Historically, the Baptist tradition has avoided making creeds or statements of faith binding on churches or individuals.

Instead, Baptists affirm "soul liberty" (the freedom of each Christian to be led by Scripture and the Holy Spirit in matters

of doctrine and practice) and "local church autonomy" (the freedom of each local church to shape and order its comm-

unity life as it sees fit).

At the same time, Baptists in general, and New Life in particular, are firmly committed to the core of the Christian faith:

that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he died for our sins on the Cross, was buried, and rose again bodily from the

dead. Baptists emphasize conversion to Christianity as a conscious, personal decision to place one's faith in Jesus

Christ—a decision that may be a datable event, or a long process. Baptists share the Protestant conviction that salvation

is by grace alone through faith alone, resulting in good works but in no way dependent on them (Eph. 2:8-10).

As Baptists, we practice believer's baptism, though we recognize all baptisms done in the name of the Trinity. We invite

all baptized believers, and all others who consider themselves Christians by virtue of their faith in Jesus, to join us in our

celebrations of communion (usually first and third Sundays of the month).

We believe that the Christian life is primarily a shared life, lived out in a community of believers. Together we experience

Jesus' presence and power to change lives as we gather together to worship, to pray, to reflect on Scripture, to share our

stories, and to be with each other along the spiritual journey.