Church of Christ Nailsworth has been in existence since July 1911, beginning as a Bible study in Walkerville to its present day form in Nailsworth as a community of believers. The foundation stone of the current chapel building was laid on 20 October 1928.
We celebrate the fact that we are diverse in age and interest.
We forever rely on our God for guidance.
We are seeking to grow as a congregation both in size and spiritual maturity.
We fail from time to time but depend on the Grace of God for new direction and insight. He is always faithful.
Leadership
The following serve as elected leaders within the fellowship:
- pastor and or elder/s
- deacon/s and deaconess/es
- secretary
- treasurer
The Church Board mostly meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm except when that day is a public holiday or in January.
An Annual General Meeting is held towards the beginning of each financial year usually on a Sunday afternoon in August.
We are an incorporated body and have a constitution which is under review with the goal to bring it into greater alignment with scripture.
Others within the fellowship may have delegated roles in ministry under the oversight of the leadership.
Statement of Faith
This doctrinal statement sets forth the historic fundamental and evangelical position:
God
We believe in one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 1:2, 26; John 1:1-2; 5:17, 22-23; 14:25-26; 16:7; 27-28; Philippians 2:6; Hebrews 1:1-3, 8.
God – The Son
We believe Jesus Christ, without any change in His eternal deity, became human when conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, dwelt among us as a man in full submission to His Heavenly Father, living and ministering miraculously in the power of the Holy Spirit, that He died on the Cross, a perfect and complete sacrifice, in our place and for our sins according to the Scriptures. He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into Heaven where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and Advocate.
Isaiah 9:6-7; John 1:14; Romans 8:3; Galatians 4:4; Matthew 1:20-25; Luke 1:35; Hebrews 4:15; Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9: 24-28; 10:12-14; Ephesians 5:2; Matthew 28:5-7;
1 Corinthians 15:20; Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-51; Daniel 2:44-45; 7:13-14.
God – The Holy Spirit
We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit and that His ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, and during this age to convict of sin and regenerate the sinner upon believing in Christ. At the time of regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptises the believer into the one body of which Christ is the Head. The Holy Spirit indwells, guides, instructs, fills and empowers the believer for godly living and service.
John 3:5-8; 16:8-11; Titus 3:4-7; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 1 Peter 1:2
Scriptures
We believe the Scriptures, namely the Old Testament and New Testament, to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the truth of the Scriptures supernaturally preserved as the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of man and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith, life and conduct.
2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Peter 1:10-12; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 19:7-11.
Creation
We believe that the universe and all living things (including man), were made by the direct creative acts of God within the 6 (six) literal 24-hour days as described in the book of Genesis.
We believe that death is the result of Adam’s sin and that no created life of any kind existed prior to the literal six-day Creation. We believe that the great flood described in the Genesis account was an historic worldwide flood in its extent and was a catastrophic event.
Man
We believe that man was directly created by God in His own image but fell into sin when he failed to trust God and chose to disobey. Therefore, as descendants of Adam, born in bondage to original sin and by personal experience, the entire human race stands condemned by God and destined to everlasting punishment and only through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation, redemption, justification and spiritual life be obtained.
Psalm 53:2-3; Luke 19:10; Romans 3:19; 5:6, 12, 19; 8:5-7
Salvation
We believe that the atoning death of Jesus Christ, and His resurrection provide the only ground of justification and salvation.
Only those, who by personal faith confess their sin to God, surrender to His Lordship and believe God the Son, Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death as payment for their sin, are born of the Holy Spirit and thus become children of God.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all the dead – of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord, and of the unbeliever to judgement and everlasting conscious punishment.
We believe that all the saved, are set apart by God as holy, saints by nature of the indwelling the Holy Spirit, and as such should live in harmony and in such manner as will honour and glorify and not bring reproach upon their Saviour and Lord or the Church. God further desires believers to remain separate from false doctrines and sinful pleasures, practices and relationships.
Luke 24:47; Acts 20:21; 26:20; Romans 3:21,26; 4:4-5; 5:1; Galatians 2:16; John 1:12-13; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23; Ephesians 2:10; 4:24; Titus 3:3-8; John 3:16
The Church
We believe that the Church is composed of all such persons who, having received salvation as a free gift from God through saving faith in Jesus Christ are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and united together in the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The Church is the embodiment of Christ’s presence in this world.
We believe in the priesthood of all believers whereby being justified fully through faith in Christ alone, every believer has personal access to God.
Last Days
We believe in the personal return of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that this blessed hope has a vital bearing on the purity, personal life and service of the believer.
We believe that God will fulfil his national promises to the historical nation Israel and that the church as a distinct and unique people are recipients of God’s blessing as heirs of Abraham according to promise through faith in Christ.
Ordinances
We believe that Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances to be observed by the Church during this present age.
- By Baptism, we mean the immersion of believers upon confession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which is a symbol of identification with His death, burial and resurrection. Baptism does not provide salvation but is a demonstration of faith in God’s grace through Christ. 1 Peter 3:21
- By the Lord’s Supper, we mean a memorial until He comes, of the sacrifice symbolised in the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Participation is not to be regarded as a means of salvation.
Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:19,20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
Application
We believe God’s design for sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the context of marriage. God instituted marriage between one man and one woman as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman.
Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9
We believe that God created all human beings in His image. Therefore, we believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end; that we must honour the physical and spiritual needs of all people; following Christ’s example, we believe that every person should be treated with love, dignity and respect.
Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 12:20-21; Galatians 6:10