What We Believe

We affirm that there exists only one God, and He is revealed in three distinct persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is self-existent, eternal, unchanging, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, holy, righteous, and loving. God created the universe from nothing, and He rules over His creation sovereignly including both human and angelic beings. (Genesis 1:1, 26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17; John 10:30, 17:22; Romans 3:30; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; James 2:19; 1 John 5:7; Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16)

The Holy Bible, comprised of the Old and New Covenant Scriptures, is God’s verbally inspired Word, inerrant and infallible in the original writings, and completely trustworthy. The Holy Bible is used as God’s objective standard of truth, and no teaching or practice that contradicts the spirit or content of the bible can be considered as coming from God. (Mark 12:24; Acts 17:11, 18:28; Galatians 1:9; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20)

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who became man though He was by nature God, and was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin named Mary. Jesus lived a sinless life of perfect obedience, died a substitutionary death on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for sin, rose bodily from the dead on the third day, and ascended into heaven where He now intercedes for us as our only Mediator and eternal High Priest. He will return someday, bodily and visibly, to the earth - not to bear sin but to judge the living and the dead and bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. (John 1:1-5, 14, 5:18, 8:58; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; 1 Timothy 2:5; Colossians 1:15-20, 2:9; Matthew 23:30-31; 25:31-46; Acts 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 9:27-28)

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the “Trinity,” is equal to the Father and the Son as God, and serves as the continued presence of God on earth. He works to convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment in order to lead the unbeliever to salvation. The Holy Spirit performs the work of regeneration at the moment of salvation and continues to guide the believer in an understanding of truth and, through the process of transformation, into the image of Jesus. Visible evidence of the indwelling Spirit of God is known as the “Fruit of the Spirit”. (John 14:26, 16:8, 13; Romans 8:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:13; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 1:13-14; Titus 3:5-7)

People are created in God’s image and are the object of His affection as God’s special and unique workmanship, created for a relationship with Him and gifted for a purpose to build up the body of Christ. When we fall short of God’s standard of righteousness through disobedience (sin), we become objects of His wrath and in need of salvation. (Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:21-22; Romans 3:23, 6:23, 15:5-6). Our view of human sexuality and gender conforms to God's intention revealed at the time of creation as stated in Genesis (Genesis 1:26-27) and affirmed in the New Testament (Matthew 19:4-5) and evident and observable at birth.

Salvation is the restoration of a right relationship with God by means of Jesus. Eternal life comes by the grace of God and begins the moment the new believer is born again through the work of the Holy Spirit in response to placing faith in Jesus. The believer becomes “righteous” in God’s sight through faith because of the completed work of Jesus on the cross as the only and sufficient payment for our sins. (John 3:3-7, 15, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:8-9; Romans 3:20-26; Titus 3:5-6; Hebrews 2:17-18, 9:22; 1 John 2:2, 4:10)

The Church is the body of Christ and is comprised of people who have accepted God’s free gift of salvation. The Church was commissioned to make disciples and gather to encourage one another in matters of faith, love, and obedience. People are to use their spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities in ministering according to the purposes of God’s design so that those who follow Him may increase in number and maturity as we all together await His return. (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 3:10, 4:11-16; Colossians 3:24; Hebrews 10:24-25; Titus 3:5-7)

God’s redemptive purpose will be consummated by the return of Christ to raise the dead, judge all humanity, and establish His kingdom. Those who have received the free gift of salvation will be raised to eternal life. They will live forever in the fellowship and Kingdom of God in a new heaven and a new earth. The ultimate destiny of humanity, who rejected God’s free gift of salvation, and Satan with his entire angelic host of demons will be conscious punishment (hell), forever separated from God. (Matthew 25:41, 46; Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 20:6,14-15, 21:1-8)

Baptism by immersion was the New Testament way believers made their initial public declaration of faith in Jesus and identified themselves as His disciples! While other practices became common later, TMC can only teach and practice what we understand to be the pattern established in the New Testament. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 41, 9:35-38, 16:14-15, 30-33, 18:8; Romans 6:3-4)

God’s plan for marriage was intended to be a picture of His love for His church. God has established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman. All intimate sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, is immoral and therefore sin. (Genesis 2:24-25; Ex 20:14, 17, 22, 22:19; Lev. 18:22-23, 20:13, 15-16; Matthew 19:4-6, 9; Ro 1:18-31; 1 Cor. 6:9-10, 15-20; 1 Tim 1:8-11; Jude 7)

Communion (“Lord’s Supper” or “Breaking of Bread” in some instances in the New Testament), is a sacrament given to believers by Jesus as a means to remember his sacrifice for us and to symbolize the new covenant. The elements of bread and juice (or wine) are symbols of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. Communion is not part of the salvation process but is meant to be a means for the believer to proclaim his/her confidence in the atoning work of the cross and the conviction that someday this will be shared with Jesus in heaven. (Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29)