What we Believe

We believe that faith in God is a journey. God speaks into our lives in all kinds of ways - through creation, through other people, through the bible, the church, in the silence...
There is always more to learn and, wherever you are on that journey of faith and discovery, we'd love you to join us.

• We believe in One God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit who created the world so that we might live in relationship with God.
• We believe that God loves all people and entered our world, in human form, in the person of Jesus.
• We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God - which tells us the story of God's plans for us. It tells us the story of God's people from creation to the ultimate new creation, when Jesus will come again and God's Kingdom will be realised in all its fullness.
• Jesus' life, death and resurrection is the central and most important event in history. Jesus came into the world, not to condemn it but to demonstrate how much God loves us. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, we find our place in God's family.
• Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments are to love God with all of ourselves and to love other people as we love ourselves. We recognise that we can only do those things, with the help of God. As we come to realise the unconditional love God has for us, and the forgiveness and grace which we are offered day-by-day, so we are more able to love others with that same love.
• Jesus invites each of us to follow him. He promises to be with us always and to walk with us, showing us how to live in relationship with God. we have been given the Holy Spirit, to help us hear God's voice guiding and directing us.
• Christ Church is one church, formed over 50 years ago from 3 Non-Conformist churches - Shortwood Baptist Chapel, Forest Green Congregational Church & Nailsworth Methodists. Our church remains part of the three denominations - Baptist, United Reformed & Methodist. We honour and value the heritage of our denominations and give thanks for the founders of all our churches, who willingly underwent persecution because of their desire to follow God in the ways they believed were true to what Jesus taught. We like to believe we still have some of that radical hope in our church today.
• We believe that following Jesus is something we do together. We need one another, so that together we can discern and grow in faith. Jesus left his followers the task of building God's Kingdom here on earth. He commissioned those first followers with a task, which remains the task of the church today. We are called to share the good news of Jesus with others and as they come to know Jesus, baptise them as a sign that they belong in God's worldwide family - the church.
• Jesus calls us to live out our faith by serving one another, and our community in love, seeking justice for all, and providing a place where our brokenness can be made whole.
• We believe God wants us to know freedom, to flourish, and to become the people we were created to be. We are all made different, with unique abilities and gifts. By God's Spirit, we can change and grow closer to God, being formed more and more into the likeness of Jesus.

We want Christ Church to be a place where everyone can find a home and a place to belong -a community which is open at the edges and has Jesus at the centre. A place where everyone is included.

As the Inclusive Church Network describes it:

“We believe in inclusive church– a church which celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate.

We will continue to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality.

We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.”

At Christ Church, we begin each year with a covenant service where we remind ourselves of the kind of church we seek to be, and to bring ourselves again before God, asking for help to be all that we are called to be. We say these words:

'Today we bring ourselves and the gifts we have,
and we covenant to serve and encourage
this church and community:
to respect and care for each other,
to take responsibility for the people we are
and the people we hope to be in Christ,
as we make this journey together.

What kind of people does Christ call us to be?

We are called to be a prophetic people,
working for justice, resisting violence
and challenging the abuse of power.

We are called to be an inclusive people,
pulling down the walls of prejudice
and welcoming the stranger.

We are called to be a sacrificial people,
risking uncertainty, becoming vulnerable,
and reflecting the generosity of God.

We are called to be a missionary people,
demonstrating in word and action
the redeeming love of God in the world.

We are called to be a worshipping people,
seeking and celebrating the God who journeys with us,
and open to the Spirit in the whole of life.

God of life,
you call us and envision us,
we give ourselves today
to each other and to you,
trusting that as you call us
so you covenant
to share this journey with us,
to nurture and sustain our life together
and to guide our paths. Amen.'