our purpose...

"A Growing Family of Friends"

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God… - John 1:12

 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother. - Mark 3:35

Early Christian communities sought to live what Jesus taught them. We recognize that at the heart of the church is relationship.  In fact, the Greek word “ecclesia” from scripture that we translate “church” more literally means “the called out ones.”  The church therefore refers not to a building, or an institution, but a community of people. 

Our hope is that the statement a growing family of friends represents our desire to focus on people and relationships.  As we build relationships with each other, we will challenge and support each other to develop and enrich the most important relationship of all, a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Through that relationship we enter into a new kind of relationship with each other, that of a spiritual family. 

"Giving Ourselves Away"

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. – Mark 8:35

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. -Mark 10:42-45

As we seek to proclaim the kingdom, we do so in word and in deed.  Giving ourselves away is a key principle by which we strive to do this.  Giving oneself away and living for others is how Jesus intended His followers to live.  It was the example that He set, and the life He expected from those who would call themselves followers of Christ.     

We should be seeking to live for the Kingdom, investing our lives in representing Jesus and proclaiming His Kingdom.  Our goal is that this principle of giving ourselves away would permeate our community and be a guiding principle behind all that we do. 

"Proclaiming the Kingdom of God"

“The Time Has come”, he said. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news – Mark1:15

After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. – Acts 1:3

The Bible talks about the kingdom as being both now and not yet.  With Jesus, the kingdom of God was inaugurated.  Jesus preached and taught about the kingdom, and performed miracles to demonstrate its power over the evil of this world.  The Scripture also suggests that the kingdom is “not yet” in that it points to a time when Jesus will return in glory to establish the kingdom in its fullness. We are therefore in the middle, between Jesus’ earthly ministry and the inauguration of the kingdom, but awaiting Christ’s return and the kingdom’s establishment in fullness.  It is here that we find our key role.  Through the gift of the Holy Spirit the church is the sphere in which the kingdom’s power is active, and we are here to continue Jesus’ mission to proclaim the kingdom of God in word and in deed. 

Our goal is that all we do as a growing family of friends, giving ourselves away is to proclaim the kingdom of God. 

our beliefs...

1.  about the Bible

We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and without error in the original writings, and that they are our supreme and final authority in faith and life.

2.  about God

We believe in one God, the Creator, eternally existing in three persons:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3.  about Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary – 100% God and man.

4.  about the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells and gives spiritual life to all believers, enables them to understand Biblical truth, empowers them for godly living, gives them spiritual gifts and equips them for service and witness.

5.  about Human Beings

We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His divine image; that they sinned resulting in the spiritual, physical and emotional fall of humanity.  We believe that all people by their own decisions have chosen to sin and thereby stand guilty before God and are in need of a Saviour.

6.  about Salvation

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitution sacrifice; and that all who believe in Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood.  We believe that all who by faith receive the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God.

7.  about the Resurrection

We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven, and in His present life there for us, as High Priest and Advocate. 

8.  about Christ’s Return

We believe in the blessed hope of the personal and imminent return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

9.  about Eternity

We believe in the eternal nature of all humanity. The resurrection and enjoyment of the presence of God for all those who receive His Son; and the eternal punishment of the absence of God and His influence for those who reject the gift of His salvation. 

10.  about the Church

We believe that the New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers with Christ as its head and the Holy Spirit as its guide.  New Testament churches promote God’s work by cooperating together for missions and many other joint efforts.  The local church is to be governed independently of outside persons, bodies, groups, or authorities.

11.  about the Ordinances

We believe that the local church observes two ordinances - baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  We believe that all who have received Christ as Saviour and Lord should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that baptism is by immersion as a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; and that the Lord’s Supper should be observed in remembrance of Him as a testimony to His death for our sins until He comes again.