The people of Village Green reflect diverse denominational backgrounds. Our statement of faith reflects the essentials of historic Christian belief.
- God has revealed himself to be the living and true God, perfect in love and righteous in all his ways; one in essence, existing eternally in the three persons of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- God, who discloses himself to mankind through his creation, has spoken of his salvation in the words and events of redemptive history. This history is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, who is made known to us by the Holy Spirit in sacred Scripture.
- Scripture is an essential part and trustworthy record of God’s self-disclosure. Divine verbal inspiration establishes all the books of the Old and New Testaments as the written word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice. They are to be diligently studied and interpreted according to their context and purpose and in reverent obedience to the Lord who speaks through them in living power.
- God, by his word and for his glory, freely created the world out of nothing. He made man in his own image, as the crown of creation, that man might have fellowship with him. Man, tempted by Satan, the arch-enemy of God and man, rebelled against God. Being estranged from his Maker, yet accountable to him, he became subject to divine wrath, inwardly depraved and, apart from grace, incapable of returning to God.
- The only Mediator between God and man is Jesus Christ our Lord, God’s eternal Son, who, being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, fully shared and fulfilled our humanity in a life of perfect obedience. By his death in our stead, he revealed the divine love and upheld the divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having redeemed us from sin, he rose bodily from the grave on the third day, victorious over death and the powers of darkness. He ascended into heaven where, at God’s right hand, he intercedes for his people and rules as Lord over all.
- The Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of the gospel, renews our hearts, persuading us to repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord. By the same Spirit we are led to trust in divine mercy, whereby we are forgiven all our sins, justified by faith alone, through the merit of Christ our Saviour, and granted the free gift of eternal life.
- God graciously adopts us into his family and enables us to call him Father. As we are led by the Spirit, we grow in the knowledge of the Lord, freely keeping his commandments and endeavouring to live in the world so that people may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.
- God by his word and Spirit creates the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, calling sinful men out of the whole human race into the fellowship of Christ’s Body. By the same word and Spirit he guides and preserves for eternity that new, redeemed humanity which, being formed in every culture, is spiritually one with the people of God in all ages.
- The Church in its local setting is summoned by Christ to offer acceptable worship to God and to serve him by: preaching the gospel and making disciples of all nations; tending the flock through the ministry of the word, through the ordinances of believers’ baptism and the Lord’s Supper, through daily pastoral care, through intercessory prayer, and through the exercise of discipline; striving for social justice, and relieving human distress and need.
- God’s redemptive purpose will be consummated by the return of Christ to raise the dead, to judge all men according to the deeds done in the body, and to establish his glorious kingdom. The wicked shall be separated from God’s presence and condemned to the eternal punishment of hell. The righteous, in glorious bodies, shall live and reign with him forever. Then shall all the eager expectation of creation be fulfilled and the whole earth proclaim the glory of God who makes all things new.
- Scripture teaches that baptism is an ordinance of Christ to be obeyed by all who identify with Him. Immersion in water, following repentance and faith, shall be considered the normal baptism pattern, most fully exemplifying the believer’s identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Romans 6:1-17).
- The Lord’s Supper or communion is an ordinance instituted by Christ on the eve of his crucifixion. In the elements of the bread and the wine, his broken body and shed blood are symbolically represented. The Lord ordained this to be a regular element of the church’s fellowship.
- God created us male and female (Gen. 1:27) and designed marriage to be a life-long covenanted bond between one man and one woman. We resolve therefore that as a matter of belief, doctrine and religious practice, our congregation reserves the term “marriage” for the covenant relationship between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others (Matthew 19:4-6). Sexual intimacy is legitimate only within this covenanted marriage relationship (Hebrews 13:4).
- God calls us to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Village Green supports opportunities for individuals to pursue mission /outreach endeavours (Acts 1:8), as outlined in policies developed by the leadership team from time to time.
