Our Statement of Faith — Use Scripture

We stand within historic Christianity — the faith confessed by the worldwide church across two millennia and summarized in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

Within that broader confession, our particular emphases come from passages of Scripture we believe press on the believer’s life with special weight: that God’s grace goes before every person, drawing each one toward salvation; that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone; that the Holy Spirit really changes a believer’s heart, beginning at the new birth and continuing throughout life; that Christians are invited and helped to grow toward a love for God and neighbour that is wholly his; and that this transformed life is lived out in community and in love of neighbour, not in private piety alone.

These emphases shape how we read and teach Scripture. They sit comfortably alongside what the broader Christian church has always confessed, and they orient us toward growth, assurance, and active mercy in the world.

1. Holy Scripture

We believe the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, written by human authors whom the Holy Spirit moved, and that they are without error in everything they affirm. Scripture is our final authority for what we believe and how we live. Tradition, reason, and Christian experience help us read Scripture rightly, but Scripture itself is the source and norm of all Christian doctrine.

2. The Triune God

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three persons share one essence, are equal in power and glory, and are eternally distinct. Each is fully God. Together they are one God — a holy mystery confessed by the church across all generations.

3. Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, taught with authority, was crucified for our sins, was buried, and rose bodily from the dead on the third day. He ascended to the Father, where he reigns and intercedes for his people, and he will return to judge the living and the dead.

4. The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, equal with the Father and the Son. The Spirit convicts of sin, regenerates believers, indwells them as their helper and guide, conforms them to the image of Christ, distributes spiritual gifts to the church, and bears witness with the believer’s own spirit that they are children of God.

5. Humanity and Sin

We believe humans are created in the image of God, male and female, for relationship with God, with one another, and as stewards of his creation. In Adam, the human race fell into sin and became alienated from God — corrupted in heart, mind, and will. Sin reaches every human being. Apart from God’s grace, none of us can save ourselves.

6. Grace That Goes Before

We believe that God’s grace goes before us. Before any person consciously seeks God, God is already at work — awakening conscience, drawing the heart, making a free response possible. This grace is universal: extended to every human being. Salvation does not begin with our reaching, but with God’s reaching first. Our seeking is itself the fruit of his prior work.

7. Justification by Faith

We believe justification — being declared righteous before God — is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It is God’s gift, never earned by works. Christ’s atoning death paid the penalty for sin in full, and any person who turns from sin and trusts in him is justified — fully and immediately forgiven, accepted as God’s child, and given eternal life.

8. The New Birth

We believe the moment a person trusts in Christ, they are born again — regenerated by the Holy Spirit. The new birth is more than a decision; it is a real change of nature, in which the Spirit gives the believer a new heart and the disposition to love God and neighbour. The new birth begins the Christian life. It does not complete it.

9. The Witness of the Spirit

We believe Christians are not left to wonder whether they belong to God. The Holy Spirit himself bears witness with the believer’s own spirit that they are children of God (Romans 8:16). This inward, personal assurance is the privilege of every believer — though it may grow stronger or fainter according to the believer’s walk with God, and it is grounded in Christ’s finished work, not in feeling alone.

10. Growth in Holiness

We believe that after the new birth, the Holy Spirit continues to transform the believer’s character — growing them in holiness and conforming them to the image of Christ. This transformation is gradual but real, and it is the ordinary expectation of the Christian life.

We further believe that God’s purpose is to bring his people to a place where the heart is wholly given to him — fully governed by love for God and neighbour, freed from inward rebellion and outward sin. This is not absolute, error-free perfection (which awaits the resurrection). It is a heart undivided in its devotion. We believe this work of God is offered to every believer who seeks it through faith and the practices God uses to form his people.

11. The Universal Offer of Salvation

We believe Christ died for all, not for some only. The atonement is sufficient for the entire human race, and the offer of salvation extends genuinely to every person who will receive it. God’s grace can be resisted — humans are not coerced — but it is offered freely. God earnestly desires that none should perish but all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

12. The Practices God Uses to Form Us

We believe God uses ordinary, appointed practices to convey his grace to his people: the reading and preaching of Scripture, prayer (private and corporate), the Lord’s Supper, baptism, fasting, gathered Christian fellowship, and worship. These are not merely religious activities; they are channels through which God himself meets his people. Faithful engagement with these practices is central to growth in the Christian life.

13. The Church

We believe the church is the community of all who, by faith, belong to Jesus Christ. The local church gathers for worship, the preaching of the Word, the sacraments, prayer, mutual encouragement, and witness in the world. The universal church spans every nation, denomination, and generation. We affirm the unity of Christ’s body across our differences, and we receive every faithful believer in any tradition as our brother or sister in the Lord.

14. The Sacraments

We believe Christ instituted two sacraments — baptism and the Lord’s Supper — as visible signs and effective means of God’s grace. Baptism marks entry into Christ and his church. The Lord’s Supper feeds believers spiritually with the body and blood of Christ, who is genuinely present to those who partake in faith. The sacraments do not save apart from faith, but for the believer they convey what they signify.

15. Faith Expressed in Love

We believe Christian holiness is necessarily lived in community and necessarily extends in love toward the world. The transformed heart bears fruit in service to neighbour, advocacy for the poor and oppressed, hospitality to the stranger, and witness to the gospel in word and deed. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Love is faith made visible.

16. The Last Things

We believe Jesus Christ will return personally and bodily. The dead will be raised, and every person will stand before him. Those who belong to Christ will dwell with him forever in a renewed creation, where every tear is wiped away and the dwelling of God is with his people. Those who finally refuse him will face just judgment. We long for the day when God’s kingdom comes in its fullness, and we live in active hope of it.

If you have questions about anything here, write to us. We’d be glad to talk.