We believe that Jesus lived and died to rescue and forgive us. We want to follow Jesus, who shows us what God is like.
In our church life, we listen to God through Bible teaching, we speak to Him in prayer and we take opportunities to tell others about Him.
In common with our sisters and brothers in the church around the world, we seek to show the five marks of mission:
Tell – We proclaim the good news about God and His kingdom
Teach – We teach, baptise and nurture new believers
Tend – We respond to human need through loving acts of service
Transform – We seek to transform unjust structures in society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation
Treasure – We strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the Earth
You can read a fuller statement of our beliefs below. The best way to find out what we believe and how that shapes our lives is to join us on Sunday mornings.
We believe the traditional teachings of Christianity, as revealed in the Bible. These include:
- There is only one God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is in control. He created the world, has shown us what he is like, has a plan to save us, and will one day judge everyone.
- The Bible is God’s word to us. There are no contradictions or errors in it. It is the final word in all matters of behaviour and belief. Jesus Christ is God, but is also a real human; he was born of a virgin, died on the cross, he physically came back to life, and now reigns in heaven and earth.
- Everyone does wrong things; it’s part of our nature. That means that everyone is in serious trouble with God.
We can be forgiven and freed from the guilt, punishment and power of the wrong things we do, but only because of Jesus’ death. Jesus was being punished instead of us, so our wrong has been completely dealt with. - We do not deserve God’s forgiveness. And not only does God forgive us for everything, but he looks on us as being perfect, just as Jesus was perfect. All this is obtained only by faith.
- God does this through the Holy Spirit acting in people’s lives, turning them away from wrong and towards God, and giving them faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit lives in Christians, changing them so that they live more like Jesus, enabling them to live for Jesus in this world.
- The Church is not a building or an organisation, but is made up of all true Christians throughout the world. Jesus is present in the world today through the Church.
- Jesus will one day return. He will judge everyone, rightly punishing those who have rejected God’s offer of forgiveness, and welcoming Christians into everlasting glory.