Gospel-centred →
To be gospel-centred means that we hold to a ministry philosophy that puts the gospel message at the centre of all ministry in the church, both for non-Christians and Christians. For this reason, the gospel must be clear and vivid to us. Non- Christians are urged to enter the Kingdom by turning from sins and putting faith in Christ. Christians are urged to grow in the Kingdom (sanctification) by turning from sin and putting faith in Christ in the specific areas of their lives where they are failing to believe the gospel (Titus 2:11-14). Furthermore, Christians are urged to think through all aspects of life and ministry through the lens of the gospel (ie: adopting it as a worldview) and to live out the implications of doing so (2 Timothy 4:2; Colossians 3:16; Matthew 16:18).
The gospel is neither conservatism nor liberalism. It is neither legalism nor licentiousness. It is neither religion nor irreligion. It is not even a middle of the road lukewarm way. The gospel is a radically different way altogether. The gospel of grace ravishes the heart and frees us to grace-motivated obedience. This gospel-centredness shapes how we structure our worship services, how we counsel people, how we understand the central message of the bible, how we preach the bible and how we see sanctification working out in the lives of God’s people.
Sovereign Grace →
Scripture presents the all-glorious, triune God as the source and end of all things (Romans 11:36), sovereignly working all things according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). We have a reformed soteriology, which means in sum that ‘God saves sinners’. God acts sovereignly to save sinners from first to last. These men and women are saved in order to display God’s immeasurable grace and glory (Ephesians 1:3–6; Romans 9:11). Such sovereign grace in salvation humbles us, fills us with gratitude, and compels us to worship Him and share the message of His grace to all nations (Matthew 28:19). We believe in grace alone, on the basis of Christ alone, received through faith alone, to the glory of God alone, with Scripture alone as the only, final, decisive authority on truth.
Theological Depth →
We are not satisfied with a light and fluffy understanding of God, but want to pursue a deep and soul satisfying understanding of God through the Bible. Theology is essential, and yet, we don’t want to do theology for the sake of theology. We want to do theology so that we can press in to know God for who he is.
We believe that biblical preaching is central to the life and health of any local church. Our goal in preaching is to present the entire counsel of God to the people of God, in order that we might present them mature in Christ (Hebrews 6:1). We believe that the best way to accomplish this goal is through expository preaching. By this we mean the sermon should be based upon a passage in which the main point of the passage is the main point of sermon, and therefore the sermon helps God’s people to see how His Word shapes their lives. Topical sermons can be both helpful and necessary at times, but they shouldn’t be the regular preaching diet of the church; and must still show that the main points of those sermons are clearly rooted in biblical truth. We believe that every part of scripture points to or is resolved in Christ, and therefore all preaching reveals and urges faith in Christ’s finished work.
Active Faith →
With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, God’s purpose to dwell among His people entered a new era (Exodus 34:14–16; Leviticus 26:12; John 14:16–17; Acts 2:14–21). Therefore, the faith we value is not just theoretical but experienced in everyday life. We actively seek the present-day work of the Holy Spirit, expecting him to move in our midst. We want to be devoted to prayer, Bible reading, worship, serving, giving, and other relevant spiritual disciplines that help us to keep our faith alive and thriving. We encourage all believers to be aware of being empowered by the Spirit, in the following ways:
the empowering of the Spirit means that we are made alive to God and have His Spirit dwelling within us by which we cry out “Abba Father”;
the ongoing empowering of the Spirit is the power in our lives that enables us to be sanctified. Because the Spirit is at work in us, we are able to believe the gospel and say no to the passions of the flesh and bear the fruit of God’s Spirit;
the empowering of the Spirit gives us gifts for the building up of the church. The gifts that are taught in Scripture are still given today for the building up of the church and forwarding of the gospel in the world. We believe that to honour Scripture, we are not only to believe in the continuation of the gifts but to earnestly seek them (1 Corinthians 14:1) in love for the building up of the church (Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:16–18; 1 Corinthians 12:4–7). Because we are keenly aware of the abuses of the gifts of the Spirit, we seek the ‘still more excellent way’ of loving one another as the basis for unity— instead of being divisive by majoring on secondary issues (I Corinthians 13).
we live lives in fellowship with God by His Spirit and dependent upon His power for our lives and ministry, seeking to be filled continually with the Spirit.
Biblical Leadership →
Our church is led by a plurality of male elders who are biblically qualified according to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Whilst Jesus Christ reigns as head over His church, elders are responsible for shepherding the flock, guarding the doctrine of the church, and the governing of the church (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 4:11; Titus 1:5). Whilst eldership teams have a leader, this leader does not have authority over the other elders, but rather exercises a leadership role within the team. As an elder-ruled church we believe the church’s health is to a great degree dependent on the health of its elders, and so our aim is to strengthen the current elders in our church while identifying and training new ones (Acts 20:28; 2 Timothy 2:2).
As an elder-led church, we are different from a congregational church in that the final decisions are made by the elders. The elders then commission deacons and deaconesses as lead servants. The two qualities required of elders, being able to teach (1 Timothy 3:2) and the governing of the church (1 Timothy 3:5), are not part of the responsibility of deacons. Deacons and deaconesses are appointed to serve various needs inside and outside of the church in order that the elders are freed to teach (Acts 6: 1-7). Elders are accountable to God for shepherding the flock, which implies that both the elders and the flock know who the members of the church are through some process.
Meaningful Membership →
Members can only be those who are baptized believers and who have made a credible profession of faith. Members understand that they are vital to the health and growth of the church, and are committed to building up the body by speaking the truth (ie: the gospel) in love and serving the body with the gifts God has given them. Church discipline is understood and carefully practiced in the life of the church in a way that guards the witness of the gospel and graciously aims to restore those who need restoration or have fallen away. The Lord’s supper is received regularly as a sacrament by which God’s people remember the work of Christ that binds them together as His people. We believe that the unity for which Jesus prayed among His people should find concrete expression among believers and churches.
We believe it was God’s glorious plan to create men and women in His image, giving them equal dignity and value in His sight. We also recognize that men and women play distinct, complementing roles within the safety of both the Christian home and the Christian church (Genesis 1:26–28; Ephesians 5:22–33; 1 Timothy 2:8–15). This does not mean that men and women operate in isolation from each other, as that would not be complementary. Instead, they work together as members of the same team, knowing that their roles give different expressions to God’s image in humanity and should therefore be valued and pursued in joy and faith.
City Renewal →
We want to see the Gospel change every aspect of the city we are living in. This involves discipling our people to live out the implications of the Gospel in every sphere of life. This includes doing social justice, integrating our faith and work, and working with other churches and organisations. Our goal is to see the proliferation of the Gospel in our city, the city renewed culturally, socially and spiritually for the glory of God. We are committed to helping the church community as one body, and its individual members, flesh out the implications of the gospel in their everyday lives, specifically in the following areas:
- faith and work: Every human being is a worker made in the image of God. Whether we are studying, raising children, working for a company or farming, our vocations are God- given opportunities to represent God. We want to bring the gospel to bear on every part of our lives.
- mercy and Justice: Whilst social justice is not the gospel itself, those who have been changed by the gospel are moved to pour out themselves in loving service to others in need. We aim to help our people live lives of mercy towards others in response to Christ’s love.
- relationships: The gospel shapes how we relate to our parents, raise our children, love our spouses and conduct our friendships. We want the members of our church to be demonstrating the new life of the Kingdom in their relationships.
Missional Communities →
We want to be a true community, loving and serving one another, encouraging one another, and helping one another grow in God. At the same time, we want to be an outward looking community, recognising that our gospel- centrality entails not only treasuring the gospel personally but sharing it passionately as an extension of our joy. Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations. Therefore, we are committed to the advance of the gospel in three primary ways, namely the multiplication of:
- christians (through evangelism),
- ministry workers (through discipleship training)
- and churches (through church planting and revitalization). Indeed, the New Testament testifies to a vibrant interdependence among churches in the first century (John 17:20–21; Acts 16:4–5; 1 Corinthians 11:16; Galatians 2:7– 10).