THE HOLY TRINITY is composed of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, one in essence and three in person. God is eternal, and the creator and preserver of all things whether visible or invisible. God is personal, self-existent, and unchangable.

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES are the inspired word of God and are therefore without error as originally given.  They are profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction.

JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, suffered under Pontias Pilate, was crucified, dies, and was buried, and on the third day He rose from the dead.  He now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty and from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.  In the continuing ministry of Christ, we believe His power to transform, heal, and deliver is still real and available to meet the needs of all today!

SALVATION - All have sinned and come short of the glory of God and therefore must be saved in order to have fellowship with God and eternal life.  Salvation is by grace through faith.  We are saved by accepting Jesus Christ as our savior.  Those who reject Him as Savior will suffer eternal punishment.  A person should profess publicly their faith in Jesus as Savior and follow this profession in the act of water baptism (an outward sign of the inward decision to follow Christ) and continue in a life of faithful discipleship.

THE HOLY SPIRIT - A person, after having been saved, may be endued with power to live a victorious life as a witness for Christ.  We affirm our belief in the Baptism with the Holy Spirit as a definite experience (though different terminology may be used and different manifestations may occur).  This infilling with the Holy Spirit is received by faith.  We affirm our belief in the gifts of the Spirit for the ministry of the Church today.  The gifts are to be used for edification and are to be carefully discerned and used in accordance with Scriptural instruction.

THE CHURCH - The universal body of Christ is composed of all true believers in Christ which is the Church with Christ as her head.  All true Christians are members one of another.  Christ has commissioned His Church to obey His Great Commission and to reach the whole world with the Gospel.  The Word of God is to be preached by men divinely called, the ordinances or sacraments (Baptism and the Lord's Supper) duly administered, the worship of God maintained for edification of Believers, and the lost converted to Christ as Savior and Lord.

SACRAMENTS OR ORDINANCES - There are two sacraments, or ordinances, established by Christ: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

BAPTISM is not the means of salvation, but the outward expression of an inward decision.  Those who present themselves for Baptism should have carefully examined their life and commitment to Christ.  Baptism is to be administered by immersion upon profession of faith in Christ.

THE LORD'S SUPPER is for all believers, and is to be preceded by faithful self-examination and is in rememberance of the Lord's death until He comes.

THE LORD'S DAY - In commemoration of our Lord's resurrection and in keeping with the practice of the New Testament Church, the first day of the week (Sunday) shall be observed as a special day of worship.

Quite often I am asked, "Could you recommend a good Bible?"  Recently, I have come to recommend the English Standard Version (ESV).  Over the past few years, the ESV has become my primary Bible for personal use.  The ESV embodies a word-for-word exactness, as well as easy readability while remaining reverent.

Some of my favorite preachers and speakers have also given high recommendations for the ESV:

"We are building all our future ministry around the ESV…The ESV satisfies the preaching, memorizing, studying, and reading needs of our church from children to adults." – John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN

"Retaining the majesty of language with the clarity of thought, the English Standard Version is a great accomplishment." – Dr. Ravi Zacharias, author and speaker

"The ESV is a solid translation…that is faithful to the text and clear to the mind and ear.  It is a pleasure to commend it." – Dr. Darrell L. Bock, Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

It is with great delight that Calvary Christian Center has selected the ESV to satisfy the preaching and reading needs of our congregation.

Pastor Van Morris