The beliefs of the church are defined by three parts of our founding documents which can be found below. These are our:
Basis of Faith
1. God
There is one God, who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He is the almighty Creator; Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory.
2. The Bible
God has revealed himself in the Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testaments alone. Every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice.
3. The Human Race
All men and women, being created male and female in the image of God, have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God. As a result of the fall of our first parents, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Every person is therefore under the just condemnation of God and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him.
4. The Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead and in his resurrection body ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. He intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.
5. Salvation
Salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and is offered to all in the gospel. God in his love forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe in Christ are justified by faith alone, adopted into the family of God and receive eternal life.
6. The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He builds up the church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission.
7. The Church
The universal church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; for pastoral care and discipline, and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel.
8. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been given to the churches by Christ as visible signs of the gospel. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry into His church but does not impart spiritual life. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all and involves no change in the bread and wine. All its blessings are received by faith.
9. Marriage
Sexual intimacy is a gift from God and is to be enjoyed exclusively within the context of marriage. Marriage is, by definition, heterosexual and between one man and one woman. Marriage ultimately serves as a type of the union between Christ and His church.
10. The Future
The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment and the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.
Doctrinal Distinctives
Origins
We are committed to the view that God created everything that exists ‘from nothing’. We uphold the special creation of men and women as God’s image bearers and are committed to a literal, historical Adam and Eve. We recognise Bible-believing, Evangelical Christians who seek to faithfully interpret the Bible as the inerrant word of God have different interpretations of the early chapters of Genesis.
Baptism
Baptism is a command of the Lord Jesus Christ to all those who believe in Him and is Trinitarian in nature (Matthew 28:19). Trinitarian baptism is a precondition of membership. However, we recognise that faithful evangelicals have different views on the subject and mode of baptism and we accept the baptism of those who have been baptised as believers or those who have been baptised as the children of believing parents. We also aim to provide for the baptism of both believers and the children of believing parents according to the bible-based convictions of those involved.
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper (or Communion) is a symbolic meal of thanksgiving for the members of the church, established by the Lord Jesus in which we:
- Regularly remember His atoning work on the cross
- Acknowledge our sharing in the benefits of His death
- Have fellowship with the Lord Jesus and each other
- Are reminded of His love for us, which is to guide our relationships as the body of Christ
- Proclaim His death until His return.
Marriage
Our Basis of Faith sets out that the Bible is the final authority for all matters of belief and practice. The church upholds that the teaching of the Bible is that marriage is between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 5:31-33) and that all sexual practices outside of marriage between a man and a woman are sinful and wrong. This includes homosexual practices (Romans 1:24-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) regardless of whether or not homosexual marriage is permitted by the laws of England and Wales.
As a member of the FIEC, this church holds to the Doctrinal Distinctives on Same-Sex Marriage adopted by the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) on this issue.
Church and Home Leadership
We believe that both men and women are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and that both men and women have access to the benefits of the gospel by faith (Galatians 3:24-29). However, we also believe that men and women are created to have different functional roles, so that in marriage and the church leadership is the responsibility of men (Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Timothy 2:11-15). Since our model of leadership is the sacrificial love of Christ for his Church, we are utterly opposed to any form of domineering, abusive or self-serving leadership.
This Church holds to the Doctrinal Distinctives on Women in Ministry adopted by the FIEC in
their Statement on this issue.
Gospel Unity
As a member of the FIEC, this church holds to the Doctrinal Distinctives on Gospel Unity adopted by the FIEC in their Statement on this issue.
Baptism of the Spirit
We believe that every genuine believer was baptised by the Holy Spirit the moment they were made regenerate and brought to true faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13). The experiences of the disciples at Pentecost, and of the Samaritan believers in Acts Chapter 8, were unique and unrepeatable moments in salvation history and do not provide a pattern for present day spiritual experience.
Gifts of the Spirit
As a church, we want to be filled with the Spirit and to use the gifts he gives us for God’s glory and to serve (Ephesians 5:18 1 Corinthians 12-14). We acknowledge that there is a diversity of opinion on what the “supernatural” gifts are and whether they continue in the present period of the church. We welcome both continuationists and cessationists who are united in the gospel, so long as neither seeks to impose their view.
Ethical Statements
Marriage
In line with our Basis of Faith and Doctrinal Distinctives, it is important that the church and Church Members in no way condone, promote, assist or encourage adulterous or extra-marital sexual practices, whether heterosexual or homosexual.
Gender
In accordance with our Doctrinal Distinctives and the FIEC Statement on Women in Ministry, we recognise that God created us male and female and calls us to live according to our gender identity, which is inseparable from our biological sex determined at conception. Our gender may not be changed or reassigned.