Firstly we should say we believe that Jesus is exactly who He said He is, the Saviour of the world, who gave His life to set people free from all the offences and crimes they have committed against God. Without this rescuing by Jesus people are separated from God both now and forever. Jesus gave His life so that we could come to know God, not as slaves, but as sons and daughters of His. We believe that everyone needs this forgiveness, but the good news is that Jesus gave His life so that everyone could receive it.
To achieve this rescue, Jesus was sent into the world by God the Father, through the Father’s great love. Jesus is God made man, the only human who had not sinned and therefore who could give His life to set people free from sin. We believe that He successfully accomplished His mission to bring back to God those people who believe in Him. Following His death for us, we believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and has ascended to God, the Father, and He will in the plan of God return to the earth.
When Jesus returned to the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit who is the comforter, to empower and strengthen those who believe in God through Jesus. We believe the Holy Spirit is at work in the world today and lives in those who put their trust in Jesus. He is present in His church and speaks and directs them through bible teaching and through the gifts of the Spirit; all of which must be in agreement with the bible as this is God’s word. The bible is the authorative and only expression of God’s word. It is the place where we see God revealed and His will clearly expressed as to how we should live and please God.
We believe that anyone who puts his trust in Jesus will want to live a different life, and through the application of what Jesus has done and by the power of His Spirit this is possible. To reflect this new life we believe those who put their trust in Jesus for forgiveness should be baptized in water.
We believe the Church should demonstrate the love of God to the world in everything it does by its message, good conduct and generosity. However, having said that, we know we all need God’s grace and love in our own lives and that we are constantly in need of being taught, encouraged and indeed forgiven. So to be effective, the followers of Jesus need encouragement, prayer and intimacy with God. It is a vital part of the ministry of the church to encourage the believers to draw near to God in worship, to encourage each other and to share in the Communion together. We therefore believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit remain an important part of the Church’s ministry today, to encourage the believers, but also as evidence of God’s power to others. We believe that through the working of God’s Holy Spirit, and on the basis of what Jesus did, it is possible for God to do amazing things in people’s lives and that prayer changes things!
If anyone would like to see the references in the bible to any of the statements made here we would be pleased to provide them. Please email us.