foundations
Statement of Faith
These are the convictions that ground us. We are not inventing anything new. We stand with the historic Christian church across centuries and continents, and we hold these things together — humbly, gladly, and openly.
The Scriptures
We believe the Bible — Old and New Testaments — is the inspired, trustworthy, and authoritative word of God. It is sufficient for what we need to know about God, salvation, and the life of faith. We read it together, expecting the Holy Spirit to illumine it, and we submit our lives to it.
God
We believe in one eternal God, who exists in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — equal in nature, distinct in person, united in purpose. God is holy, good, just, and overflowing with love. He created all things, sustains all things, and is bringing all things to their right end in Christ.
Humanity
We believe every person is made in the image of God, of inherent dignity and worth. We also believe every person is broken by sin — turned in on ourselves, estranged from God and from one another. We cannot rescue ourselves; we need to be rescued.
Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus is fully God and fully human — conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, who lived a sinless life, was crucified for our sins, was buried, and rose bodily from the dead on the third day. He ascended to the Father, reigns now as Lord, and will return to judge the living and the dead and to make all things new.
The Gospel and Salvation
We believe salvation is a gift of God's grace, received through faith in Jesus Christ — not earned by anything we do. In Christ we are forgiven, reconciled to God, adopted as children, indwelt by the Spirit, and given new life that begins now and lasts forever.
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit dwells in every follower of Jesus — convicting us, comforting us, transforming us into the likeness of Christ, and empowering us for love, witness, and service. The gifts of the Spirit are given for the good of the church and the good of the world.
The Church
We believe the church is the people of God — every follower of Jesus, in every place, across every age. The local church is the visible expression of this: a community gathered around Word and table, marked by love, accountable to one another, and sent into the world. House churches, parish churches, and global congregations are all part of one body.
The Ordinances
We practice baptism — the public sign of dying and rising with Christ — and the Lord's Supper, taken at the table whenever we gather. These are not empty symbols; they are means of grace through which God meets and shapes his people.
The Christian Life
We believe followers of Jesus are called to lives of repentance, faith, love, and obedience — pursuing holiness, doing justice, loving mercy, walking humbly, and bearing witness to Christ in word and deed. We grow together, not alone.
The Last Things
We believe Jesus will return, the dead will be raised, and God will judge the world in righteousness. Those who are in Christ will dwell with him forever in a renewed heaven and earth, where every tear is wiped away and all things are made right.
Unity and Humility
On the essentials, unity. On the non-essentials, freedom. In all things, love. We hold these convictions firmly, and we hold them with humility — eager to learn from the wider church, slow to draw lines where Scripture has not drawn them, and quick to keep the main thing the main thing: Jesus.
"That they may all be one."
John 17:21
Questions about anything here? We'd love to talk it through.
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