Although we do not regard creeds as “touchstones of orthodoxy,” the church stands in the tradition of historic Christianity and identifies with statements such as the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed. We hesitate to use labels, largely because terms like “evangelical” and “reformed” mean different things to different people. We major on majors and believe it is possible for Christians to remain in loving fellowship while they differ on non-essential matters. To us, the following teachings are of particular importance.

GOD

We believe in one God, who is infinitely perfect, and who exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

THE FATHER

We believe that God the Father is the originator of the entire animate and inanimate creation. Most references to God in both testaments are references to God the Father, who is eternal, almighty, just and loving. We believe that God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are co-eternal and co-equal with the Father.

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, that he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We believe that he is both truly divine and truly human. He is Israel’s promised Messiah and the Saviour of the world. He lived a perfect life and died to atone for our sins. On the third day, he rose from the dead. He ascended to heaven where he is seated at the right hand of God the Father. He is the only mediator between God and humankind. At the end of the age, he will return in splendor and with great authority.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, co-equal with the Father and the Son. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, and indwells, guides, teaches and empowers the believer. 

SCRIPTURE

We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and are therefore trustworthy and authoritative. They contain the complete revelation of God’s will to save those who trust in him. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.

HUMANKIND

We believe that humankind was created in the image of God with consequent dignity, authentic freedom, and delegated authority. As a result of the fall through disobedience, God’s image in humankind is marred but not obliterated. All people have a sinful nature and are in need of salvation.

SALVATION

We believe that salvation has been provided only through Jesus Christ's death and shed blood on the cross as payment for our sins. He took the punishment that we deserve. As a gift from God, salvation can be received by faith alone. All true believers in Jesus are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God.

SANCTIFICATION

We believe that every Christian is called to live a Christlike life. Such a life can only be consistently lived through the enablement of the Holy Spirit.

THE CHURCH

We believe that the universal Church consists of all those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers join together in local Churches to worship God, to observe the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to pray, to exercise their spiritual gifts for mutual edification and to testify in word and deed to the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. All believers in the Lord are spiritually united with one another and are instructed to uphold the unity of the Body of Christ.

THE ORDINANCES

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ appointed two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Communion) to be observed as witnesses to the cardinal truths of the Christian faith. Participation in these ordinances helps to establish and nurture faith. Baptism occurs once at the beginning of the Christian life. It is the immersion of a believer in water as a confession of identification with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. The Lord’s Supper is celebrated frequently throughout the life of a Christian believer. It is the partaking of bread and wine as symbols of the Saviour’s broken body and shed blood in remembrance of his sacrificial death.

THE SECOND COMING

We believe that the second coming of the Lord Jesus at the end of the present age will be personal and visible. At his return, he will bring the salvation of his people to its glorious consummation, human history will reach its climax, and the kingdom of God, inaugurated at his first coming, will be fully established.  

THE FINAL JUDGMENT

We believe in the resurrection of all people, the eternal life of the redeemed and the eternal separation from God of those who have rejected the salvation provided in Christ. We believe that God is both just and merciful and will judge all people in the perfection of his wisdom.