As a Church of Christ there are some important aspects of New Testament teaching that we believe are essential to church life. However, ...

In the essential beliefs - we have unity    

 "There is one Body and One Spirit ... there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father of us all ..." - Ephesians 4:4-6

The essential things have to do with our salvation, the authority and inerrancy of God's Word (the Bible), ensuring Gospel integrity and the priority of God's Kingdom over all other things.

In the non-essential beliefs - we have liberty

 "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgement on disputable matters ... Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls ... So then each of us will give an account of himself to God ... So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God." - Romans 14:1,4,12, & 22

The non-essential things have to do with matters which are clearly open to interpretation or debate, but ...

 In all our beliefs - we show grace

 "... If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but also the very secrets of God, and if I have that absolute faith which can move mountains - but have no love, I amount to nothing at all." - 1 Corinthians 13:2 (JBP)

Whether an essential or a non-essential we act in grace towards one another in order to keep the unity of the church.

For a copy of our Governance & Church Life Guidelines contact us here.

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