A well-loved hymn opens with these lines, “I love to tell the story, of unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.” These words would describe well the passion and ministry of UBC. We love to tell the story of the glories and wonders of Jesus Christ. We love to tell of His great sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary to save us from our sin. We love to proclaim God’s Word in all of its fullness. We love to magnify God through every possible means.
As a result of our zeal to proclaim these truths, our church—every aspect, program and activity—centers on the Word of God, which is the only source of life and godliness through the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:3). The times of fellowship, evangelism, and worship are extremely important to us, but even these things must be firmly grounded upon the scriptures or they become activities without purpose. The Lord has created His church to be the “pillar and support of the truth” (I Timothy 3:15). It is our desire and delight to be a local congregation fulfilling the purpose for which we were designed.
The Scriptures
We believe that the Bible is the infallible, inerrant, inspired WORD of GOD; authoritative for all of life and faith. Its teachings are absolute, supreme and final (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12, 13).
The Godhead
We believe that there is only one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son & Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (John 1:1–2, 14; Luke 1:35). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3–5). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of the Father where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry as Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9, 10;Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1–2). We believe Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5; Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1).
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God the Spirit. That He indwells and fills every believer at the moment of conversion, producing His fruit in them and gifting them to serve God and His church (John 16:8–11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18).
The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3, 12).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 2:8–10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19).
Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37–40; 10:27–30; Romans 8:1, 38, 39; 1 Corinthians 1:4–8; 1 Peter 1:5). We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for the flesh (Romans 13:13, 14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11–15).
Heaven and Hell
We believe in the literal resurrection of the body, both of the saved and the unsaved. We believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell; Hell being eternal separation from God in never-ending torment, and Heaven being eternally in the presence of God (Matthew 13:49-50; Matthew 25:41-46; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:11-15).
The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of spiritual gifts. It is, however, the believer’s responsibility to attempt to develop their sovereignly given spiritual gift(s). The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion and is the placing of the believer into the Body of Christ. We also believe that particular spiritual gift(s) are neither essential, nor prove the presence of the Holy Spirit, nor are an indication of deep spiritual experience (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, 13; Ephesians 4:7–8). We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14, 15). We believe that it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to minister according to the gift(s) and grace of God that is given to him (Romans 12:1–8; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 Peter 4:10–11).
The Church
We believe that all true believers in Jesus Christ are part of His church and should unite with a local group of believers for the purpose of fellowship, discipleship, worship, ministry and evangelism (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 5:25–27; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).