We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture and as part of God’s good creation prior to the entry of sin into the world. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between one man and one woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman.
We believe that any form of sexual immorality, including, but not limited to, lust, fornication, adultery, unbiblical divorce, cohabitation prior to marriage, the use or promulgation of pornography, pedophilia, homosexual conduct, bisexual conduct, polygamy, polyamory, bestiality, or incest, is sinful and offensive to God.
We believe that God’s good creation included the creation of humanity with two sexes: male and female. We recognize that there are very rare but diagnosable medical conditions (i.e., intersex, etc.) where one’s sex may be indeterminable genetically or biologically at birth, and that such conditions require the utmost sensitivity, care, and qualified medical assistance. Beyond that, we believe that an individual’s confusion about his or her sex or gender is one of the many consequences of living in a fallen world marred by sin and that to seek to alter one’s biological sex or gender through surgical, pharmacological, or other means is sinful and offensive to God. We believe that such situations call for pastorally sensitive care and Biblically faithful counseling as necessary in each situation.
We believe in order to preserve the function and integrity of the Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a Biblical role model to the Church, its members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality and conduct themselves accordingly.
We believe the Bible teaches that all people, everywhere, are sinners, and that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and repent of their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, truth, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with scripture nor the doctrines of the Church. We do not believe that calling people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ constitutes hateful or harassing behavior.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.
