WHAT WE BELIEVE

There is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They have the same nature, attributes, and perfection. They are worthy of the same adoration, worship, service, and trust. God is holy, perfect, eternal, complete in knowledge, limitless in sovereign power, and the creator of all things. God the Father is the first member of the Trinity.

Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 28:19, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, 1 Peter 1:2

Jesus Christ is eternally God and the second member of the Trinity. In fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, He added human nature to His divine nature when conceived by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary; thus He is truly God and truly Man. He lived a sinless life, was crucified as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven, where He remains, interceding as our perfect High Priest. He will personally, bodily, and visibly return to set up His kingdom and to judge both the living and the dead.

Matthew 1:18-25, Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 1:35, Luke 24, John 17:5, Acts 1:9-11, Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, Hebrews 4:14-16, 1 Peter 2:24-25, Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15

The Holy Spirit is eternally God and the third member of the Trinity. As such, He possesses all the nature, attributes, and perfections of the Godhead. He is the source of power for the believer, and gifts each believer to serve and participate in the life of the Church. He glorifies Jesus Christ; convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment to draw unbelievers toward God; and regenerates believing sinners. He indwells, seals, guides, equips, and empowers those whom He regenerates.

John 15:26, John 16:7-15, Romans 8:14-17, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Ephesians 1:13-14

God fully inspired the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament. The autographs (i.e., originals) are inerrant in their descriptions of reality, history, and doctrine. They reveal the mind and heart of God to mankind, pointing us to Jesus as the salvation of God. They are our only infallible guide and authority for daily life and are to be believed, obeyed, and trusted. The Bible should be interpreted according to the literal, historical, grammatical method, understanding the text according to the normal use of language in context.

John 10:35, 2 Timothy 3:14-16, 1 Peter 1:25, 2 Peter 1:19-21, 2 Peter 3:15-16

Mankind was created sinless and in God’s image. This image was retained after the Fall, but was tarnished by sin. Because of sin, Adam and all who descended from him are separated from God, lost and utterly unable to save themselves. Salvation is by grace alone, acquired through faith alone, and achieved by Jesus Christ alone through His death and resurrection. All will be resurrected and live into eternity: the saved to everlasting joy with God, and the lost to everlasting punishment apart from God. All who believe are securely kept by God for eternity: the believer cannot acquire, add to, maintain, or ensure salvation by his/her good works.

Genesis 1:26-27, Ecclesiastes 7:29, Matthew 25:46, John 3:3, John 3:16, John 3:36, Acts 13:38-39, Acts 4:12, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12-21, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, James 2:10, James 3:9

The “universal church” consists of all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior between Pentecost and the return of Christ. These are baptized by the Spirit into one Body, with Jesus Christ as head. Its purpose is to worship God, build up believers in their faith, and call unbelievers to faith in Jesus so that they might also worship and serve God. Our participation in the universal church is through membership in the local church. These are organized local assemblies that meet regularly to worship, teach, fellowship, and celebrate the Gospel together.

Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:6-8, Acts 2:41-47, Acts 15:13-17, Ephesians 1:3-6, 1 Corinthians 12:4-13, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

All believers in Jesus Christ have direct access to the Father in the Holy Spirit and through Christ Jesus. This is true without regard for gender, race, or ethnicity. All in the Church are gifted by the Holy Spirit to build up the church. The role of the pastors/elders is not to mediate access to God, but to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, Ephesians 2:18-21, Ephesians 4:11-13, 1 Timothy 2:5, 1 Peter 2:5, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Peter 4:10-11

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper celebrate and symbolically express the Gospel. They affirm and encourage believers, but are not a means of salvation. In baptism by immersion, believers in Jesus symbolically identify with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, and show their identification with the Church. In the Lord’s Supper, believers symbolically show the unity of the Church body under Christ, remember His death on our behalf, and look forward to His return.

Matthew 26:26-28, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41, Romans 6:3-5, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 1 Corinthians 11:17-32

A person’s gender is determined by biology at birth, under God’s creative authority, and is unchangeable. In rare instances of intersex biology, a person should live as the gender with which their biology most closely conforms. The concept of a difference between sex and gender is a recent lie invented by “the god of this age.”

Genesis 1:27; Deuteronomy 22:5; Psalm 139:13–14; Matthew 19:4, 12; Romans 1:21–25, 9:20; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 4:14; Colossians 2:8

See the following sermons by Jeff Thompson for more details:

Gender Confusion: How Did We Get Here?

Gender Confusion: What Should Christians Think?

Gender Confusion: What Should Christians Do?

God’s design for all sexual activity is that it would occur exclusively between one man and one woman, united in marriage. All other forms of sexual activity and expression fall under the biblical classification of “sexual immorality.”

Genesis 2:24; Exodus 20:14; Proverbs 5:15–19; Matthew 19:4–6; Romans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20, 7:2–5; Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5; Hebrews 13:4

Satan is an angelic being who rebelled against God and has fallen from his original heavenly glory. He rules the present age, architects the world’s systems, and can influence anyone who does not belong to Christ. Though he and his demonic followers fight against God and against believers in Jesus, his defeat and judgment by Christ are certain and sure. He will be judged at the end of the millennial kingdom, during which he will be bound and powerless. His eternal destiny is in the Lake of Fire.

Job 1:12, Ezekiel 28:11-19, John 14:30, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2, 1 John 5:19; Revelation 20:10

All believers are called to support their local church through financial giving and are the means through which God has chosen to fund His Church. Believers are not commanded to tithe because they are no longer under the Law; Christ has fulfilled it. This reality ought not to lead to less generosity but to greater generosity, because the New Covenant perspective is that Christ owns everything we have (not just 10%) and has called us to steward it in accordance with His will. Every believer is called to determine through prayer how his giving can align with the New Testament’s call to give faithfully, joyfully, and sacrificially.

Luke 14:33, 21:1-4; Romans 10:4; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 9:13-14, 16:2; 2 Corinthians 8:1-4, 12, 9:6-7; Galatians 3:23-25, 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; Hebrews 7:12, 18-19

For more details, see these sermons by Jeff Thompson:
New Covenant Giving (Part 1)

New Covenant Giving (Part 2)

We believe that men and women were created in the image of God with equal value and dignity, and are called by Him to different roles and functions in marriage, family, and the Church. These roles and functions are not arbitrary; they are intrinsically linked to characteristics embedded in God’s design and the effects of the Fall on both genders, who were impacted similarly in some ways and differently in others.

Genesis 1:26–27, 2:18, 2:21–24, 3:16–19, 3:22-24; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 11:8–9, 14:33b–35; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 5:22–33; Colossians 3:18–19; 1 Timothy 2:11-13, 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9, 2:3–5; 1 Peter 3:7

New Heights is led by a plurality of elders with shared authority. We believe this is the only leadership model for the local church referenced in Scripture. Members of New Heights vote on key decisions, such as hiring a senior pastor or funding a property purchase, to preserve congregational unity.

We believe the Church will be raptured prior to a 7-year tribulation period (“pre-Trib”), which will culminate with the Second Coming - the return of Jesus, with His saints, to rule and reign on the Earth for a thousand years (”The Millennium / Millennial Kingdom”). At the end of the Millennium, the new Heaven and Earth will be revealed as the eternal home of believers.

Isaiah 11:6–9; Daniel 9:27; Zechariah 14:4–5; Matthew 24:21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:9; Titus 2:13, Revelation 3:10, 19:11-25, 20:4-6, 21:1-4

For a detailed study, see Jeff Thompson’s book, “Hail the King.”

And for his updated position on Israel, see these 3 sermons:

Understanding Israel (Part 1)

Understanding Israel (Part 2)

Understanding Israel (Part 3)

We believe the gifts of the Spirit are still active among believers today, though gifts that could be considered “signs and wonders” may only be active where the Gospel is going forth to new lands and peoples (see the subsection on “Signs and Wonders”). We believe the gifts are to be exercised in accordance with Scripture and are for the following purposes: to build up, encourage, and mature the church body; to equip believers for ministry; to serve others as stewards of God’s grace; to glorify God through Jesus; and to display unity in the local church.

Romans 12:6–8; Ephesians 4:11–13, 15-16; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 18, 24b-25, 14:12, 26; 1 Peter 4:10-11

We believe that signs and wonders have often accompanied the Gospel as it was taken by faithful messengers to new lands and peoples. Signs and wonders served to authenticate the authority of the Gospel message. As churches were established and the Bible became more available, signs and wonders decreased as they were no longer needed. These truths may still be active today, as the Gospel is taken by missionaries to lands and peoples who have never heard it.

Acts 4:29–30, 5:15–16, 14:3, 19:11–12; Romans 15:18–19; 2 Corinthians 12:7–9, 12:12; Philippians 2:25–27; 1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Timothy 4:20; Hebrews 2:3–4

We neither affirm Calvinism nor Arminianism, seeing in the Scriptures the mystery of salvation that includes both genuine human free will and responsibility intertwined with God’s sovereignty, foreknowledge, and election.

Matthew 23:37; John 3:16, 6:37; Acts 2:23; Romans 8:29–30; Ephesians 1:4–5, 11; Philippians 2:12–13; 1 Timothy 2:3–4; 1 Peter 1:1–2; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 22:17