We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit and, therefore, true, reliable, and without error in all it addresses. We believe the Bible has been safeguarded by the Holy Spirit and transmitted to the present day without any doctrinal corruption. The Bible forever remains the unchanging and final authority for faith and living.

• Evident church primarily preaches from the English Standard Version (ESV) on Sunday Mornings.
  

Psalm 119:9, 89, 105; Matthew 24:35; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:20-21

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three divine persons, equal in power and glory — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the creator and sustainer of all things. His divine qualities — including love, holiness, justice, righteousness, faithfulness, infinite knowledge and power, self-existence, and omnipresence — all harmonize perfectly in the unity of his being.

Genesis 1:1; Exodus 3:14, 34:6; Deuteronomy 6:4, 32:4; 1 Kings 8:27; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 90:2, 103:8, 116:5, 147:5; Isaiah 6:3, 40:28, 57:15; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Malachi 3:6; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1, 4:24, 10:30, 14:16; Acts 5:4-5, 17:28; 1 Corinthians 8:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 1:17; 1 Timothy 1:17, 2:5; Hebrews 1:2, 12 & 11:3; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 4:10-16

We believe in God the Father, begotten(1) of none, the eternal Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Since God is the creator, all things and all people are from him and exist for him. As the author of salvation, he adopts into his family all who are born again by faith. He gloriously upholds and providentially rules over all things, to accomplish the redemption of his people and the restoration of all creation.

1. The word “begotten” is the past tense of an old English word which means “to bring into being,” or (in that sense) “to father” or “to sire.” When we say that the Father is “begotten of none,” we mean that no one brought the Father into being. When we say that Jesus is the “eternally begotten son of the Father,” we mean that Jesus is the only example of a person who has always (for all eternity) been brought into being by God the eternal Father, and therefore is the only person of whom it can be said that he is truly the Son of the Father. Human fathers live in time and bring human sons into being at a point in time. The eternally existing Father brings his eternally existing Son into being. Human language is inadequate to fully describe this mysterious relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

Genesis 1:1; Psalms 90:2; John 13:3, 16:28; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 1:3-4, 4:6; 1 Peter 1:2-3; 1 John 2:23, 3:1

We believe in Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of the Father. He is the fully divine, living Word of God who also became fully human — conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. His sinless human life, humble obedience to his Father’s will, sacrificial death and bodily resurrection made sufficient provision for the salvation of all people. In his ascension, he returned to his Father, where he reigns as Lord, Advocate, Great High Priest, and Coming Judge.

Isaiah 53:6; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 14, 18; Acts 2:22, 24-32; Romans 1:3-4, 8:34; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Ephesians 1:19-22; Colossians 3:4; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8, 4:15, 7:25; 1 Peter 2:22, 24, 3:18; 1 John 2:1-2

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God, proceeding from and sent by the Father and the Son. He is the personal expression of God’s power — instrumental in all his works. He is the author and illuminator of sacred Scripture. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is the agent of the new birth, the one by whom we are baptized into the Body of Christ. As the spirit of holiness, he indwells every believer and his Church, purifying and empowering his people for holy living. He guides them into truth, comforts and encourages them, enables them to fulfill the Great Commission and produces his fruit in their lives.

Matthew 28:19; John 3:5-6, 14:16-18, 26, 15:26, 16:7-14; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 13:2-4, 15:28; Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 2:10-12, 6:19-20, 12:4-11, 13; 2 Corinthians 6:16, 13:14; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 2:21-22; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 1:2, 1 John 2:20-27

We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our salvation. He voluntarily offered himself as our representative and substitute and suffered and died on the cross in our place — taking upon himself God’s righteous wrath. We believe in his bodily resurrection on the third day, which powerfully declared him to be the Son of God. By his death and resurrection, Jesus once for all conquered sin, death, hell, and the devil.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Salvation is a divine gift given to those who repent and believe. Repentance and faith are the divinely enabled human responses to the grace of God. By the power of the Holy Spirit, a sinner must turn away from sin and embrace God — thus appropriating the benefits of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. All who truly believe and receive Christ are born of his Spirit, fully justified, reconciled to God, adopted as his children, and united with Jesus in his death and resurrection. They will one day see him in his glory and be glorified themselves, as God brings his redemptive work to completion.

We believe that God transforms his redeemed people by conforming them to the image of his Son through the indwelling and sanctifying work of his Holy Spirit. This work begins with God’s gracious initiative and can only be accomplished by his life-giving power, believers will cooperate and fully yield themselves to the Lordship of Christ. Believers are called to surrender their wills, be renewed in their minds, and have their hearts purified as they continuously offer themselves as living sacrifices to God.

We believe that a living faith must express itself in a life of loving obedience to God and in loving service to others. Genuine faith will inevitably produce good works, which are born out of gratitude for salvation and ultimately done for God’s glory. Christians are called to live by the power of the Holy Spirit as citizens of the kingdom, serving as God’s agents of transformation for society, culture, and the created world.

Psalms 51:3-4; Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 6:1-5, 55:6-7; Matthew 1:21, 3:2, 8, 4:17, 16:24; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3, 15:18, 18:13, 19:8; John 1:12, 3:3, 5, 14-17, 5:24, 6:44, 16:8-11, 17:17; Acts 11:18, 13:38-39, 15:8-9, 16:31, 20:21, 22:10; Romans 2:4, 3:10-12, 19, 20, 23, 4:3-5, 5:1, 9, 6:19, 22, 8:16, 33, 37, 10:9-10, 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 19-23, 55-57; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:17, 7:1; Galatians 2:20, 6:14; Ephesians 2:8-10, 5:26; Philippians 2:12-16, 3:20-21; Colossians 2:6, 3:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:25; Hebrews 11:6, 12:14, 13:12; James 2:17; 1 Peter 1:2, 15-16; 2 Peter 1:4-9, 3:18; 1 John 3:2, 5:6

We believe that the invisible and universal Church is a spiritual body comprised of all believers, both living and dead — over which Christ himself is Head and Lord.

We believe that the local church is to be a loving community of Christ’s followers who gather for worship, prayer, instruction in the Word, mutual encouragement and discipline. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Church is to display his holiness, bear his fruit, and be adorned by his gracious gifts. As a people called out of darkness, the Church will embody the pervasive, life-transforming power of God by equipping the saints for the work of ministry — bearing witness to the truth and exerting influence in every realm of the broader culture. The Church is called by Jesus to proclaim the gospel — locally, cross-culturally, and internationally — and to make disciples of everyone everywhere in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 18:15-17, 16:13-18, 26:26-30, 28:18-20; Luke 22:15-20; John 13:35; Acts 1:8, 2:38-42, 46-47, 8:36-39, 20:7, 28, 32; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 5:1-4, 10:16, 11:23-24, 12:12-27, 16:2; Ephesians 1:5-6, 22-23, 3:21, 4:11-16; Colossians 1:18, 2:12; Hebrews 12:23; 1 Peter 3:21, 4:11; 1 John 3:14, 4:2, 5:1-5; Jude 20-21

We believe that baptism was instituted by the Lord Jesus himself — not as a means of salvation, but as outward signs of the salvation we have by faith. Baptism is a divinely mandated means by which believers publicly affirm their faith in Christ and symbolizes the spiritual union that every believer has with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, we believe that the biblical pattern is baptism upon profession of faith in Christ, and furthermore, that it should be administered by immersion whenever possible.

Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21

We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by the Lord Jesus himself — not as a means of salvation, but as outward signs of the salvation we have by faith. The Lord’s Supper serves not only as a vivid memorial of Jesus’ bodily sacrifice and shed blood, but also as a proclamation of his death until he returns. It symbolizes the believer’s union with Christ and the spiritual unity shared by every believer. It provides a powerful inducement to self-examination, should be celebrated joyfully and regularly, and is open to all who are followers of Christ.

Matthew 26:26-30; Luke 22:15-20, Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-34

The Word of God strongly supports the Sanctity of Human Life. A biblical worldview does not allow for a woman’s “right” to choose to take the life of her unborn child. Evident Church supports the sanctity (sacredness) of all human life. We believe that life begins at the point of conception. Therefore, we abhor the practices of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. Since life begins at conception, the pre-born child is a human-being, a fellow image bearer of Yahweh, endowed with divine dignity and inviolable rights. Thus, pre-born children should be accorded the same protection of life granted to every other human being. The Bible teaches that every human life is of great value to God. While we sympathize with those who have experienced the tragedy and heartbreak of rape and incest, abortion—even in those cases—amounts to the execution of an innocent child for the sin of the perpetrator. Abortion not only ends the life of an innocent human person, in the long run it only causes the mother greater pain and remorse. We support organizations that seek to reduce the taking of innocent life through abortion. We support the overturning and limiting of laws that allow a woman to legally choose to abort the child in her womb. We discourage the support of laws or political candidates that would uphold abortion as a viable choice. We seek to support, counsel and encourage any woman faced with an un-planned pregnancy to not opt for abortion. We also seek to provide resources, adoption options and spiritual support for the mother. We seek to offer the same for those (father or mother) suffering post-abortive guilt and to help them come to a place of forgiveness and cleansing. Regardless of choices made, all people should be treated with kindness and compassion.

Exodus 20:13; Psalm 139:13; Psalm 94:21; Proverbs 6:16, 17; Jer. 1:4-5; Job 31:14-15; Luke 1:15; 41; 44