The Church

From the Bible, we understand that the Church is the primary agent for the purposes of God on the earth.

Unity in Diversity - We seek to have a wide open heart to all those who call themselves Christians. We believe that the family of God is glorious in it's diversity and much bigger than any one of our congregations or even the whole 3 Counties Church. We believe that God loves His whole church, including those whose theologies, methods and opinions differ from our own. He wants us to reach out to bless and be blessed by other Christians. We seek to hold together two congregations as one church and reach out and work with other churches in the area. We align ourselves with the wider church and this is most clearly expressed through our links with the Evangelical Alliance.

Pastoral Care - We believe that the Body of Christ should be specifically cared for. We are called to share the love of God with one another. This love should be practical so we endeavour to exercise compassion to all who are in need, whilst at the same time teaching personal responsibility. As we find our acceptance, affirmation and healing through the Lord Jesus, we develop a secure basis to relate honestly with one another. Good relationships are grown in a soil of mutual respect, trust, accountability and commitment.

Prayer - This is so vital that we never stop talking about it or cease from encouraging it.

We believe that it is very important to have times of corporate prayer, but the culture in which we live makes it very difficult for every member of the church to come together on a regular basis. Therefore diversity is essential as we encourage everyone to be regularly praying.

Anointing - In addition to our desire to be sound in theology, we also desire the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We seek to be charismatic, believing that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit need pursuing and seeking. We hunger for an even greater outpouring of the Spirit and live with the tension of appreciating all we see yet yearning for more.

Worship - We believe in giving God's love back to Him in worship which is the vital core of our life. We experience nurture and life from our Father as we worship Him. We express our worship both in our lifestyle and in our praise and we encourage a freedom of expression in the way we do this.

Balance - By balance we do not mean an innocuous blandness that seeks to please everyone, but a desire to teach the whole Bible and to hold together paradoxes that at times would seek to tear us apart. We acknowledge that there is great mystery in some of the ways of God.