Purpose
Building a community of God’s people to love and to serve
As a community church in Harrogate we aim to serve and support the local community. Through our social action initiatives, Sunday services, midweek activities for all ages, pastoral visits and general church life we want to be a source of encouragement, support and spiritual insight as we love and serve our local community.
For those who are exploring questions of faith we offer safe environments to look into the truths of the Christianity through Alpha courses and help people on their spiritual journey.
Our hope is that wherever you are on your faith journey you will find a place that enables you to grow, serve, be inspired and encouraged.
You are very welcome to join us and to be part of this thriving local church.
Statement of faith
We believe in
- the one true God who lives eternally in three persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
- The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world
- the divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith and conduct
- the dignity of all people, made male and female in God’s image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgment
- the incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin
- the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross; dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God
- the bodily resurrection of Christ, the firstfruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world
- the justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ
- the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness
- the Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers—given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit’s gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love
- the personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgment, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.
Statement of Faith is adopted from the Evangelical Alliance
Culture
We seek to honour and bring glory to God in all that we do through the teaching of God’s Word, the moving of his Spirit, and prayer.
We endorse the applied teaching of God’s Word to equip us to know the saving grace of God.
We value the presence, fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit as God enables us to live out the Kingdom in our daily lives, holding the Word and the Spirit together in equal importance.
We value prayer as a lifeline in communing with God, hearing his voice and submitting to his ways.
We are inclusive of differing cultures and theological backgrounds, encouraging all people to develop in their spiritual character, calling and gifting.
We are a caring church, reaching out to those in need within our community, working with other churches to serve our town.
We promote authentic Spirit-led worship in a way that is intimate, dynamic, reflective and life-changing.
We promote team leadership across the church community, encouraging co-operation, transparency, accountability and responsibility.
We encourage small fellowship groups as nurturing environments and vital for strong foundations as we interact and we strive to speak the truth in love, practicing grace and encouraging one another to grow in faith.
Our children and young people are cherished as being a full part of our church community. We are committed to finding fresh ways to ‘be church’ together with them.
We encourage voluntary service to the poor, the weak and the vulnerable in the name of Jesus as we strive to be a welcoming, hospitable and serving community which avoids judgment while showing the unconditional love and truth of Jesus to transform lives.
We proactively connect with other churches and are committed to unity and to helping the suffering church around the world; we endorse local evangelism, global mission and the supporting of Kingdom work internationally across cultural and geographical boundaries.
Finally, it is our desire to equip and empower each other to invest time, energy and resources across our various communities.