What we believe
The historic Christian faith, and two things that make a church Baptist in particular.
What we believe
The historic Christian faith as the creeds state it: one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Jesus Christ crucified and risen; the Bible as God's word and the final authority for what we believe and how we live.
Baptist in particular means two things. Baptism is for people who have come to their own faith, by immersion. And the church governs itself — there is no bishop and no headquarters. The members decide, in a meeting, by a vote.
How decisions get made
Slowly, and in public. It is a feature.
Four members' meetings a year. Anything significant — the budget, the building, calling a pastor — is decided there by the members, one vote each, after being circulated in advance.
It is not the most efficient way to run anything. It does mean that when this church does something, it is because the people in it agreed to, which turns out to matter more than efficiency about once a decade.
Minutes are available to any member on request, and the annual accounts are read out and filed with the Charity Commission.
Where we disagree, and how
This congregation contains people who differ about baptism of children of members, about what the gifts of the Spirit look like now, about politics, and about the volume of the music. We have decided those are things Christians may differ about while sharing a table.
Nobody is asked to sign anything to belong here. Members affirm a short statement of faith; everyone else is simply welcome.