Statement of Faith

1. The Godhead - Trinity in unity

There is one true eternal God, existing eternally in the three Persons, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible. He is infinite in power, wisdom and goodness.

2. The Human Condition

People were created by God in His image and were intended to enjoy fellowship with God. Human nature became corrupted by sin. Every human being is a sinner, separated by sin from God. Every sinner deserves God's wrath and damnation and is powerless to save himself/herself from this deplorable state. No human being can be justified before God by works. There is only one means of salvation and that is through Jesus Christ, by grace through faith. By this means only can human fellowship with God be restored.

3. God the Father

The First Person of the Godhead is God the Father. He is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and of all those who believing in Jesus Christ are born again by the Spirit and become members of His family. He is the true Father from whom all fatherhood derives its name.

He is Spirit and to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth. He is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. He is sovereign. He is unchanging. He is love. He is good, merciful, just and faithful.

His love is shown supremely in that he gave his only Son, Jesus Christ, for the redemption of humankind.

4. Jesus Christ the Son

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He existed before all things. For the salvation of human beings, he became man, the living Word made flesh, the image of the invisible God, a unique person, fully God and fully man.

He lived a sinless life, revealing God and his kingdom to humankind, and was crucified and died, giving his life as an atoning sacrifice for all people. This offering provides full, perfect and sufficient redemption, propitiation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, both original and actual. No other sacrifice for sin is necessary or effectual.

He rose again from the dead, and was thus declared with power to be the Son of God. He ascended into heaven to be exalted to the highest place, Lord of all, with a name above all names, supreme over all, and he will one day return in power and great glory to gather his elect for eternal life.

By his triumphant victory over death, Jesus Christ has destroyed the devil who has power of death, and is able to free all those who are held in bondage through fear of death. Jesus Christ is victorious over and provides deliverance from all the powers of darkness.

5. The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. He is the Spirit of truth, sent by the Father and the Son to be with believers forever. He reveals the truth about Jesus, convicts of sin and righteousness and judgment, gives new birth to those who repent of their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit effects on-going spiritual changes in human lives, producing spiritual fruit in those who obey Him, and giving spiritual gifts for effective life and ministry. He is the Spirit of mission who leads and empowers believers to witness to Jesus Christ among people of all nations. His supreme task is to bring glory to Jesus.

6. The Holy Scriptures

The Canonical Books of the Old Testament and the New Testament, as originally written are the infallible, inerrant and inspired word of God. They explain all that is necessary to salvation and are solely and absolutely authoritative in all matters of Christian faith and praxis. They are to be accepted by faith. They are complete and must not be added to, subtracted from or changed because of tradition or supposed new revelation. Anything that is not in Scripture must not be declared to be believed as an article of faith or be considered to be necessary for salvation.

The Holy Scriptures are to be interpreted with regard to their content and purpose and in reverent obedience to the Holy Spirit as He reveals their true meaning.

7. Salvation

Jesus Christ is the only Saviour. Salvation is by grace through faith. It is a totally unmerited gift of God. No-one can earn it. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for the salvation of those who believe. This salvation is received by genuine repentance of sin and by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It sets a person free from the power, penalty and, ultimately, the presence of sin. It involves being born again by the Holy Spirit, being adopted into the family of God, becoming a new creation, being counted righteous before God by faith, being rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of the Son, being redeemed, regenerated and sanctified and being blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. It sets a person free to obey God and to live a holy and upright life for his purposes.

8. The Devil (Satan)

The devil is a real and powerful created spiritual being who sought to destroy Jesus and who seeks to destroy all Christians. He is the god of this world. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has stripped the devil of his power, but he continues his evil works tempting, accusing and hindering the people of God. At the final judgment, the devil and all evil spirits will be consigned to eternal torment.

Christians are entitled to exercise the authority of Jesus Christ over the power of the devil.

9. The Church

The Church is made up of all true Christians in all denominations throughout the world. It is the Body of which Christ is the Head. The Church exists to worship and serve God. The chief task of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ in every nation by the proclamation of the gospel by word and deed. The Church functions through local congregations of believers who gather for worship, prayer, teaching, fellowship, celebrating the Lord's supper and mutual ministry.

The members of the Church are to relate to one another in the love of the Lord, counting others before themselves. The Lord has given ministry gifts to his Church to prepare its members to serve him and to build them up in unity to maturity.

10. The Sacraments

Jesus Christ ordained two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion).

10.1 Baptism

Baptism symbolises the identification of the believer with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. It represents the burial of the old nature and the old way of life and the rising to new life in Christ. It indicates separation from the old life and entry into the new life. It symbolises the washing away of sins.

While baptism is an integral part of Christian initiation, it is not essential to salvation.

10.2 The Lord's Supper

The Lord's Supper is a sharing by believers of bread and wine in remembrance of Christ's death, presence, victory and promised return in power.

It bears witness to the new covenant between God and humanity, established by the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ, which brings forgiveness of sins and restores relationship with God.

11. Christian Unity

Unity amongst believers is the will of God. Such unity is to be a testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ and is evidence of the love of God. Where believers dwell together in unity, God's blessing is promised. It is a unity that is to transcend differences of culture, background, experience, denomination, gender and social standing.

Believers are to have a Kingdom orientation, working together to proclaim the Kingdom of God and building one another up in love.

12. Baptism in the Holy Spirit

The term "baptism in the Holy Spirit" may be used to describe the experience of being "overwhelmed by", "immersed in" or "flooded by" the Holy Spirit which first became reality for believers at Pentecost, when the ascended Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on his disciples. As then, so today, Jesus is the one who baptises in the Holy Spirit.

Baptism in the Spirit is received by faith and empowers the believer for witness to Jesus Christ. It is a free gift of God available to every believer. It does not depend on spiritual maturity.

13. The Fruit of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit changes human lives producing the fruit listed in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in the life of the believer. These develop increasingly as the believer obeys the Lord, cooperates with the working of the Holy Spirit within and progresses towards Christian maturity.

14. The Gifts of the Spirit

The grace gifts of the Spirit include, but are not restricted to, the supernatural gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in different kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. See also Romans 12. These are gifts, given and distributed by the Spirit as He wills. They are not earned or deserved. They are to be exercised in the church today in the context of Christian love for mutual upbuilding and for the common good.