The church is affiliated to the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches.
We are reformed (Calvinistic) and therefore evangelical in our beliefs.
God
The Bible
Humanity
Salvation
God alone can deal with human sin and bring about reconciliation to himself. To achieve this, God the Son became man in Christ Jesus. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless, human life and taught entirely without error. He suffered and died in the place of sinners, experiencing on their behalf the just punishment of God for their sins. God, in his grace, forgives and reconciles to himself all who turn to him in true repentance and who trust in Christ’s atoning death. God imputes to them the righteousness of Christ and adopts them as his own children. He thus sets all believers free from the domination of the devil and the corruption of their own sinful nature, and removes from them forever sin’s eternal consequences. Salvation can only be found through faith in Christ.
The Gospel
The Risen Lord
The Holy Spirit
The Second Coming
Jesus the Judge
The One Church
The Gathered Church
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
Church Polity
- We believe that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church Universal, which is his Body, and of each local church.
- We believe that each local church is in itself a complete church, therefore autonomous, possessing all the rights and responsibilities of the Church by the Holy Spirit as set forth in the Scriptures.
- We believe that Jesus Christ exercises his authority in each local church by the Holy Spirit and through the Scriptures.
- We believe that each local church, through its Church Meeting, is answerable only to Jesus Christ, and not to any association, conference, council, synod, or any other ecclesiastical body.
- We believe it is proper and beneficial for each local church to seek fellowship and counsel of other churches that are like-minded in the Lord.
- We believe that local churches have a responsibility to love and respect one another in the Lord and to show concern for one another’s welfare.
- We believe that the membership of a local church should be open to any who have made a credible profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who are living godly and obedient lives and who are willing to submit themselves to the discipline of the local church, irrespective of their beliefs about matters such as baptism and ecclesiology, which are not essential to being evangelical Christians.
- Congregational Churches historically held that baptism is for converts to Christianity and their children. However, our churches have always been welcoming to those who believe that baptism is for believers only. We therefore believe it is right that every Christian should have a freedom of conscience in this matter, and allow for the same to others within the membership or even leadership. Our stance on baptism is what is sometimes called ‘dual practice’, and it applies for both membership and those who hold an office.