What We Believe

Our Beliefs

The basis for all our beliefs is the Bible, which is the inspired Word of God.

We believe that God is the Creator of the world. He is a loving God who is sovereign over everything.
We believe that because of our sins and rebellion against God, we live in a fallen world and deserve to be rejected by God.
We believe that God did not turn his back on the world because of our sin, but instead He is working out a plan of salvation that will reconcile us to Him.
We believe that our salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone. He took the penalty for our sins upon Himself, and through His sacrifice on the cross endured the awful penalty for our sins.
We believe that we are called to repent of our sins and turn to Jesus. He alone saves us, and then calls us to a life of thankfulness to Him.
We believe Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit to all who believe. The Holy Spirit works faith and repentance in our hearts.
We believe that God calls us to join a local, faithful church where believers can worship God together, and where they will be strengthened through the preaching of God’s Word and the sacraments of baptism and Lord’s Supper (or communion).

As a Reformed church, we hold to the following principles, sometimes referred to as the “five solas”:

Sola Scriptura / By Scripture Alone

God’s word governs every aspect of our church. All our church’s beliefs and teachings must come from the Bible as the inspired Word of God. The Bible contains God’s revelation about Himself and His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Sola Fide / By Faith Alone

Salvation is a gift from God that is received through faith. That faith is worked in us by the Holy Spirit, who leads us to turn to Jesus Christ and put our faith in Him.

Sola Gratia / By Grace Alone

Our salvation was earned by Jesus Christ. We cannot merit any favour with God through our own works; it is given to us only because of God’s grace and love.

Solus Christus / Through Christ Alone

Jesus is the only mediator between God and man, and is the only way to salvation.

Soli Deo Gloria / Glory to God Alone

We worship the triune God alone. No person or tradition can stand in the way of that, or take for themselves the glory that belongs to God. To Him be all the praise and glory!

Creeds

Christian churches throughout the New Testament have expressed their unity through shared creeds that faithfully summarize the Christian faith.
Our church stands in unity with believers throughout the New Testament by believing the doctrines found in the Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed.

Confessions

The doctrinal standards of our church are the Reformed confessions, known as the Three Forms of Unity.

These documents date back to the 16th century, and have been used by Reformed churches ever since. If you come from a Presbyterian background, they are similar to the Westminster Confessions.
Our confessions do not add anything to the Word of God. We hold to these confessions only because they are faithful summaries of the core doctrines given to us in the Bible. They are useful to us as tools for teaching and summarizing the doctrines that are important to the Christian faith.
The 3 documents making up the Three Forms of Unity are: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort.
For an introduction to these confessions,

Heidelberg-Catechism.com is a website with many resources to help you familiarize yourself with this confession.

Baptism

We believe that all members, including infants, should be baptized, as a sign of God’s covenant promises.
We believe this is taught by Scripture. In the Old Testament, God made a covenant with Abraham that was sealed with circumcision. This was more than just an outward sign – it was given to Abraham “as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith.” On account of his faith, the promise was given to him and his children – a promise that is repeated in the New Testament (Acts 2:39).

We believe that in the New Testament baptism is also given on account of faith to both the believer and their children. The children of believers are covenant children who are part of God’s church. This is the model taught to us in Acts 16 where we read of two instances where a new believer’s entire household was baptized. First, when Lydia came to faith: “and after she was baptized, and her household as well…” (Acts 16:15), and later the Philippian jailer “was baptized at once, he and all his family” (Acts 16:33).

In His time on earth Jesus often reached out to children, and we believe He continues to include them in His church: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” –(Luke 18:16).

Infant baptism has been practiced throughout the New Testament. Origin, one of the earliest Christian authors, wrote “The Church has received from the apostles the custom of administering baptism even to infants.”

This does not mean covenant children are guaranteed salvation, or that they are any better than others. It does mean, however, that God has laid claim to them and gives covenant parents a responsibility to teach their children the gospel message. As children grow up, they must respond with faith and obedience to Jesus. God calls the children of believers to keep His covenant from generation to generation.

Lord’s Supper

“We, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.” – 1 Cor 10:17

The Lord’s Supper is a symbol of our unity as members of Christ’s church. The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Jesus as a means to strengthen our faith through the visible sacraments. (1 Cor 11:23-25)

The elements of the Lord’s Supper are the bread and wine, which are shared by members of the congregation in memory of Jesus’s sacrifice for our sins.