Core Beliefs:

• We believe the Bible to be completely true and authoritative in all areas of faith and practice.
  (John 17:17 ; 2 Timothy 3:16 ; 2 Peter 1:20-21 )

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• We believe God eternally exists as one God in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity is fully and completely God, sharing all of the divine attributes in a perfect loving community.
  (Matthew 28:19 ; John 1:14 ; Acts 5:3-4 ; 2 Corinthians 13:14 ; Colossians 1:15-20 ; Hebrews 1:1-3 ; Revelation 1:4-6 )

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• We believe Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God to humankind. He is fully God and fully man. After voluntarily coming to earth and living a sinless life, He died on the cross as the substitute for humanity’s sin. His resurrection from the grave affirms His victory over sin and death.
  (Matthew 1:18-2:12 ; John 1:1-18 ; Romans 3:21-26 ; 1 Corinthians 12 ; Philippians 2:5-8 ; Colossians 1:15-23 ; Hebrews 1:1-13 ; 1 Peter 3:18 ; 1 John 1:1-2:2 )

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  We believe God created humans, both male and female, in His perfect image. Because of its rebellion, however, all humanity is alienated from God. As a result, humans are incapable of having a relationship with God based solely upon their effort.
  (Genesis 1:26-31 ; Romans 3:10-18 ; Ephesians 2:1-3 )

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  We believe that all who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Lord and Savior will receive the forgiveness of sins and the free gift of eternal life.
  (John 3:16 , 6:35-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:28-39 ; Philippians 1:6 ; 2 Timothy 2:13 ; 1 Peter 1:3-9 ; 1 John 5:11-13 )

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  We believe the Holy Spirit permanently fills all believers at the time of salvation and guides them in the journey to become like Christ.
  (John 14:15-26 ; Acts 2:1-33 ; Romans 8:1-27 ; Galatians 5:16-23 ; 1 John 2:20-27 )

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  We believe that Christians should develop in their faith and be committed to a life of personal devotion to God. Commitment is expressed through corporate and private worship, participation in small group Bible study, meaningful service in ministry, giving financially in a God-honoring way, and intentionally introducing others to a personal relationship with God.
  (2 Corinthians 9:7 ; Acts 2:42-47 ; Romans 12:4-8 ; Matthew 5:16 ; Matthew 28:19-20 )

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Core Values:

Organizational culture is a powerful tool for aligning people and ministries. Like guardrails along a road, culture helps to keep us from running off the road. Our culture is shaped primarily by our values, our beliefs, our expectations of people and how we empower our leaders. Within this community of people we value:

We Value People — "People Matter to God"

We Value Application of Scripture — "Teaching is for Life-Change"

We Value Growth — "Real Christ-followers Grow"

We Value Small Groups — "Growing Larger and Smaller at the Same Time"

We Value Excellence — "God is Honored in Excellence"

We Value Service — "Every Member is a Minister"

We Value Creativity and Innovation — "Changing Methods… Unchanging Message"

We Value Unity and Diversity — "Focusing on the Things that Unite Us, Not the Things that Divide Us"

We Value Simplicity — “Less is More when you Focus”

Armed with unity of purpose, leadership, and culture, our approach to managing our resources will have one common goal — to connect the community of Lake Ridge with The Community at Lake Ridge.