Vision & Beliefs
Vision
We aspire to be a NETWORK of diverse communities of disciples living for Jesus and loving like Jesus.
Our Mission
We exist to make mature disciples who will innovatively take the Gospel to our neighbourhood, our networks and the nations
Values
We are a Christ-centred, Bible-based, Prayerfully-dependent, Mission-minded, Servant hearted, Maturity-seeking, Church family – to the glory of God. Our desire is to see these values expressed in all our gatherings, and in the personal lives of all members of The Bridge Church.
Christ–centred
Jesus is Lord and Saviour, worthy of praise, glory and honour. He has lavished us with his grace. We are committed to doing everything for the glory of Jesus: individually and corporately; publicly and privately. We are committed to locating Jesus at the centre of our life and proclamation. We are committed to bringing our present behaviour and future plans under his authority and guidance. (Ephesians 1:9-10)
Bible-based
All Scripture is God-breathed. God continues to reveal himself powerfully, by his Spirit, through his Word, the Bible. We are committed to the preaching, teaching and public reading of Scripture, with careful application. We are committed to understanding the Bible and humbly responding to it in obedience and faith. 2 Tim 3:16-17
Prayerfully-dependent
All those adopted into God’s family, through Jesus, have the privilege and responsibility of prayer. We are committed to bringing all our requests, confession, concerns and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father regularly in prayer (both corporately & individually), as an ongoing expression of our total dependence on him. Luke 11:2-4, Col 4:2
Mission-minded
God’s love for his world has been demonstrated through the person and works of Christ. God desires all people to be saved through faith in Christ and obedience to his Lordship. We are committed to presenting the Lord Jesus, by word and by deed, both locally and globally. We are committed to encourage & equip, send & support God’s people in this task.1 Tim 2:3-5, 1 Peter 3:15, Mt 9:37-38; Rom 10:14-16
Servant-hearted
God is exceedingly gracious and everything good comes from Him. We are committed to humbly giving ourselves to his service. We are committed to prayerfully using the resources God has provided us with – time, money, gifts – to meet the needs of our church family. Our faith in Jesus overflows in generous acts of service, so we are known in our community as a church that is eager to do good. 2 Cor 8:7; Titus 2:11-14
Maturity-seeking
God calls us to maturity in Christ. The Spirit is graciously at work to accomplish this end. We are committed to growing in the grace and knowledge of him, imitating him, and living in loving obedience to him. We are committed to spurring one another on to maturity in Christ through love, accountability, prayer, discipleship and by equipping and empowering people to serve. (Phil 1:9-11, 2 Pet 1:5-9, Heb 5:11-6:3, 2 Pet 3:18, Col 1:28-29)
Church family
By his grace, God brings us together as a family of believers, indwelt by his Spirit, diverse yet united in Christ. God commands us to love one another deeply.
We are committed to relationships marked by selfless love, integrity, openness, submission, accountability and genuine care & concern. We are committed to regularly meeting together and using the gifts God has given us to serve him and edify and encourage each other. Eph 2:19-22, Eph 4:1-11, Heb 10:25
Distinctives
Joyful Gatherings
We are committed to gatherings shaped by God’s word, with excellent preaching & music, which engages both head & heart, with opportunities to teach, admonish & encourage one another, both formally & informally
Deep Discipleship
We are committed to equipping every member of The Bridge Church to grow actively in their discipleship to Jesus – individually abiding in a deep relationship with God, communally within a vulnerable community & deliberately where each member grows at their stage and season.
Real Relationships
We are committed to being a church family that really does life together, with relationships marked by openness, authenticity, closeness, accountability, selflessness, genuine care & love (living out all the Biblical ‘one another’ verses)
Engaging Evangelism
We are committed to reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus, in Kirribilli, Neutral Bay, Macquarie Park & beyond, through personal evangelism and community engagement. We are committed to equipping every member to share their personal testimony and be bold in personal evangelism. We have a genuine concern for the marginalized & the needy in our neighbourhood, seeking to love them through deed and declaration!
Radical God-centred Generosity
We are committed to developing a culture of people using their time, talents & money to serve eagerly & sacrificially – enabling the saints to discern their gifts, equipping the saints to improve their gifts and empowering the saints to use their gifts, striving for excellence for God’s glory. Our faith in Jesus overflows in generous acts of service, so we are known in our community as a church that is eager to do good.
Statement of faith
From the time of the Apostles, Christians have laid out doctrine in brief, definitive statements. As an Anglican church, we affirm the truths as laid out in the Nicene and Apostles Creeds. We also affirm the truths expressed in the ’39 Articles’ of the Anglican Church.
The following statement of faith seeks to set forth in a concise fashion the cornerstone truths of our church, as guided by Scripture – enabling us to show our unity in Christ and guarding the church from error.
What we believe
About God
We believe that there is one unique, living and true God, the Maker and Supreme ruler of heaven and earth. He eternally exists in a loving relationship of Father, Son and Spirit – one God in three persons. God is sovereign in all things; creation, revelation, redemption, judgment and establishing his kingdom. God is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and is worthy of all glory, honour and praise. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
About humanity
We believe that men and women are created in the image of God, enjoying a unique dignity in creation, a dominion over the created order and a unique relationship with God. We believe he made us male and female, and gave us the gifts of marriage (between a man and a woman) and singleness, both of which point to the gospel in different and valuable ways. Since the Fall, human nature is universally sinful, positively inclined to evil and totally depraved; we are all guilty before a holy God, we are all under the wrath and just condemnation of God, we are all unable to turn to God ourselves; we are lost and without hope apart from salvation in Christ. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3)
About the Bible
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament is the divinely inspired and infallible Word of God. It is the supreme and final authority for all matters of faith, conduct, experience and opinions. The Scriptures are sufficient both for knowing God & for equipping us with everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
About Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God; fully God and truly human. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. In taking on human flesh, he entered fully into human experience, endured temptation, lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to his Father, yet suffered at the hands of men. We believe the Lord Jesus accomplished our redemption through his death on the cross – as a representative, substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. We believe he was buried but on the third day God bodily raised him from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, as intercessor, advocate and ruler over all. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. (John 1:1-2, 14; Rom 3:24; 1 Pet 1:3-5; Acts 1:9-10; 1 Jn 2:1-2, 1 Pet 4:5; 2 Tim 4:1)
About Salvation
We believe that salvation is a free gift that comes only by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is not by human merit or good works. There is only one name under heaven by which we can be brought into relationship with God, the name ‘Jesus Christ’. Through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, our representative and substitute, the guilt, penalty and power of sin can be removed. In this death, God demonstrates his own love for us most perfectly and establishes his victory over Satan. The Holy Spirit enables the sinner to be regenerate or born again – that is to repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ – guaranteeing us forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life. The proper evidence of regeneration is voluntary obedience to the gospel, the holy fruits of repentance and faith, and newness of life. As saved sinners, we now enjoy the blessing of union with Christ and assurance of right relationship with God, yet we await the final consummation of our hope with the return of Christ, the resurrection of our bodies and life with him eternally.
(Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Romans 8:1, 38-39; Titus 2:11-15)
About the Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit indwells all true believers and seals them for the day of redemption. He is co-equal with the Father and the Son, yet his role is to bring glory to Jesus Christ, convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Spirit works to illuminate believers’ minds to grasp the truth of Scripture. The Spirit’s ongoing work is to sanctify the believer, transforming us more and more into the image of Christ, especially through the word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness and prayer. The Spirit produces fruit in the lives of believers, and empowers his people for witness and service. The same Spirit grants gifts to all believers – not for self indulgence or personal satisfaction – but for the privilege and responsibility of the building up of God’s church. (John 16:8-11; 1 Corinthians 12:7-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 4:7-8)
About the Church
We believe the universal church, the bride of Christ, is composed of genuine followers of Jesus Christ and exists to worship, serve and glorify God. All members of the universal church are to be vitally committed members of a local gathering of believers. The visible, local church is a community of men and women gathering around God’s word, seeking to use their gifts to build the church in love and to bear witness to Christ. (Ephesians 1:22-23; Titus 1:5-11)
About the end times
We believe that the end of the world is approaching; that at the last day Jesus Christ will return to the earth, visibly and personally, to establish his kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost – that a solemn separation will take place, the lost will be judged to endless punishment and the saved to eternal life with Christ. God will preserve and keep all who truly belong to Christ for that last and great day (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10; Revelation 21-22)
