans 16:3–4). In Romans 16, Paul expresses gratitude for many co-laborers in the gospel, a substantial number of whom are women. Women also played a crucial role in supporting Jesus’s earthly ministry (Luke 8:1–3). Scripture leaves no room for questioning the equal value, dignity, giftedness, or ministry effectiveness of women in Christ’s Church.

The question, therefore, is not whether men and women may serve faithfully in Christ’s Church, but how their service is ordered according to God’s Word. In keeping with the teaching of Scripture, we affirm that the office of elder-pastor is reserved for qualified men, consistent with God’s design for male headship in the home (Eph 5:21–24). We also affirm that women may serve in the office of deaconess. In accordance with the principles set forth in Acts 6:1–6, deacons and deaconesses do not exercise spiritual authority over the congregation but support the elder-pastors’ ministry of the Word, help preserve the unity of the Church, and care for the physical and practical needs of the body.

Eldership

We believe the New Testament uses the terms elder, pastor, and overseer interchangeably to describe the same biblical office (Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5–7; 1 Peter 5:1–2). While elder-pastors may serve in differing roles and levels of vocational involvement, all elder-pastors share the same office, qualifications, responsibilities, and accountability before God.
We believe God has graciously given elder-pastors to shepherd and serve His church. The consistent pattern throughout the New Testament is that each local body of believers is led by a plurality of qualified male elder-pastors. These men are appointed to lead the church, equip the saints, preach and teach the Word, and devote themselves to prayer (Ephesians 4:11–12; 1 Timothy 3:1–7; 5:17–18).
The elder-pastors are to carry out their ministry humbly and sacrificially in service to Christ and His church. Scripture commands church leaders to shepherd the flock willingly, not under compulsion or for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those entrusted to them, but being examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:2–3). Their authority is ministerial and declarative, derived from the authority of Christ exercised through His Word, and not from personal status or coercive power.
Accordingly, church members are exhorted to honor, obey, and submit to their leaders as those who will give an account before God (Hebrews 13:17). The biblical qualifications for an elder-pastor require men who are above reproach in character, able to faithfully teach sound doctrine, and qualified according to the standards set forth in 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9.
The relationship between elder-pastors and church members is not one of authoritarian control, but of mutual love, trust, humility, and respect under the headship of Christ. Elder-pastors are called to lead as servants and examples to the flock, and members are called to follow with joyful partnership for the health, unity, and maturity of the church.

Expository Preaching

We believe expository preaching is the ordinary and primary method by which God speaks to, feeds, and matures His church through His Word. Expository preaching seeks to explain and apply the meaning of a particular passage of Scripture in its original context through careful historical-grammatical interpretation. The goal of expositional preaching is not to impose the preacher’s ideas upon the text, but to faithfully draw out and proclaim the meaning intended by the biblical author under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Membership

Both Jesus and the writers of the New Testament epistles (letters) indicate that a Christian’s life is to be lived out in Christian community, which is the local church. For example, in John 13:35, Jesus tells his disciples “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”, indicating that his followers will regularly interact with each other (and will do so lovingly). In the New Testament, the local church was a clearly defined group of faithful believers. The Elders of each local church knew those who were under their care (Hebrews 13:17; Acts 20:28). A clear distinction between those of the world, and those who are part of Christ’s family (1 Corinthians 5:2;9-10;13; Matthew 18:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; Titus 3:10. Those in the local church are commanded not to associate with those who profess to be Christians but live lives of unrepentant sin. Without knowing who is “in” the church, it is impossible to know who are in the church’s and Elder’s care, who should be admonished (or even “removed” in the case of unrepentant sin), and who is part of the “world”. Accordingly, we believe that meaningful membership in a local church is a biblical expectation for every Christian. We believe the local church is the primary context God has ordained for the discipleship, spiritual growth, and care of believers (see Ephesians 4:11-12). Believers are united covenantally to Christ and His Church through faith, and are called to live out that commitment visibly and faithfully within the context of a local congregation (Acts 2:42–47; Hebrews 10:24–25; 13:17).
Church membership is a formal agreement between a believer and a local church. The church affirms the member’s profession of faith in Christ (Matthew 16:19) and the member and the church willingly commit themselves to one another for the purpose of worship, discipleship, fellowship, service, accountability, and mission under the headship of Christ. Through membership, believers also voluntarily place themselves under the shepherding care and leadership of the church’s elder-pastors who commit to faithfully shepherd its members.