First, let it be known that we are members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  As a member congregation of the Presbytery of the Grand Canyon, we are under the authority of our denomination's Constitution.  In our Constitution is a book of ten confessions of faith ranging from the Nicene and Apostles' Creed in the early church to the Brief Statement of Faith adopted in 1991.  We recommend the reading of the Book of Confessions to all our members.

In the Book of Confessions the following important beliefs are strongly emphasized in our congregation's life and ministry:

1. The reality of God who is self-revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  "God has thus revealed himself in his Word that these three distinct persons are the one, true, eternal God."  (The Heidelberg Catechism, 4.025, Matthew 28:19, II Corinthians 3:17-18.)

2. The Deity of Jesus Christ, God's Son.  "We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being Father, through him all things were made."  (The Nicene Creed, 1.2, John 1.1.)

3. The integrity and authority of the Bible as God's word:  "The one sufficient revelation of God is Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate, to whom the Holy Spirit bears unique and authoritative witness through the Holy Scriptures, which are received and obeyed as the word of God written."  (The Confession of 1967, 9.27, II Timothy 3:16.)

4.  Jesus Christ's atoning death on the Cross:  "Our Lord Jesus offered himself a voluntary sacrifice unto his Father for us...was wounded and plagued for our transgressions...that we should be absolved before the judgment seat of our God.  (The Scots Confession, 3.09, Isaiah 53:5, II Corinthians 5:21.)

5.  The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ:  "On the third day he arose from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered. "  (The Westminster Confession, 6.046, Luke 24:36-40.)

6.  Salvation comes only by God's grace through faith, not through our human efforts:  "Now it is most certain that all of us are by nature sinners and godless, and before God's judgment-seat are convicted of godlessness and are guilty of death, but that, solely by the grace of Christ and not from any merit of ours, we are justified, that is, absolved from sin and death by God the Judge."  (The Second Helvetic Confession, 5.107, Ephesians 2:9-10.)

7.  The necessity for moral behavior:  "The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience was the moral law (which) is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments.  The sum of the Ten Commandments is:  to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves."  (The Westminster Shorter Catechism 7.040-042, Exodus 20:1-17, Matthew 5:17-18.)

8.  The coming of Jesus Christ to judge the world at the end of human history:  "In the power of the risen Christ and the hope of his coming, the church sees the promise of God's renewal in man's life in society and of God's victory over all wrong."  (The Confession of 1967, 9.32, Acts 1:9-11, John 14:1-3.)

In addition to these core beliefs, we recognize these historic purposes for the church:  "The great ends of the church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world."  (Form of Government, G-1.0200.)

We conclude this brief summary of our beliefs and purposes with the closing words of our Brief Statement of Faith:
"With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  Amen" 

The Session