We believe the 66 books of The Bible (not including the apocrypha), as originally recorded, are infallible (without error) and authoritative (the highest authority by which we should live our lives.)
We believe the human writers of The Bible were all inspired by the Holy Spirit and that the written words of The Bible are no less God’s words than if he had written them directly himself.
Whilst affirming that The Bible writers were inspired we also affirm that the writings of scripture were produced by individuals whose personality and context affected what was written. These two elements of spiritual inspiration and human context need to be carefully held in balance.
We believe The Bible is relevant and significant for every human being today and therefore needs to be faithfully proclaimed.
Although the word Trinity does not appear in The Bible itself it is a useful way of describing God. We believe that God exists as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Three persons of the Trinity are equal in value and significance and all exist eternally.
We believe God the Father is the holy, eternal creator of all things. Whilst not being ignorant of science we affirm God the Father’s hand in all of creation. We also affirm that having created all things the Father has maintained interaction with his creation; most significantly through the sending of his Son and the Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus Christ though he has existed through eternity at due time was born on earth as a man, the son of a virgin. He is the only person in all history to have lived a perfect life without sin. His teaching is authoritative and his life of selfless love is an example that all Christians should seek to follow. We believe Jesus died on the cross in our place, an innocent man dying so our sins and the sins of the whole world could be forgiven. Having died on the cross Jesus rose again three days later demonstrating his victory over all things including death. He then ascended to heaven and lives today. One day he will come again to judge the earth.
We believe the Holy Spirit is God and he was sent as comforter, encourager, sustainer and guide for the Church. It is The Spirit who empowers our work of mission and evangelism. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit at work today through the various spiritual gifts listed in The Bible, including prophesy, healing and the use of tongues, all these gifts are to be desired for the building up of God’s Church and the extension of his kingdom on earth, but they are not a necessary sign of conversion.
We believe the power of the Holy Spirit is necessary in the work of conviction of sin, repentance, conversion and spiritual growth. We await expectantly a time when the power of the Holy Spirit will once again bring about revival.
We believe that all people are born sinful and in need of forgiveness and that no one can be saved through their own good works.
We believe that the only way in which we can be saved is through faith in Jesus Christ. It is only through his death on the cross we can be forgiven, only through his resurrection from the dead we can be granted eternal life and only through his love for us that we can have spiritual life. This salvation is offered to all who repent and turn to him.
We believe that all men and women will be judged when Jesus Christ comes again. Those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ will receive eternal life in heaven. Those who do not will be eternally separated from God in Hell. God’s desire is that all people would turn to him and receive a place in heaven.
We believe the Church is a universal non-denominational entity including all those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ. The Church is not restricted to a building but is instead the family of Christian believers across the globe. The Local Church is important as it is a place where people are called to gather for worship, to be encouraged to grow in discipleship, to support one another in fellowship, and to spur one another on to the work of evangelism. As a member Church of the Anglican Church in Wales we believe and affirm the historic creeds and teachings of Anglicanism as far as they stand under the authority of scripture.
We affirm that there are two sacraments of the Church: Baptism and The Lord’s Supper:
Baptism is an outward sign demonstrating that when someone repents and turns to Christ they die to their old life and begin a new life of faithfulness and obedience. We do not accept that anyone can be saved or cleansed of sin through the outward sign of baptism. Conversion and forgiveness can only happen as a result of the Spirits work in someone’s life.
The Lord’s supper (alternatively called Communion, Breaking of Bread or the Eucharist) is an important act of remembrance of Jesus’ death on the Cross and his resurrection three days later, it is therefore central to our worship. We share together bread and wine as a symbol of Christ’s body and blood. Due to the significance of what is being celebrated and remembered we affirm that only those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ should take the bread and wine. However a prayer of blessing can be offered to anyone regardless of their spiritual state.
We believe that all Christian believers are called after conversion to become more like Jesus Christ in his love and purity. The process of becoming Christlike (sanctification) is a lifelong process; central to this process are regular prayer, study of The Bible and meeting with other Christians. It is important that as Christians we do not neglect discipleship as we pursue greater nearness to God.
Our process of discipleship as Christians should naturally flow in to mission and evangelism to the world. We believe that as we grow in faith and are filled with the Holy Spirit we are empowered to follow in the pattern of Jesus and his ministry on earth.
We affirm that all Christian believers are called to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. The good news should be shared through practical action, love and care for the community as well as through speaking the word of God in power and healing the sick. We affirm that social action and preaching the gospel go hand in hand in the work of mission and are to be supported and affirmed by the Holy Spirit at work.
These represent the views of the leadership team
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Bosherston Hundleton Angle St Twynnells Stackpole