We do not believe the Word of God is another subjective opinion on how to live our lives. We believe it is the final word on who we are and how we should live (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We are all on a journey to discover who God says we are and what that looks like in our world, and on the way, we will continually submit what we think and how we feel about ourselves to the Word of God.
We believe that what we cannot see is greater than what we can see and therefore we are never bound by any situation that we can see. We believe that God is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28) and we are active participants in bringing heaven to earth, seeing His will established in our world (Matthew 6:9-10).
We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:23) and that it is the pillar and ground of truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Gathering together is vital to who we are because it is where our corporate identity is established and built up.
We believe that all people are worthy of our respect and compassion, particularly those who are in the family of believers (Galatians 6:10). This means that we are careful with how we think of others and how we speak about them (Ephesians 4:29). We consider each other as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).
We believe that what we carry is for more than just ourselves. What we have learnt has been entrusted to us so that we can pass that onto others (2 Timothy 2:2). We also believe that no one is too young to be involved (1 Timothy 4:12) and that no one is too old (Psalm 92:12-15).
We believe that iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17) and that God placed us in a community with exactly the people we need to sharpen us to prepare us for what’s ahead. Similarly, we have been placed here to sharpen others, and we believe this best happens through regularly meeting together in small groups.
We believe it is God who gives us the ability to have and make wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) and in recognition of that fact, our grateful response is to tithe, giving Him back 10% of all that we earn (Malachi 3:10). We believe that as God has been generous to us, so we should be generous towards Him and towards others (2 Corinthians 8:9, 9:6-8).
We believe that because of what Christ has done in us, we have become the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). We take the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) seriously and are dedicated to carrying what we have been given out into a world that needs it.