our values
.jpeg)
We love Jesus because we know that Jesus loves us. We love Jesus because he loved us first (1 John 4:19) We love Jesus because while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. (Romans 5:8) We believe the correct response to the love that Jesus has shown us by giving his life as a sacrifice for ours, is to love him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27) We believe that Jesus is good, holy, just, merciful and knowable. We believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. (Matthew 16:16) And so when we gather we sing to Jesus, pray to Jesus, and we talk and learn about Jesus. We are Trinitarian and believe in one God in three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. But it is only through a relationship with Jesus that we can be in relationship with the Father and the Spirit. As Jesus himself tells us, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". (John 14:6)
We believe that the Bible is the word of God. We believe that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…” (2 Tim 3:16)
We believe that God can be known and wants to be, and next to Jesus, the Bible is the best way to know who God is. We believe that Scripture alone is authoritative for the faith and practice of Christians (Sola Scriptura). When we meet we read and study Scripture. Our messages tend to be exegetical/expositional and we try and let the Bible speak for itself.
.jpeg)
We meet in a semi-rural area and we see ourselves as a country church, where the rhythms of life are different from the city. We meet at the Swannanoa School and have a close relationship with them, and are always looking for ways to strengthen that relationship. And while we meet in Swannanoa, our people come from all over Waimakariri. We have a dream that our church will be known as one that serves our local community in the name of Jesus. One that brings people together, and becomes the heart of the community. We want to be known as a church that is generous with our time, money and resources. Most of all, we want to point to Jesus by sharing and demonstrating his love.
.jpeg)
We do our best to take seriously the Biblical command that we must love one another. That this is a sign to others that we are Jesus disciples. (John 13:34-35) We see our church more like a family than a club or an institution. And so when we gather for church it’s casual and relaxed. As life allows we like to gather together outside of Sunday morning to spend time together as a family, usually over a meal. We believe that real, authentic relationships are important to the life and growth of a church. When we meet we always take time to celebrate, and or commiserate with each other depending on what’s happening in our lives.
.jpeg)
The word Evangelical has a lot of baggage, but we are still a proudly Evangelical church. Evangelical in the sense that the gospel, the good news about Jesus, is at the centre of everything we do. We believe that the Christian church has an important role in the world of telling people the good news about Jesus. We believe that the church represents God in the community. And so while we are casual and relaxed, we also strive to do our best. As a small church we try to focus on quality not quantity. We want to give our people and our community something bigger than themselves to hope, believe and participate in.