Statement of Faith
GOD AND THE HUMAN RACE
THE SCRIPTURES
THE CHURCH AND ITS MISSION
- We believe in the eternal unity of God: the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, one God.
- We acknowledge God's creation of humanity in his own image, creatures who sinned and came under his just and holy judgment.
- We believe the supreme demonstration of the Father's love is that he gave Jesus Christ, his only Son, for our salvation and that salvation is received by grace through faith in Christ alone.
- We confess Jesus Christ as Lord and God, the eternal Son of the Father; as truly human, who was born of the virgin Mary; as Servant, sinless and full of grace and truth; as only Mediator and Saviour of the whole world, who atoned for our sin by dying on the cross in the sinners' place, representing humanity to God and redeeming believers from the grip, guilt and punishment of sin; as the Second Adam, the head of a new humanity, he overcame death and decay, rose from the dead with a glorious body, was taken up to be with the Father and one day will return personally in glory and judgment to establish his kingdom; as Victor over Satan and all his forces.
- We believe in the Holy Spirit who, with the Father and the Son, is worthy of our worship, who convicts the world of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness and judgment, who makes the death of Christ effective to sinners, who, through the new birth, unites us with Christ, who sets apart and empowers the Christian and who imparts spiritual gifts to the church.
THE SCRIPTURES
- We believe that the Old and New Testament Scriptures are God-breathed because their writers spoke from God. Rightly interpreted, they are fully trustworthy in all that they affirm, and as the Word of God, they are our supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
THE CHURCH AND ITS MISSION
- We recognise the Church as the body of Christ, of which he is the head.
- We accept the purposes of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission:
- To magnify God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in worship and prayer
- To bring people to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and through believer's baptism into Christian fellowship as committed members of his church
- To grow members to maturity, especially through the discipling processes of small groups and various training opportunities
- To release people in ministry, loving and serving God and people according to gifts and abilities
- To send out and support our people in mission
- To encourage the multiplication of every gift and ministry, until Jesus Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead, bringing eternal life to the redeemed and eternal judgement to the lost