our mission

our core values

we believe:

our distinctives

There are many different types and styles of church in our world today. All Christian churches share a common mission and key points of theology, but from that point on, diversity is the order of the day. The following list of Distinctives is our attempt to describe what we believe is God's unique thumbprint upon our church.

We are to be a Large Church

This particular Distinctive has been held in the heart of the leadership from day one. When there were only thirteen gathering in a little hall in the outer suburbs there was an overwhelming impression that our church would become a large, multi-faceted church that would impact our city, nation and world. There is a strong awareness today, amongst all those who call our church their home, that we have built a platform, a foundation, where the fulfilling of this Distinctive will be seen and experienced, increasingly so, in the years to come.

We are to be a Charismatic Church

Charismatic, in the sense that we fully expect the Holy Spirit to equip and empower us as we go about the work of Christian ministry - reaching people for Christ and making disciples. We believe and embrace the many gifts of the Holy Spirit but are careful to ensure that our primary focus is to reach out to others, rather than becoming a holy huddle. Charismatic theology can become both selfish and self-defeating when it is divorced from practical Christian living, service and evangelism.

We are to be a Contemporary Church

The word contemporary simply means that we are relevant to our culture. We believe the church should communicate in a way that will reach both the saint and sinner. For this to happen, the truths of applied Christianity should not be lost in the haze of theological jargon and religious form. This particular distinctive is incredibly refreshing to many who are seeking God and yet have been turned off by the bureaucracy and rigidity that is found in many forms of Christianity. Many, in fact, refer to us as the "Church for people who don't like Church."

We are to be an Intelligent Church

We have strived over the years to present Christianity in an intelligent and thought-provoking way. The Christian faith is a reasonable faith and the heart cannot delight in what the mind rejects as false. We therefore encourage thinking people to ask the hard questions, to check things out, and then to follow Christ with clear-headed intention and hearts full of faith.

We are to be a Church that Communicates Globally

We feel very strongly that what God is doing amongst us must be taken and communicated to as wide an audience as possible. Our investments into television programmes, missions outreach, the Riverview Children's Foundation and hundreds of other local and international churches are all expressions of this distinctive. We firmly believe that the creativity and intelligibility that God has graced us with will have an increasing impact in thousands of lives around the world.

what we believe

we believe

That the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God. In them we discover God's plan for humanity, culminating in the wonders of the cross, resurrection and the birth of the Church. The Bible serves as an owner's manual - it is the authority for Christian faith and lifestyle.

In one God, creator of all things, who is infinitely perfect and eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That Jesus Christ is true God and true man, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Further, He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and is now at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.

That all people were created in the image of God but fell into sin and are therefore far from God. It is only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit that salvation and spiritual life can be obtained. That the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provides the grounds for justification and salvation.

That the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ. During this age He indwells, guides, instructs and empowers those who believe for Godly living and service. Every believer should be continually filled with the Holy Spirit thus being empowered to be witnesses to the truth of the Gospel.

That healing of the body is part of the blessings of both the Old and New Covenant and that God has provided many different ways through which healing can be received. We are to have compassion with the sick and trust with them that God's healing presence will touch their lives.

That there is one true Church universal, comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. That this body of believers gather themselves together for worship, prayer, teaching of the Word of God, fellowship, service, and the observance of Baptism and Communion. The local Church, under the watch and care of the Elders and other leaders, must work together in love and unity to fulfil its mission and glorify Christ.