05/10/2007

OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH (What we believe )

(1) We believe that all the words in the Bible are true; that they are God’s words, so that to disbelieve or disobey them is to disbelieve or disobey God. That all can understand them with God’s help and a willingness to follow them; that they are necessary for us to understand how we can be saved, maintain our spiritual life and know God’s will; and that they cover everything we need to know about God and our relationship to him.

 (2) We believe that God is three “persons” in one; the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit; that each   Person  is God, has always existed & will always exist. This One God is the Creator, & Supreme Ruler, over all He has made.

 (3) We believe that because the first human beings disobeyed God, all are born in a state of sinfulness, needing to be born again spiritually, unable to bring themselves into friendship with God & having to rely on God’s initiative.

 (4) We believe that Jesus is the Son of God; that He was born to a virgin & became a man; that He lived a perfect life & gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, enduring the total wrath of God in our place; that He rose from the dead, was taken up into heaven & is now exalted at God’s right hand & praying for us.

 (5) We believe that grace is the only way to have a relationship with God; that by putting our trust in Jesus alone to save us, God forgave us freely & declares us to be in a right standing with Him.

 (6) We believe that we must rely totally on the work of the Holy Spirit to be born again, to live lives   pleasing to God, to be able to worship Him & to minister to others, & in this life, to be changed by degrees into the likeness of Jesus. 

 (7) We believe in the universal church comprising of all born again believers, from all periods of history, & from all places on earth; in local churches where members belong, are accountable, come to maturity & reach out as witnesses for Jesus Christ to the lost; & in promoting unity & working together with such local churches.

 (8) We believe that new believers should be baptised by immersion & that communion should be   celebrated regularly, with thankfulness, in remembrance of the life & death of Jesus our Lord.

OUR VALUES (Distinctive features)

 (1)  A church that is committed to Jesus Christ truly as Lord & to one another, expressing that through repentance & water baptism, heart-relationships of submission to leaders & to one another, & a willingness to be made true disciples of Christ. 

(2)  A church clearly built on the foundation of the complete & finished work of Christ, that is, understanding our union with Christ, therefore without insecurity, legalism or mysticism.

 (3) A church whose people are baptised in the Holy Spirit, exercise spiritual gifts, & are brought into a genuine life in the Spirit.

 (4) A church with genuine freedom for men, women, young people & children to worship in spirit & in truth, to bring their individual contributions, & to minister to one another.

 (5) A church which is a righteous, generous & loving community, sharing & caring for each others needs, both spiritual & material, forgiving one another & refusing to indulge in gossip, slander & unjust criticism.

 (6) A church where regular teaching & preaching of God’s Word holds a key role, & where scripture’s authority is final, both corporately & individually.

 (7) A church where eldership is made by the Holy Spirit, & recognised & confirmed (i.e.:- not just through a democratic process)

(8) A church that is entered through a clearly established expression of personal Commitment.

(9) A church which seeks to be free from complacency & materialism, & which has a strong desire to grow in prayer, faith & selfless action, & in grace & knowledge of Jesus Christ.

 (10) A church whose members are encouraged to find their place of service, including the release of those with potential for Ephesians 4 ministries.

 (11) A church committed to restore the church, make disciples, train members for future service.

 (12) A church that is committed to good relationships with other Christians in its neighbourhood & beyond.

 (13) A church where every member is encouraged to be sacrificially generous, willingly & cheerfully giving to God & to others, as an expression of love, whilst trusting God to meet all their needs. We also encourage tithing (the  regular giving of 10% of one’s gross income to the work of God)

 (14) A church that gives appropriate priority to the evangelism & discipleship.

 (15)  A church that puts relationship before ritual, belonging before becoming, being before doing, participation before performance, involvement before excellence, family before formality, learning in life before learning in the classroom & small groups before large meetings.

This site was last updated 05/10/07