What We Believe

This page gives just a brief snapshot of what we believe.  It is impossible to put into print all that makes up our culture and DNA as a Church so it is necessarily brief.  The best way to find out more about the Church is to drop by some time or contact Ps Mark with your questions. 

In Snapshot

The heart and DNA of our Church is the Lord Jesus Christ - He is the reason we exist, He is our example, He is our King and it is for His glory that we're here.  We seek to honour Him in how we act and what we believe.  Jesus Christ showed God's glory, power, holiness, love and truth most fully on His Cross.  Go to our Knowing Jesus page to find out more about Jesus. 

In More Detail

The following is a detailed expression of what we believe and is drawn from our Church Constitution.  It does not deal with particular issues or our Church vision.  To know more about our vision, go to our Vision page.

About God
God is the creator and Ruler of the universe. He is absolutely holy, infinitely good and great, all powerful, all present, all knowing. God is eternal. He reveals himself in three persons: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. God created the heavens and the earth and all that exists in them, including people. He continues to care for and govern His creation, working out His sovereign purposes in all that He has made.

About Jesus Christ
The eternal Son, co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, came to earth and took on humanity and became Jesus Christ, still fully God and now forever also fully man. This incarnation was achieved through the virgin birth. Jesus lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to the father in a role of humility taken on with His incarnation. He offered himself as a perfect sacrifice for sin and a substitution in our place at His death on the cross. By the Holy Spirit's power, the father raised Him bodily from the dead, completing the conquest of Satan, sin and death. This resurrected Jesus, the Father lifted to His right hand and made Him Lord of all. Christ there intercedes on our behalf and has sent the Holy Spirit to be His representative on earth. The Gospel presents this crucified, resurrected and glorified Christ as the Saviour of the world with the news that at the climax of the ages, He will return to earth to judge the living and the dead.

About the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and with the Son. He is revealed first in the Old Testament Scripture as the "Spirit of God" but with the incarnation took on a new role of being the Spirit from the Father on Jesus Christ. It was through the Holy Spirit that Jesus fulfilled his ministry. Then from the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit became the "Sprit of Jesus Christ" in the believers. The Holy Spirit is present in the world to make humankind aware of their sin and need for Jesus Christ and to bring them to salvation. The Holy Spirit is received at Christian conversion and permanently lives in these believers providing them with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives believers spiritual gifts at their conversion, to be used in service for God. Christians should seek to live under His control.

About the Bible
The Bible is the living written word of God to humankind. The Bible is our supreme authority, surpassing that of all human reason and tradition. It was written by human authors, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Whilst Jesus Christ alone is the authority in all matters of Christian belief and living, His will in such matters is either revealed in, or is consistent with His Word.

About People
People are made in the image of God and are the supreme focus of His creative work. Human value is guaranteed from this divine likeness and parentage and this is true for all humanity and not just Christians. Although every human being still displays evidence of their divine creation, they also display marked falseness from their originally created potential, due to what the Bible calls sin. Sin taints even the good that we are and that we do. Sin cuts us off eternally from God and works as a dynamic festering of evil within our relationships, our attitudes and even our physical bodies. From the moment the human race fell, every individual has been hopelessly lost and destined for an eternity in hell.

About Salvation
Salvation is a free gift demonstrating God’s love, mercy and grace and is provided through the Lord Jesus Christ, by his perfect life, his atoning death, his powerful resurrection, his glorious ascension, his ongoing priesthood and his certain return.

Salvation is possessed through the process of Christian conversion, at which time we are saved from the penalty of our sins. It is also something to be expected when we will be saved from the presence of sin. Salvation is affected by the work of the Holy Spirit in response to our faith. Salvation begins with repentance towards, and belief in Christ, testimony through baptism, and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. It continues in sanctification through the ongoing practice of spiritual discipline, and culminates in the redemption of our bodies and the glorification of our entire persons. Salvation is therefore both a completed action resulting from the grace of God and a process which is worked out in our lives and is the beginning of Eternal Life with God.

About Eternity
People once created live forever. After physical death they continue to exist to be eternally punished in hell because of their sin, or eternally comforted in heaven by the grace of Christ and through His salvation. The place of eternal separation from God is "hell". The place of eternal security with God is "Heaven". To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence. Jesus Christ will return visibly and victoriously from the presence of God the Father, to gather his people to Himself and complete his conquest over Satan, sin and evil. All people, both believers and unbelievers, will be raised bodily - a resurrection of the dead, and finally judged by the Lord Jesus Christ to determine their eternal status. Following the judgment, the whole creation will be so transformed that righteousness will characterise believers and the new heavens and earth for ever.

About Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the only two ordinances which were given by Jesus Christ through Scripture to be observed by the church for all ages. Baptism is the immersion of believers upon their profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and is a declaration of the fellowship of the regenerate believer in His death, burial and resurrection. The Lord's Supper is a memorial of thanksgiving for the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, regularly practised until He comes. It relates to pardon for sin, present sanctification and future glorification in Jesus Christ.

About Service and Sacrifice
The Bible teaches that Christians should surrender every aspect of their lives to be a "spiritual service" or offered ministry to God. In this sense, every Christian is to minister as a servant of Christ. Serving Jesus Christ in the natural sphere of everyday life is an important to Him and His witness as is service undertaken with the church. Each Christian is given one or more spiritual gifts. It is these gifts that give balance to the body of Christ and enable Christ's work to continue. The empowerment for true service comes from intimacy with Jesus Christ through prayer, obedience to His Word, dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit within, and appropriate placement in ministry. There are some Christians who are called by God to be his servants in full time pastoral and leadership roles. Those who are called to this service have a challenge or burden placed upon their lives by the Holy Spirit which is confirmed by the church. It is the responsibility of every Christian to share the Good News concerning Jesus Christ and His reconciling work on the cross and its implications with those God leads across their path, by life and word.

About the Church
The universal church consists of all persons, in heaven now or still on earth, who confess Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The local church is a smaller community of believers who meet regularly for worship, fellowship, teaching of the Scriptures and seeking to save the lost. Christ alone is head of His church, both universal and local - the church is known as the Body of Christ No other person, group, or religious organization can profess to be the head of His church.