Vision and beliefs
Vision
At Belconnen Baptist we dream to be a church of Godly influence:
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that has the Great Commission as its first priority,
with people so passionate for mission that they are willing
to be equipped and sent to bring Christ to
their communities
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where the Word of God is taught in such a way that people align their
values, beliefs and practices to God’s Kingdom
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where the services are filled with people worshipping
God in Spirit and Truth, the Holy Spirit changes lives, and
all are inspired to live the ways of
Christ
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that is so compassionate that the needy will find love,
the hurting will discover hope, and justice is proclaimed
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that continues to grow larger and yet small enough
that people feel integrated — joined together by large numbers
of
small groups!
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where people pray fervently, serve God with enthusiasm
and care for one another
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with attractive multi-functional facilities that seek
to be a Christian centre of ministry, mission and training.
Yes, we dream of a church where people love being a part of it,
enthusiastically tell others about it, and desire to build it up
to the glory of God. This is
our dream — to be a church of Godly influence — where the Holy Spirit changes
the destiny of many.
Our statements of beliefs
We believe:
- in one eternal God who
created all things and who exists in three persons - the Father,
the Son and the Spirit;
- that all people are
created in God’s image for relationship with God and thus have
dignity and value;
- that because the first
man Adam disobeyed God, all people have sinned and have
therefore become separated from God and subject to his
judgement, condemnation and punishment;
- that Jesus Christ,
though the divine Son of God, came to earth as a human, lived a
sinless life, was killed by crucifixion, was buried, rose again
physically and returned to heaven;
- that through his
perfect obedience to the Father in his life and death and by
rising from the dead, Jesus has opened the way for all people to
be forgiven and restored to fellowship with God, being freed
from the guilt, penalty and power of sin;
- in the essential work
of God the Spirit in making the death of Jesus effective in the
individual, granting repentance toward God the Father and faith
in Jesus his Son;
- that God the Spirit
lives in those who have faith in Jesus, transforming them to be
more like Jesus, and equipping and empowering them to serve God;
- that there is one
universal church to which all who have faith in Jesus belong,
and that the local church is the primary means that God uses to
reach the world and fulfil his mission;
- in celebrating baptism
by immersion of those who have come to faith in Jesus as a
witness to their participation by faith in his death, burial,
and resurrection;
- in celebrating the
Lord’s supper in remembrance of Jesus’ death and in anticipation
of his return;
- in the personal return
and reign of Jesus, God the Son, when the whole human race, both
the living and the dead, will be held accountable to God – those
who have put their faith in Jesus will experience eternal life
with God and those who have not will experience eternal
separation from God.
- in the divine
inspiration of the bible, being the Old and New Testaments,
which is the supreme and sufficient authority in all matters of
Christian belief and conduct.
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