Our Beliefs
Please click on a topic below.
Before you come to Immanuel for the first time, you might want to know what we believe.
If you have questions about what any of these things mean, we'd love to speak to
you more so that we can clarify them for you. You can email questions
to ibc@ibcridgecrest.org or speak with
any of our pastors during weekend services.
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in
the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and
having supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
We believe that there is one living and true God eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
These are equal in every divine perfection and execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
We believe in God the Father, an infinite personal spirit, perfect in holiness,
wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs
of each person, that He hears and answers prayer and that He saves from sin and
death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe
in Jesus Christ's substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven,
perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son, to convict
the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment and to regenerate, sanctify, and
empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells
every believer in Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide.
We believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore,
under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in
Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the
head, and that all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church consisting
of family members joined to each other and Jesus Christ by faith, through the
public declaration of their faith in baptism, and assembled for worship, fellowship,
growth, ministry, and proclamation of the Good News of God’s salvation.
We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well-being of
others. Their conduct should model Christ’s character. They should be
faithful stewards of their possessions, and they should seek to realize for
themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local
church: baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is
the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the triune God. We believe
that the Lord's Supper, instituted by Christ, was for commemoration of His death.
We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the
return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that every human being has direct relations with God and is responsible
to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and must be
free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that, therefore,
Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling
its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other.