We Believe

We believe God is the only fitting object of our worship. There is one God, who exists in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is perfectly and infinitely Loving, Just and Holy.
God has revealed Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, in the scriptures and in the material creation. In the beginning, God created all things very good. He was and always will be in perfect relationship with Himself—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God, in community with himself, created human beings to be His image bearers, to serve and cultivate His good creation, to live in harmonious relationship with God and each other. (2 Corinthians 13:14; Isaiah 37:16; Jeremiah 23:23,24; 1 John 4:7,8)

We believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, is the second Person of the Trinity, and is fully God and fully man. Having always existed, He took on human flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a perfect, sinless life on earth. His death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins and is the only basis for the salvation of those who trust in Him. He rose bodily from the grave and now is reigning in power with the Father. He offers us eternal life, forgiveness of sins and peace through faith in Him.

He is the only way to God. We await his visible and glorious return to the earth to claim His own and to judge. The incarnation is the belief that Jesus Christ is both God in human flesh and the Messiah promised in the Hebrew Bible. He was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect, sinless life on earth and fully embodied the mission of God. He came to proclaim the kingdom of God, to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted and set captives free. Through the incarnation, suffering, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God graciously provides forgiveness for sin, freedom from sin’s control and a loving relationship with God the Father. The only proper response to this gift is repentance and joyous faith. While we cannot grasp the full nature and extent of God’s grace in offering the gift of salvation, we are warned that everlasting separation and anguish ultimately await those who turn away from God. We therefore expectantly and hopefully proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ and call all people everywhere to repentance and faith in Him. (John 1:1,2,14; John 14:6; Luke 1:35; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:24,25; 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

We believe that the Holy Spirit is God and is the third Person of the Trinity. He dwells in the believer, glorifies Christ, and equips us for service.
The Holy Spirit indwells those who believe in Jesus Christ, assures us that we are children of God, and includes us in his universal church. Every person who responds to the grace of God in Christ Jesus is called to serve both the church and the wider culture by participating in God’s mission to restore and bless this broken world. To that end, the Holy Spirit gives each child of God a gift, a Spirit-empowered ability and he convicts, teaches and comforts us as we use it in service. (John 14:26; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:13,14)

We believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Sin points one to eternal death and destruction, but God’s Word points one to life. If Christ Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, a new body, a new soul and a new spirit await us one day. God’s Spirit joins Himself to our spirit to declare that we are God’s children. The one who dies in his sins without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the lake of fire and, therefore, has no further opportunity to hear the Gospel or repent. The terms “eternal” and “everlasting” which are used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in the Lake of Fire, carry the same meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of the saints in the presence of God. (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:15;Romans 8:16;Romans 5:12).

We believe that salvation is freely offered to all and comes only through Jesus Christ alone. Salvation provides the believer with eternal life in God’s presence. God graciously provides forgiveness from sin through Jesus Christ. The only proper response to this gift is repentance and joyous faith. God, in Jesus Christ, is now reconciling us to Himself, each other, and creation. God indwells us and equips us through His Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

We believe Jesus will return to judge the world, bringing an end to sin and injustice. God will restore all things to Himself so that His purposes for creation are fulfilled; indeed, creation itself is groaning and longing for this day. God will, once again dwell with human beings and there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away. This is our hope.(John 3:3-7, 3:16-18; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:22-24; 10:9,10; Ephesians 2:8-10; I Thessalonians 5:9,10; Revelation 20:11-15)

Man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in union with him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are places of eternal existence. Because God gives man eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian.(Hebrews 7:25; 10:10; 1 Peter 1:3-5;John 3:16; 1 John 2:25; 1 John 5:11-13; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15; Matthew 25:31-46)

God gives believers spiritual gifts. They are for the strengthening of God's people (the Church) and a proof of God's existence and strength for unbelievers. The gifts of the Spirit are active and relevant today. Divine healing is the supernatural power of God that brings health to the human body. It is obtained through faith in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. All the punishment that Jesus Christ received before and during His crucifixion was for our healing - spirit, soul and body. Through His wounds we are healed. Divine healing was included in the benefits that Jesus Christ bought for us on Golgotha. Water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit. We also believe in speaking in tongues as the Spirit of God speaks. All who are in the number of the body of Christ do so because they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the power of God will come upon you, as it did the first disciples on the day of Pentecost. When the power of God comes upon you, the Holy Spirit will affect everything around you. The Holy Spirit produces rivers of life, joy, love, peace, and strength that flow from your spirit for the needs of others (John 7: 37-38; Acts 2: 4; 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11; 1 Peter 4: 10; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8: 9; Acts 2: 1-4)

As celebrated by Jesus Christ and His disciples in Matthew 26: 26-28, "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, Take and eat; this is My body. Then he took the cup, and gave thanks, and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you.' This is My blood of the covenant, shed for many for the remission of sins." As the disciples of old were instructed to partake of the Lord's Supper by Jesus Christ, so we partake of the Lord's Supper (2 Peter 1: 4), at the direction of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10; 11: 26-31).

The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the Church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church is composed of all those who place saving faith in Jesus Christ. The Church is not an institution, but a people. God wants all Christians to live out their spiritual lives in a corporate context. This context of Christian love relationships is a crucial feature of our witness for Christ, as it reflects God's character to the world. The Church is God's chosen instrument through which the message of salvation is spread to all people. This mission is the central purpose for the Church. We are to carry the good news locally and worldwide and demonstrate the gospel by relevant social action. (John 13:34, 35; 1 Corinthians 12:12-26; Matthew 28:19;Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23)

Human beings are created in the image of God. As such, we are unique in all of God's creation. By abusing God's free will, we turned against God, and this led to spiritual death for all mankind. Mankind lives in a state of alienation and deep need, which can only be satisfied through reconciliation with God through Christ. Without this reconciliation, all people stand before God's righteous judgment. Mankind, though fallen, maintains the image of God and is therefore still worthy and unique. God continues to love us and reach out to us, even though we are hostile to Him. Believers in Jesus Christ receive a new nature that becomes the basis for a process of transformation to build the character of Jesus (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission. (Matthew 24:29-31; Revelation 20)