Our Beliefs
God made everything and everyone. He rules the universe and made us in His image. He is perfect and made us to know and serve Him. But sin entered the world through one man’s disobedience and so broke the relationship that we were designed to have with Almighty God.
However, the GOOD NEWS is that the just and gracious Creator of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful people and has sent his Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to bear his wrath against sin on the cross and to show his power over sin in the resurrection, so that everyone who turns from their sin and themselves and trusts in Jesus as Saviour and Lord will be reconciled to God forever and empowered to live a new life through His Spirit.
This is the gospel we believe: the good news about Jesus Christ.
The Bible (The Word of God)
We believe the Bible, being the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God and the final authority for faith and life (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21).
God
We believe there is only one true God creator of heaven and earth, who eternally exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Gen 1:1; Deut 6:4; Matt. 28:19; Luke 3:22).
Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. That He is both fully God and fully human, being born of the virgin Mary so that He might reveal God to the world and redeem sinful people. We believe that Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, substitutionary sacrifice and that our justification is made sure by His physical resurrection from the dead. We believe that Jesus Christ, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters of faith and practice and that there is salvation in no other name (Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 1 Tim 2:5; John 14:6; Eph 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and of judgment; He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptising all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them until the day of redemption. The Spirit empowers all believers with gifts that edify the Church and embolden believers to proclaim the good news of Jesus to all people in all the world. (John 16:8–11; Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:1–13; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18).
The Church
We believe that the church, which is the universal body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual community made up of all those who have received God’s grace in the person of Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).
The Priesthood of All Believers
We believe in the ‘priesthood of all believers in which the only mediator between God and humanity is Jesus Christ. We affirm the gift of the Holy Spirit to all God’s people, male and female, young and old, significant, and seemingly insignificant, and we recognise that all members of the church have a role to play using their God-given gifts, skills and talents for the good of the church and the community in the service of God’s mission. In this, we believe in the equal authority of men and women who, from the beginning have been designed as equal partners in the stewardship of creation and the gospel (Gen 2:18-3:24; Eph 2:14; 1 Cor 12:11; Eph 4:11-13; Rom 16:1-2; 1 Peter 2:4-5).
For further reading refer to the article linked below, written by Craig Keener which summarises our overarching view of the Biblical narrative. Also linked below is an article written by Melinda Cousins on Women, Preaching, The Bible, and 1 Timothy 2.