As Christians at THE GATHERING, we remind ourselves of these, our commonly held beliefs:

GOD
God is one but exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each is one in essence, possessing the same nature and attributes. Each does, however, have different roles, functions and activities (Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19).

JESUS
The Lord Jesus Christ is truly God, fully human, and lived without sin. When he died on the cross, he died as our representative. He rose bodily from the grave to give evidence of his victory over sin and Satan. He now rules at the right hand of God as our intercessor (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35; John 1:1; Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 1:19; 1 John 5:20).

HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit lives in every believer and is at work confirming their relationship with God, guiding the believer in their daily walk with God, and giving power for victory over sin (John 14:16-18; 16:8-14; Ephesians 4:30; 5:8). The Holy Spirit empowers individuals by giving gifts and special abilities to accomplish God's will, gifts each person is responsible to use in order to build up the Church of Christ (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:14-31).

THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Jesus Christ rules over all things, through all times. He establishes the Kingdom of God, of which the Church is its current expression. In obedience to Christ, we believe all areas of our lives are connected to our need to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind as well as to love others as ourselves (Genesis 1:26-28, Matthew 4:17, 5:1-10, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 22:17-19, John 3:3-5).

CREATION
The world in its creation, gracious preservation, and ultimate restoration is the work of the Triune God. Since the glorification of his name is its purpose, we can understand the world rightly only in its relation to him, as described in Scripture (Genesis 1:1-3, 31, 2:1-3, John 1:1-5, Revelation 21:1-3).

HUMANITY
Human beings were created in the image of God to enjoy intimate and accountable fellowship with the Creator, and were instructed to exercise dominion over the world in loving and careful obedience to God, to interpret all reality in accordance with his design and law, and to reflect in all things the excellence of our Maker (Genesis 1:27-28, Psalm 8: 3-6).

LIFE
Human life is sacred, and in its entirety is worship, for God created us to serve him everywhere (Matthew 18:5-6, 19:14-15, Romans 14:9, Revelation 22:3-5).

SIN AND SALVATION
We, by disobeying God's Law and forsaking our God-given place in the creation, estranged ourselves from God and our neighbour, and brought God's curse upon the creation. As a result, we have become stained in heart and blind to the true meaning of life, with a tendency to repress and misuse the knowledge of God, which confronts us in creation and in Scripture (Genesis 2:9, 3:23-24, Isaiah 59:1-2, Romans 3:23).

Therefore, we need God's salvation through the sacrificial death of Jesus. This salvation is a gift of God's grace, and is received by simply believing in him and following him as Lord, which makes the believer secure eternally. This salvation brings us into a living relationship with God, empowered by the Holy Spirit (Roman 3:23; Ephesians 2; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:5).

THE BIBLE
The Bible is God's word to us. It is fail-proof and without error and is our final authority in matters of doctrine and lifestyle (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 2:21).

THE CHURCH
The Church is God's means to bring the Good News of his salvation to our world. It is comprised of all persons, past and present, which have received God's free gift of salvation in Jesus. The purpose of the Church is to commune with God, to create a new community through common life in Christ, and to carry out Christ's commission on earth (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 1:22-23).

The church carries out two symbolic acts, both means of Christ's grace to us. Baptism of believers by immersion symbolizes our identification with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection (Romans 6:1-4; Colossians 2:12). Likewise, Communion is an act of remembrance carried out by the regular sharing of bread and wine, symbolic of salvation accomplished and made available by Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

OUR EQUALITY IN GOD'S EYES
We believe in the priesthood of all believers, regardless of age, gender, and race. By his death, Jesus became the believer's High Priest and makes it possible for each of us to have free access to the Father. In his presence, we can know God and receive from him. Similarly, we are responsible to come to him in confidence and faith, giving the worship of our words and our lives as a priestly offering to God (Hebrews 13:15-16; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

JESUS' RETURN
When Jesus comes back, his coming will usher in a series of end time events, which will culminate in the end of the age. His promise to return is an incentive for holy livings and faithful service (John 14:1-6; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; Titus 2:13).