Our Values

Our values are the guiding principles we consider to be important in terms of how the church functions, and which influence the decision-making process in the church. They describe the way in which we seek to conduct our affairs and determine the style of ministry we adopt.

 

The following are the principles which we most highly value:

Jesus Christ, Lord of all: we seek to honour Jesus Christ as Head of His church here. Our aim is first and foremost to make His will the priority for our lives and seek to please Him in all that we do.

 

The Word of God: we affirm the scriptures as the supreme revelation of the truth and wisdom of God and therefore we make it our most important consideration to follow its directives in all matters of personal faith and conduct, and in all issues of church life.

 

Grace and faith: we recognise that the grace of God, freely given to us, is all-sufficient for every need on every level and for every spiritual advance. We emphasise that to appropriate such grace a positive attitude of faith on our part is required, expressed as humble dependency, confident expectancy and obedient action with respect to all the promises and conditions in the Word of God concerning God’s gracious provisions.

 

The Holy Spirit: we seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit and rely on Him in every aspect of our lives and ministry. Our aim is to be sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit, to be led by the Spirit and to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. We value the Holy Spirit’s anointing on our lives, the operation of the gifts of the Spirit and the demonstration of the Spirit’s power in healing, signs and wonders.

 

Prayer: we attach great importance to having an attitude of prayerfulness. Prayer is our primary means of communing with God, experiencing His grace, and knowing His will. It is a major way in which we co-operate with God in the accomplishing of His purposes, and hence prayer forms a foundation of all our decisions and actions in the church.

 

Integrity: we seek to live righteously before God and to deal honestly with people. Our aim is to walk in the light with one another, to be open to correction, to embrace the truth and to seek peace in times of conflict.

 

Care and encouragement: we highly value all our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ and readily recognise the relationship responsibilities we have for each other. Our aim is to bless, build up and encourage one another through our prayer, our speech and our fellowship, and to demonstrate our love by serving each other practically with our time, talents and money as appropriate.

Servant authority: we recognise that anyone who ministers in the church exercises spiritual authority to some degree. We consider it most important that authority is exercised in an attitude of humility and service to others in order to produce faith in, and obedience to, the Word of God, never to dominate or manipulate, but to set a selfless example of Christ-likeness to motivate others to share in the work of God.

 

Responsible stewardship: we reject the self-centred materialism of our culture, recognising with gratitude that all we have is given to us by God. As stewards of the abundance that God grants us, we seek to handle our finances wisely and responsibly, and in our giving to present our tithes and offerings to God cheerfully, generously and sacrificially.

 

Discipleship: we recognise that we ourselves are called to be disciples of Jesus, and that we are to make disciples of others. As disciples (followers or apprentices) we are committed to a learning process of obedience to Christ, walking in His ways and doing His works

 

The whole body of Christ: we respect all who belong to Christ irrespective of denominational background. We appreciate the work of God in the many different expressions of church and seek to act in honouring ways toward others, affirming the essential unity of the Body of Christ.

 

Human dignity: we have high regard for each individual person as a creation in the image of God. Male and female, young and old, married and single, whatever colour, background and station in life, whole and infirm, born and unborn, we seek to honour the dignity of human life. We seek to promote personal and relational wholeness and wherever possible alleviate suffering and injustice through the love of God.

 

Family life: we stress the importance of the traditional and Biblical family unit, the married state being instituted by God and designed to form the basis of a stable society. We have a high view of the sanctity of marriage and that marriage vows should be faithfully honoured, so that the husband-wife relationship might reflect Godly order and be characterised by love, respect and harmony, and that children can be brought up in a secure environment of loving discipline and instruction in the faith.

 

The Gospel of reconciliation: we embrace our responsibility to share the message of salvation with those around us locally and further afield as God enables. We aim to communicate clearly, and in a culturally relevant way, the need for new life in Christ, reaching out to the lost with hearts of love and seasoning our words with grace.