We believe that the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is God’s word: divinely inspired and reliable. The Bible is the supreme authority for all matters of faith and conduct. At the heart of the Bible is a story of God’s love for his creation and his active involvement in pursuing the people he has made. We believe the Bible is sufficient for knowing God and for equipping us with everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3-21).

We believe that there is one living and true God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, eternally existing in loving relationship. God is not created nor made. He is the creator of heaven and earth and rules over all things. He is sovereign in creation, redemption and judgment. We can only know God because he has revealed himself to us. God is worthy of all glory, honour and praise. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Revelation 4:11; John 14:10-11, 15:26, 17:1-3).

We believe that men and women are created in the image of God to govern and care for the world that God made. They have a unique relationship with God and were designed to live with him and for him. However, human beings arrogantly asserted their independence from God and embraced Evil. Since the Fall, human beings are, deservingly, under the wrath and condemnation of God because of their sin and because of his holiness. Human beings suppress the truth about God, such that they cannot recognise their problem. They are dead in sin, unable to save themselves. (Genesis 1:26-28; Romans 3:9-18; Ephesians 2:1-3).

We believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God: fully God and fully human. Through his death on the cross and rising to new life, he accomplished what we could not do ourselves, freeing us from the guilt, penalty and power of sin. He is our representative and substitute. He has ascended to the Father’s side where he reigns as Lord of all the universe. What is true of the Messiah is true of his people: we share in his sufferings, his death, his resurrection and his ascension. He intercedes and advocates for his people. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. (Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1-2; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Peter 2:24; I Corinthians 15:20-28; Acts 1:9-10; Acts 17:30-31; 1 Peter 4:5).

We believe that no one can turn to God in repentance and faith without the Spirit enabling that person to do so. He is, therefore, “the Lord, the giver of life”, making the death and resurrection of Jesus effective for every believer. He dwells within all believers and works in them. His presence marks out God’s people and is a deposit guaranteeing the future inheritance we have in Christ. The ongoing work of the Spirit is to sanctify the believer by transforming them into the image of Christ. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to the church and produces fruit in the life of the individual believer. (John 14:26; John 16:7-15; Romans 8:9-11; Galatians 5:16-25; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

We believe that there is one, universal Church built on the teaching of the Apostles evidenced by the Scriptures. It is not a human creation but God building his kingdom, visible here on earth. The Church exists to glorify God by growing upwards and outwards. The Church grows upwards as believers meet together under God’s word, encouraging and directing one another towards maturity in Christ Jesus. The Church grows outwards as it declares the gospel of the risen Lord Jesus and as the Spirit works to bring people from death to life. (Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 4:14-16; Titus 1:5-11)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and personally, to judge humanity and to establish the new creation – the ‘new heavens and the new earth’. We believe in the bodily resurrection from the dead of all people: some to eternal life and the new creation, and others to eternal condemnation. For those who belong to Christ, that day will be a day of great celebration and rejoicing as God himself wipes every tear away and removes all pain. God will dwell with his people for all eternity: visibly, personally, intimately. Sin, Satan and evil will have no place in God’s new world – it will be a place of perfect relationships. (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10, Revelation 21-22)