We want to be people who pray regularly because we recognise God’s rule over all things, are thankful for who He is and what He’s done for us, and because we desire to see His will done in and through us.

Since God’s Word is key to our growth, our teachers desire to teach the Bible clearly, in words and concepts that we can relate to and understand, and to teach every part of the Bible with Jesus as the focal point, so as to encourage saving faith in, and faithful service of, Him.

We want to share the good news of Jesus with our families, friends, colleagues and neighbours. We pray for opportunities and boldness to speak, as well as lives that commend the gospel to others.

Gathering together as a family of different ages, personalities, interests and nationalities is a declaration that the gospel of Jesus Christ breaks down all barriers between us. We are committed to encouraging, both formally and informally, relationships that span age groups and life stages.

We want to follow Jesus’ example of putting others’ interests ahead of our own, so that in matters of freedom and wisdom, our decisions consider what’s best for “we”, not just “me”. As family members, we’re willing to give up our rights and preferences for others, and be those who to look to give rather than get, so that we might help others to grow as Jesus’ followers.

Since Jesus served us by giving His life for us (Mk 10:45, Phil 2:7), we are motivated by thankfulness and love to serve others (Jn 13:15, Gal 5:13-14). It is our privilege to do this, and not simply the job of the paid staff or those we consider to be particularly gifted. We want to all use the gifts and resources God has given us – humbly, generously and to the best of our ability – for His glory, and the common good and building up of our church family (1 Pet 4:10; Gal 5:13-14; 1 Cor 12:7, 14:12; Phil 2:3-4). We are committed to supporting and engaging in what our church family is doing, because we know standing on the sidelines isn’t just a loss for us individually, but a loss for everyone else too.

Our relationships with each other are a mark of our love for Jesus and our obedience to him (Eph 4:1-3; Phil 2:1-2). We want to be willing to sacrifice our time, energy, money and comfort in order to develop relationships that are more than skin-deep. We want safe relationships where we can be honest about our fears, doubts and sin so that we can point each other to the comfort, rebuke and forgiveness of the gospel. We want relationships of encouragement where we remind each other of the power of the gospel to change lives.

We belong to each other (Rom 12:5), and so are committed to meeting together (Heb 10:24-25) and intentionally investing in one another so that we can learn to follow Jesus in all of life (1 Cor 12:12-13; Heb 10:24-25) and grow together in unity and maturity (Eph 4:12-13). Because we love and value one another, we don’t want to see people treated as commodities, burnt out, or used as a means to an end. This means being thoughtful about the expectations we place on others, and making realistic plans for growth, bearing in mind the resources at our disposal, the capacity and gifts of our people and the long-term nature of evangelism and discipleship.