Belief
We affirm that the Bible (comprised of the 66 canonical books) is the inspired, infallible, unchanging and authoritative word of God.
We believe that the bible ought to be “correctly handled” (2 Tim 2:15) and boldly proclaimed in a way that is relevant whilst remaining faithful to the original text.
We believe and are witnesses to the power of God’s word, properly handled and proclaimed, to change lives.
We believe and trust in the one true and living God to whom the scriptures bear witness, existing in three distinct persons – The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. We believe that through him all of creation will be reconciled.
We believe that as the Holy Spirit brings men and women to a place of repentance and faith, all who believe in their hearts and confess with their lips that Jesus Christ is Lord will be saved. The same Holy Spirit enables and empowers Christians to live out the gospel.
As Orthodox Evangelical Anglicans we wholeheartedly adopt and endorse the Jerusalem Declaration as a faithful (but not exhaustive) summary of Christian doctrine.
Practice
We commit to seek fellowship with all other Christ centred, Scripture oriented, Spirit led Christians, regardless of denomination or affiliation.
We commit to recognising our place within the worldwide church and to learn from traditions, experiences and cultures within it which are not our own.
We commit to building good relationships with all members of our community, regardless of any individual characteristics and whether they profess the Christian faith or not.
We commit to the individual responsibility of each and every Christian to live out the gospel in their day to day lives. Similarly, we commit to ongoing discipleship and fruitful spiritual growth through prayer and diligent study of the Scriptures.
We commit to offering unwavering welcome and hospitality to our community in order to reflect Christ’s welcome to us.
We commit to regularly sharing the Lord’s supper as a reminder of Christ’s covenant with us as part of the body of his Church.
We commit to pray regularly for our community and individuals within it and to seek their good.
We commit to wise stewardship of our finances, characterised by generosity – to this end we commit to giving no less than 10% of our church’s income away.
We commit to creating a culture of accountability one to another. This applies particularly but not exclusively to those in positions of leadership who must be held to a biblical standard as laid out in 1 Timothy 3 and elsewhere.
We therefore commit to a biblical process of church discipline when required as laid out in Matthew 18:15-20 and elsewhere.
We commit to Christ as revealed in the Scriptures as our ultimate authority. We will gladly and willingly submit to the authority of Church or civic leaders only insofar as our actions in obedience to them do not contravene God’s written word.
We commit to celebrating the value and gifts of every church member and seeking to use those gifts to build up our common life.