What we believe - Saint John's, Rowlands Castle

As a Church of England Parish, our members hold a broad range of views on a wide range of subjects.
However, as Christians, we all hold key beliefs, vital to our faith. Read below to find out more.

Our beliefs are rooted in the Bible, uniquely God inspired, the foundation of our faith. We believe in one God, existing in 3 persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each possessing all the attributes of God.

We believe that God created humans to be in fellowship with him, but we became separated from God through the agency of sin.

However 'good' we try to be, we cannot measure up to God's perfect standards. But God loves us and wants to be with us.

To be restored in relationship with Him, we need to recognise and repent of our sins and receive forgiveness through believing that Jesus alone paid our penalty.

We believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but was born on earth to live a sinless life and show us how to receive salvation. By dying on the cross in our place, He removes the sin from all those who believe in Him as Saviour and ask Him into their lives.
- We believe He rose from the dead, acts as our mediator with God, and we can enjoy a personal relationship with a living Jesus.

Through being washed clean of sin by the shedding of Jesus' blood, we are born again.The Holy Spirit is the person of God who resides in each born-again Christian.

He works in us to develop the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control.

He may endow us with gifts through God's grace - faith, healing, words of wisdom or knowledge, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, interpretation or miraculous powers.

Our salvation through Jesus allows us to live eternally with God. When death comes, it is not the end. We will be resurrected to live for all time with our God.

SAINT JOHN'S MISSION STATEMENT

As a church, we believe that our mission on earth is to honour and worship God, and to bring people to Jesus.

Our mission statement is;
In response to God's love in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we seek to be CHRIST'S LOVE IN ACTION

Fulfilling our Mission

We believe our church must live out biblical principles to fulfil our mission by:

1. Worshipping

Our desire is:

To give God honour and worship.

To gather as a family in the presence of the One who alone is worthy of our devotion and praise.

2. Using the Power of Prayer

We seek to be people of prayer who communicate with God and respond to his loving will.

3. Equipping Ourselves to live and serve

We endeavour:

To teach the truth of Scripture, to encourage personal growth in faith, and to equip every member for ministry.

To live as a caring community marked by committed relationships, mutual concern, loving support and genuine encouragement.

4. Being outward-looking and witnessing, serving the community and the wider church

We endeavour:

To show Christ's love in action wherever God has placed us by ministering to those in need of spiritual, physical and emotional support.

To make it easy for people to meet with Jesus

To provide ministry
Ministry is service rendered to God or to people - it serves God's purposes in the world. It is based on 3 New Testament
foundational truths; the priesthood of all believers, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the example of Jesus.