Over the years particular aspects of living as Christians have become important to us. What follows is not necessarily unique to this church but we hope that it offers a sense of the ethos of our fellowship

 

Truth and Life

We believe that the Bible is the source of truth and life. 

We are grateful for the work of the Holy Spirit in making use of the Bible’s truth to renew our minds and to reveal the will of God.

We embrace the intelligent pursuit of the Bible’s truth and its pertinent and timely application to all of human existence and endeavor.

We welcome worship, preaching and teaching as well as exhortation and counsel that looks to God’s word as the fount of wisdom and truth that it is.

We joyfully make known the Bible’s testimony of a crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, and reigning Christ, who is a sufficient Savior, slain to save us forever from the uttermost of our sin, punishment and guilt.

 

Bearing Witness

The Lord Jesus declares his church to be the “salt and light” of God in the world.

We desire to be effective and active communicators of God’s truth across the whole spectrum of human enterprise.

We value the power of God’s enduring truth to speak to any people, in any place, at any time. 

We unashamedly and optimistically believe in its power to transform peoples and practice.

We earnestly and materially support the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel.

  

Intimacy with God

We are grateful that we have been reconciled to God through the sacrifice of his Son.

We purpose, through the Holy Spirit’s enabling, to take full advantage of this restored relationship.

Through prayer, praise, worship, study of God’s word and faithful participation in the sacraments we desire to communicate our love and gratitude to God and gain from him an ever-increasing knowledge of his person and will.

 

Authenticity

Acknowledging that bearing the name of Christian is an enormous privilege. 

We seek to live out the Christian life sincerely and faithfully.

We expect our leadership to be people of integrity.

We encourage an ever-increasing Christian maturity to be evident in our lives, grateful for our growth and honest about our failures.

We understand that we are to diligently pursue Christ and demonstrate loyalty to him and to his people.

  

Unity

Scripture exhorts us to “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” 

Striving, by the grace of God, to keep this command has caused us to appreciate the diversity of backgrounds, abilities and callings that people from varying walks of life bring to our church. 

We value the wisdom of God that joins together people who are often quite different for in so doing he reminds us that he is the basis of our fellowship. 

This expectation also causes us to appreciate the communion of God’s people from different churches and denominations. While striving to hold our convictions with integrity, we endeavor to be those who “live peaceably with all men” despite disagreements about doctrine.

  

Mutual Support

We have learned that when God calls one, that one is called into a covenant relationship not only with God but also with God’s people, therefore: 

With grace and good humor we seek to be a faithful source of encouragement, spiritually, emotionally and, if need be, physically, for one another. 

We endeavor together, by God’s grace, to be what our Lord envisions us to be: a “body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies” that, “speaking the truth in love” to one another, grows up “in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.”