We are Christian

We believe that Jesus is both human and divine, the Son of Man and the Son of God, the only name under heaven given for us to be saved by, and the point where God and Humanity meet. He suffered through his life of obedience in the place of God’s disobedient people. He is the message of the Kingdom of God overcoming the World. He was put to death as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins. Because the Father declared him worthy to do it, Jesus took up his life again on the third day after his death. He now lives and ministers for his brothers and sisters at the throne of his Father. He will return to Earth one day to receive glory and reign as King, where everyone who has ever lived will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord.

We are Reformed

The Christian Reformed Church is a branch of the historic New Testament Church that began to be separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 15th century. We stand with classic reformers of Roman Catholicism like Jan Hus, Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and later, John Calvin, who believed that Scripture alone is the rule of our faith; that no person can forgive sin but Christ alone; that we have access to Christ’s righteousness by faith alone; that even our faith in Christ is solely a gift from God, and; that God alone gets the glory for our salvation and obedience.

We are the Church

Because God has given his Son to be our atoning sacrifice and the mediator of grace forever, he calls people to come out of a world of sin through faith in that Son. These brothers and sisters of Jesus, found in many different countries and in many different cultures, are called “The Church.” We are not a building, nor are we ‘Christians’ just because we meet every Sunday for a worship service. We are mothers and fathers, brothers, sisters, friends and neighbors who have heard God’s call to believe in the living Christ. He is the King of our heart, mind and body, and so we live life as "The Church.” Individually, we strive to follow Jesus’ leading in all our thoughts, desires, relationships, jobs and recreation. Together, we serve everyone in love; baptizing people as followers of Jesus, and teaching them to treasure all of his Word.

We Confess this Faith Together

We are a “confessional” Church. We recognize certain written statements of theology as adequately stating truths contained in the Bible about our faith and life. Like this web page, these statements are not superior to the Bible, or even equal to it. They are ‘beneath’ the Bible – drawn from it as we understand what God has spoken. They are not infallible and can be added to or discarded. However, we ‘confess’ these statements of theology to unify the Church and strengthen our faith.

One of these Confessions is the Heidelberg Catechism.Its first question and answer (it’s written in that format for teaching) holds a lot of truth about our faith and hope:

What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own,1 but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – 2 to my faithful savior Jesus Christ.3 He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, 4 and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. 5 He also watches over me in such a way 6 that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; 7 in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. 8 Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life 9 and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.10

1. 1 Corinthians 6.19-202. Romans 14.7-93. 1 Corinthians 3.23; Titus 2.144. 1 Peter 1.18-19; 1 John 1.7-9, 2.25. John 8.34-36; Hebrews 2.14-15; 1 John 3.1-116. John 6.39-40, 10.27-30; 2 Thessalonians 3.3; 1 Peter 1.57. Matthew 10.29-31; Luke 21.16-188. Romans 8.289. Romans 8.15-16; 2 Corinthians 1.21-22, 5.5; Ephesians 1.13-1410. Romans 8.1-17