We are a church: a community of people God has called unto Himself, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together. God, in turn, sends us out to share the gospel (good news) of His free gift of eternal life. It is the message of the Bible that God is redeeming His creation to enter into a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ.
We believe that by bringing the Gospel to Shrewsbury we can effectively reach our community and beyond. God desires to do something amazing in New England, and we want it to start in Shrewsbury and in your heart through His life-changing message!
We believe the local church is Jesus’ institution for advancing His gospel and doing His work in the world. The church is made up of those who have been saved and biblically baptized—uniting and faithfully gathering together for the purposes of Bible teaching, worship, prayer, fellowship, service, and observance of baptism and communion. (Matthew 16:16–18; Acts 1:15, 2:41–43, 11:15, 20:28; 1 Corinthians 15: 51–58; Ephesians 1:12–14, 5:25–30; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 Timothy 3:4–15)
We believe in one holy and loving God—eternal, self-existent, infinite, and immutable—and that He has one nature, essence, and substance; yet He manifests Himself to man in the Trinity as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Timothy 1:17; James 1:17; 1 John 4:4)
We believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and the only Saviour of mankind. We believe He came to earth, lived a sinless life, and offered Himself on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. We believe He resurrected bodily and ascended into Heaven where He now dwells until His return. (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 43:11; John 1:1, 3, 14, 18, 29; Romans 3:19–25; Romans 5:6–15; Philippians 2:5–11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 Timothy 2:5, 3:16; Titus 2:10–15; Hebrews 7:26, 9:24–28; 1 Peter 1:19, 2:2; 1 John 1:3; Revelation 20:1–6)
We believe the Holy Spirit of God is a person of the Godhead who is presently indwelling and directing the development of believers and advancement of the gospel in the world. The Holy Spirit is sent to regenerate, sanctify, seal, and indwell all who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:2; John 3:5–6, 14:16; Acts 1:5, 11:15; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19–20; 1 Corinthians 12:13)
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21.
We believe that all men are sinners by nature and are therefore separated from God. Faith in Jesus Christ is the only hope of salvation and redemption from this broken and fallen condition. Those who reject Jesus Christ as personal Saviour are separated from God for eternity, but those who receive Jesus as Saviour are adopted into God’s family and given His gift of eternal life. (Genesis 5:1–5; Acts 4:19, 16:31; Romans 3:10–23, 5:6–12, 6:23, 10:9–10; Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5–6; Revelation 20:11–14)
We believe that a Christian should grow in grace, learning a lifestyle that is becoming of the gospel and honoring to Jesus Christ—properly reflecting His love and holiness. We believe in separating from biblical heresy and from sinful, self-destructive, and immoral behavior. (Romans 12:1–2, 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1–5; 1 John 2:15–17; 2 John 9–11; Leviticus 19:28; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20)
We believe the local church is Jesus’ institution for advancing His gospel and doing His work in the world. The church is made up of those who have been saved and biblically baptized—uniting and faithfully gathering together for the purposes of Bible teaching, worship, prayer, fellowship, service, and observance of baptism and communion. (Matthew 16:16–18; Acts 1:15, 2:41–43, 11:15, 20:28; 1 Corinthians 15: 51–58; Ephesians 1:12–14, 5:25–30; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 Timothy 3:4–15)
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19- 26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13.
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
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; Psalms 127; Psalms 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.