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 naturally-born man and one naturally-born 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 leadership of her own 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 reverence 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.
We believe that God disapproves of divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies.  Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the Church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; Psalms 127; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-12; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 3:2,12; 5:8,14; Titus 1:6; 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.