Statement of Faith
We affirm the following to be true and declare our commitment to living in accordance with these truths as a servant of Christ:
The Bible is Godâs personal words to us announcing and explaining the Good News of salvation through the person and work of Christ. The Bible bears the authority, power and presence of God himself as he speaks these words to us. His words are complete. We cannot add to, subtract from or change them. They speak to all cultures and societies.
God has also revealed himself in his creation and in human nature. Every human being therefore knows that God exists, that he is powerful and that God is justly angry with mankind and therefore we are all without excuse. This revelation offers no way of salvation and so the natural reaction is to suppress this knowledge of God or replace God with gods of our own imagination. The knowledge of the way of salvation is revealed only through the Bible.
God has also graciously allowed all humanity to have a measure of knowledge and understanding of his creation such that were we to live in peace and unity there would be nothing on this earth that mankind could not accomplish. This knowledge and understanding, being then distorted by sinful belief, is confused, and to varying degrees becomes damaging and dysfunctional. All knowledge and understanding needs to develop within the framework of Godâs self-revelation.
There is only one God who exists in three persons, who are revealed to be the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each person is equal and all of God. God has no parts or dimensions. Each person relates to the others in intimate love and perfect fellowship. Each person carries out distinct roles and functions.
God is not a part of the created order. He exists independently and yet he is intimately involved in his creation. God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, love, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. All that exists, including time and space, has been created by him and continues to operate and exist only by his word and power. There is nothing that happens that has not been planned by God, whether good or evil. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted in any way by any person or power.
God created all that is not God. He did so to glorify himself. We exist for his glory which gives our lives eternal meaning and significance.
God created human beings, male and female, in his image to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Being created in the image of God, though now damaged by Adamâs sin, sets us apart from and over all other creatures. The image of God is the whole person and cannot be limited to an ability or character trait.
God created marriage to be an exclusive commitment between one man and one woman for life. All sexual activity outside of that relationship is contrary to Godâs design and character.
When the first man (Adam) chose to disobey God in hope of being Godâs equal, he and all his descendants, being born under his leadership, were then separated from God. Since God put all of the creation under the rule of mankind, Adamâs rebellion caused his creation to no longer operate in accordance with Godâs design. Sin had entered the world and the original beauty of creation began to be destroyed, including our relationship with God, our sexuality, our relationships with each other, our bodies, minds, attitudes, emotions and the environment around us. Since that time, people have used everything and everyone for the selfishness of human pride, motivated by personal pleasure, greed and glory rather than for the glory of God.
Being âdead in sinâ â separated from God by that first sin â every human being is conceived and born an enemy of God, damaged by the effects of sin, unable and unwilling to accept the truth about God, or to do anything that would be acceptable in Godâs sight without Godâs initiative.
From before creation, God, in his mercy and grace, planned to save some of humanity through Christ. The penalty for sin is death. Because God is just, the penalty for sin must be paid. So God himself became a man, Jesus. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, defeated Satan, and died in the place of all who, by Godâs grace and enabling, would repent and entrust themselves to him for salvation. Having satisfied the justice of God, Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and continues as the head of a redeemed humanity, being those people whom he chose before He created the world. From heaven he then poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit upon his redeemed people. At conversion, each believer receives the Holy Spirit, the indwelling presence of God, to empower us for Christâs service and ministry to a fallen world. He gives his people the abilities to build up one another to live lives transformed into the character of Christ working together in the assemblies of the church.
Every believer in Christ is commanded and sent by God to bring the Good News of this salvation to the world and, by word, action and attitude, bringing peace and grace to bear in the wider community.
For any person to be saved they must hear the Gospel as revealed in the Bible, and by the grace and work of the Holy Spirit be born again, and so change their attitude, be sorry for their sin, hate it and determine to live in obedience to God, putting their trust in Christ alone for salvation. God then declares the believer to be innocent of all sin and blameless forever. This is Godâs work of grace in us, not a work we can do ourselves. We cannot earn it or deserve it.
The believer is adopted into Godâs family as a child of God, and therefore must be committed to a local church that faithfully teaches Godâs Word, the Bible. This involves taking oneâs place in the assembly of the church, serving God by working to build up fellow believers. Our aim is to glorify God, study his Word, and be transformed into the character of God while working together to bring the Gospel to the community. Worship of God is all of life.
While we submit under God to the civil authorities, we thank God for them and pray for them. We recognise that God is supreme and all authorities must ultimately answer to him.
We understand that we live as a citizen of Godâs Kingdom in a world ruled by a sinful humanity driven by the deceitfulness of Satan. We therefore expect and accept that we will suffer. We are determined to bear whatever Godâs plans for us may be, mindful of the suffering of Christ, and the grace that saves me. I acknowledge that Godâs will, working out in his ways and plans, is often above our understanding. I submit in faith knowing that God works all things together for the good of his people and for his glory.
As a disciple of Christ we are determined to ever seek greater knowledge, wisdom and understanding from Godâs word so that we will constantly put away the habits of our old sinful nature. With fervent prayer we want to learn to live as the new creature we are in Christ, and to build up our fellow believers in faithfulness and service to him until he returns.
We look forward to the return of Christ. We believe in the physical resurrection of the dead, and the coming of a new creation. We acknowledge the certainty of final judgement for all, the reality of hell which is the fearful prospect that awaits those who do not turn to Christ. We therefore commit ourselves to making the most of the time we have to call all people to turn to Christ for salvation and eternal life.
We seek to serve and be of benefit to the local community through the ministry of Christian schools as a means to teach and model the Gospel and equip children and young people to live in Godâs world, Godâs way as Godâs image according to Godâs Word. This involves the teaching of the Bible, engaging with the scholarship and culture of our society through the teaching of the required curriculum from a Christian perspective and analysis. This is done with love and care for each person and family making up the school community.
