Our Beliefs

Our beliefs form the foundation for everything we seek to do as a church and bind us together.  We accept that sincere Christian people may differ on many matters of secondary importance, but we unite around the following things which are of primary importance:

What we believe about:

God	We believe in one God, revealed in three persons who are equally God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We believe that God is the creator, ruler and sustainer of the universe.  He is unchanging and perfect in goodness, knowledge, justice, power and love.
The Bible	We believe that God has revealed himself to mankind in the Bible (the 66 books which make up our Old and New Testaments). The whole Bible is inspired by God the Holy Spirit and so is entirely accurate and trustworthy.  As such, it has authority above anything else to guide what we believe and how we live our lives.
Jesus Christ	We believe that God the Son is, and always has been, truly God.  We believe that he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary as the man, Jesus Christ.  He is fully human and fully God.  We believe that he lived a perfect, sinless life, spoke the truth from God and performed many miracles.  He suffered arrest, false accusation and execution by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate.  He was raised bodily back to life three days later, ascended to heaven and lives forever in the presence of God the Father, where he prays continually for his people.  We believe that he will return to judge the world and to establish his kingdom.
Mankind	We believe that the human race has a spiritually and morally flawed nature, inherited from the first man and woman who, although created good, rebelled against God.  As a result, all people, without exception, deserve to be judged and condemned by God.  They need, therefore, to be forgiven and reconciled to him.
Salvation	We believe that the death of Jesus was a sacrifice which he made willingly and in our place to pay the penalty for the rebellion of mankind against God.  It is the only way in which men and women can be reconciled to God and saved from his judgement and condemnation.  It is completely sufficient in itself, and people are declared right before God solely through this means when they put their faith and reliance in Jesus Christ, and not by any effort on their own part.
The Holy Spirit	We believe that God the Holy Spirit enables us to understand and believe God's truth.  We believe that he comes to live in Christians - those who believe in Jesus Christ and trust in him for their salvation.  He continues to work in their lives to guide, encourage and change them, making them increasingly like Christ.  We believe that the Holy Spirit gives power to Christians to live in a different way and to please God.  We believe the Holy Spirit bestows gifts and abilities upon Christians to be used for the glory of God and the building up of the Church.
The Church	We believe that there is one universal Church made up of those of all ages and in all places whom God has saved through Jesus Christ. They are all equally priests to God, having the same right of access to God in prayer and sharing the same commission to proclaim the good news about Jesus throughout the world.  Local churches are local expressions of this one universal Church.
Judgment	We believe that all people will one day be judged by God.  Those who have believed in Jesus will experience perfect happiness forever in God's presence, whilst those who have rejected God’s offer of salvation in Jesus will suffer everlasting loss, excluded from the presence of God.
​Baptism and the Lord’s Supper	We believe that Jesus has given two ordinances to his Church: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.  In Baptism, those who have placed their trust in Christ are immersed in water as a public declaration of their allegiance to him.  In the Lord's Supper, the atoning death of Christ is remembered and proclaimed as the church shares together in the simple meal he instituted.