What we believe shapes how we live.

God is a spiritual and personal being. In his holiness, righteousness, wisdom and love he never changes. He is independent, perfect and worthy of our honour and worship. The eternal God reveals himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All three are fully God, with distinct personal characteristics – and yet not three gods, but One.

Deut 4:35; Matt 28:19; John 4:24; 2 Cor 13:14; Eph 4:4-6; Rev 1:4-6

We believe in God the Father in heaven. He is almighty, all-knowing, ever-present and holy – perfect in wisdom, love and truth. He watches over his whole creation as a good Father. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ may belong to him and experience his kindness, goodness and mercy.

Because he is holy, he wants our whole heart for himself. He calls us to himself, gives us blessing, peace, grace and good gifts and shows us a clear path. And because he loves us, he also disciplines and corrects us. He calls us to repentance again and again and does not tolerate our remaining in sin. Rather, he leads us in his love so that we grow in his holiness, become more like him and shape our lives for his glory.

Ps 139:5-7; Exod 34:14; Hos 13:4-8; Hos 14:4-5; Matt 6:30-33; John 1:14; 3:16; Luke 11:13; Acts 1:7; Rom 6:1-2; Heb 12:4-11; Jas 4:5; 1 John 3:1

We believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ – from eternity the second person of the Trinity. For our salvation he became human: conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, without sin and obedient to God’s law. He is the radiance of the Father’s glory, through whom God created all things and sustains them to this day. Jesus is fully God and fully human. He suffered, was crucified, died, was buried, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. There he waits until he returns to judge and to establish God’s kingdom in its fullness.

Matt 1:18-25; John 1:1-18; 1 Cor 15:3-4; Col 1:16-17; Heb 1:3

We believe in God the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son. He works on Jesus’ behalf to make the gospel visible in the world and to glorify Christ. He opens hearts to God’s truth, calls people to repentance and faith in Jesus and gives them new life. He lives in believers to guide, teach, equip, sanctify, revive and comfort. He seals God’s children until the day of final redemption.

John 15:26; 16:7-15; Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 12:14; 2 Cor 1:21-22; Gal 4:6; Eph 1:13-14; 5:18

We believe that God has shown himself to the world in three particular ways – in Jesus Christ, in the Bible and in his creation. We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the perfect revelation of who God truly is. He is the image of the invisible God, the exact representation of his being, a perfect reflection of the Father. In him we see what God is like and what he wants to say to the world.

Mark 1:1; John 5:19; 14:9; Col 1:15; Heb 1:1-3

We believe that God speaks to us in the Bible. Through the Holy Spirit he inspired people to write down his Word in human words. Holy Scripture – the Old and New Testaments – is given by God, reliable and true. It is the standard for truth, faith and teaching and our sure guide for all of life.

Ps 19:7-11; Ps 119; Matt 5:18; John 10:35; 2 Tim 3:15-17; 2 Pet 1:20-21

We believe that God also reveals himself in his creation. Everything he has made shows his invisible reality, his eternal power and divine majesty.

Ps 19:1; Rom 1:19-20,32; 2:1

We believe that God called the whole world into being through his word – out of nothing, and yet full of beauty and order. At the end he declared his creation very good. Everything we see is an expression of his creativity and love. That is why he deserves our worship and our wonder.

Gen 1:1,31; Ps 24:1-2; Acts 17:24-28

We believe that God, as the almighty Creator, does not leave his world to itself. He sustains and rules everything – the visible and the invisible – according to his perfect will and for his glory. He directs history, knows the end from the beginning and leads all things to the goal he has determined in his goodness.

Job 37:10-18; Ps 115:3; Isa 45:9; 46:10; Matt 10:29-31; Col 1:17

We believe that God created every human being – man and woman – in his image as his counterpart. Every person bears an inviolable dignity. Men and women are created differently and yet are absolutely equal in nature and worth. Together they reflect God in the world by living out his mandate: to shape, care for and preserve the earth. Through faith in Jesus Christ, men and women have the same access to God and are called to develop their God-given gifts – for the glory of God and as a blessing for family, church and society.

Gen 1:26-30; Gal 3:28

We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is God’s good and binding order for sexual union. The covenant of marriage is an exclusive, lifelong union that reflects God’s love and faithfulness to his people – just as Christ loves his church.

Matt 19:4-6; Rom 13:13; 1 Cor 6:15-20; 10:8; Eph 5:3,21-33; 1 Thess 4:3; Heb 13:4

We believe that every person deserves protection and respect at every stage of life. That is why we stand up for life – from the unborn to the elderly, from the weak and sick to the poor, the displaced and the oppressed.

Job 31:15; Ps 139:13-16; 146:7-9; Prov 31:8-9; Isa 49:1,15; Mic 6:8; Matt 25:35-36; Jas 1:27

We believe that God originally created human beings without sin and with free will. But when the tempter came, humanity deliberately chose against God’s command. In doing so, they broke their fellowship with God and lost their original, blessed state – righteous, holy and innocent. Since then humanity has lived under the dominion of sin and under the influence of the adversary. It stands under God’s righteous wrath and bears the consequence: eternal death.

Gen 3:13,16-19,22-24

We believe that since the fall every person has inherited a nature and an environment that are inclined towards sin and set against God. Sin permeates every part of our lives – our thinking, our will, our bodies and our desires. Without God’s saving intervention out of pure grace and love, humanity remains in a hopeless state: separated from God, spiritually dead and at enmity with him.

Ps 51:5; Rom 3:10-12,23; 5:12-19; Eph 2:1-3; 1 John 1:8

We believe that Jesus Christ is at the centre of the biblical message. He is the gospel – the good news. Out of pure love he took God’s judgement upon himself on the cross in our place. He willingly bore our guilt, paid the full price for sin with his life and so brought reconciliation between us and God. With the bodily resurrection of his Son, the Father confirmed that Jesus’ sacrifice is valid for all time.

Isa 53:1-12; Luke 24:45-47; John 3:16; Rom 3:24; 1 Cor 2:2; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; Heb 9:11-15; 1 Pet 2:21-25; 1 John 2:1-2

We believe that no one can enter God’s kingdom by their own strength. Salvation comes by grace alone. It begins when the Holy Spirit gives a person new life – a new birth that brings forth a new heart and the desire to overcome sin, to love God and to serve others.

John 1:13; 3:5-8; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 2:20; 1 John 3:9; 1 John 5:1-4

We believe that Jesus Christ has the power to forgive sins and to give eternal life. Whoever turns away from their sin and puts their trust in him alone is declared righteous by God. He or she becomes a child of the living God – with all the privileges and the joy of belonging to his family. This turning to God leads to a daily expression of faith in our actions and our whole way of life.

John 1:12; Acts 2:38; Rom 1:16-17; 3:22-26; 8:1,34; 10:8-13; Col 2:13-15; 1 John 1:9

The church exists worldwide – as one body – and lives visibly in many local churches. In it, people from every culture, language and nation are united. Christ alone is the head, and as his members we are closely connected to one another. What affects one member affects the whole body.

Matt 16:17-19; 1 Cor 3:10-11; Eph 2:19-21; Eph 5:23; Col 1:18,24

We believe that the church exists first of all to love God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength. Even though it needs biblical leadership by elders and deacons, it is ultimately led and kept by God’s Word and his Spirit. Its mission is to continue the ministry of Jesus on earth in the power of the Holy Spirit: to pass on the good news in word and deed and to call people to follow Jesus.

Matt 28:18-20; John 14:12; Acts 2:42; Rom 12:4-8; 1 Cor 12:7-11,28-31; Eph 4:11-16; 2 Tim 3:1-13

We believe that Jesus Christ has instituted two lasting signs for the church: baptism and communion. Baptism – the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – testifies to personal faith in the gospel. It shows union with Christ, the burial of the old life and the resurrection to a new life in him. Baptism is the outward sign of the decision of faith to enter into covenant with God.

Communion is the repeated remembrance and proclamation of the new covenant in Jesus’ blood and at the same time an expression of our fellowship with Christ and with one another.

Matt 28:19; Acts 2:38; Rom 6:1-14; 1 Cor 11:23-34; Col 2:12; 1 Pet 3:21

The kingdom of God broke in with the first coming of Jesus Christ, unfolds during the age of the church, reaches its climax in the visible and glorious return of Christ as King, and finds its final completion in the new heaven and the new earth, where God will dwell with his people for ever. Through the Holy Spirit the kingdom of God continues to spread today, in the age of the church, as people accept Jesus as Lord and follow his Word.

Matt 6:33; Mark 1:15; Luke 17:20-21; Acts 1:11; Rom 14:17; 1 Cor 4:20; Rev 11:15

When Jesus returns, all the dead will rise, and those who have been declared righteous through him will enter into eternal joy in his presence. Those who have not been declared righteous will in future be separated for ever from the good presence of God. We believe that this completion means the final victory over Satan, sin and death.

Matt 16:27; 25:34; John 3:18,36; 1 Thess 4:16-17; Rev 20:7-15; 21:1-5

We recognise that the Jewish roots of our faith are essential for understanding God’s Word in all its depth. Jesus himself was a Jew and lived within the covenant God had made with his people. Even on the cross he was called “the King of the Jews” – an inscription meant as mockery, but which he did not deny, because it was true.

Matt 1:1-17; Heb 7:14; Matt 27:37; John 19:19-22; John 18:33-37

The New Testament is inseparably connected with God’s promises and actions in the Old Testament. When we value Israel’s history, calling and mission, we also see more clearly our own identity in Christ and the richness of the grace we have received as part of God’s people. As believers from the nations we are like wild branches grafted into the cultivated olive tree of Israel – not in its place, but to share with it in the root.

Luke 24:25-27; Rom 11:17-18; Eph 2:11-22; Gal 3:29

We see in the restoration of the nation of Israel a clear sign that God keeps his promises and that we are living in the midst of his prophetic timetable. This restoration is part of the preparation for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he will come again in glory as King.

Isa 66:8; Jer 31:35-37; Ezek 36:22-24; Amos 9:14-15; Matt 24:32-34; Luke 21:24-28; Zech 14:4-9; Rev 19:11-16

Just as God has not forgotten his people Israel, we as Christians may also be certain: he will not forget us. His faithfulness to Israel is a mirror of his faithfulness to us in Christ – and an invitation to stand firm in faith, full of hope for what is to come.

Rom 11:1-2; Rom 11:25-29