OUR VISION
LOVING GOD, LOVING ONE ANOTHER, LOVING THE WORLD
This is how we know what love is; Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
- 1 John 3:16
Loving God.
Our relationship with our heavenly Father is encouraged, enriched, enjoyed and expressed in all of life, and will be the focus of the Sunday service. It’s a time of worship, a true Sabbath, a time away from the busyness, worries and distractions of life, a time for reflection, a time for a sense of transcendence.
Loving each other.
Our personal faith is put into practice and held to account through our relationships with each other, particularly in the community of our small groups. It’s a place for honestly facing, challenging and encouraging each other through our doubt, failures and sinfulness, as well as our joys & achievements.
Loving the world.
We can introduce others to Jesus through the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control we bring to our broken, anxious, fearful and hurting world. We do this as individuals as well as through opportunities arising from our small groups.
OUR PASTOR
Keith Vander Schoor
I’m in my very low 40s and I’m married to Jackie and we have 5 chooks and 3 girls. My interests are mostly outdoor sort of stuff, particularly surfing and camping, but when I’m indoors Jackie and I love to binge watch TV series together to relax. I came to faith when I was 19 and have loved living for God and serving Him ever since.
OUR HISTORY
Bay Christian Church was originally planted by the Christian Reformed Church of Kingston in 2005.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
Bay is a church that aligns itself with the theological beliefs of the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia.
Why do we belong to the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia and why do we call ourselves a “reformed” church?
The denominational designation “reformed” has a long history, going back to the time of the 16th century. At that time the church was subject to wide-spread abuse and had hidden many truths about the Bible. God raised up a number of great leaders (men like Martin Luther and John Calvin) who rediscovered many biblical truths that had long been dormant and challenged the church with the need to “reform” or change. A drastic revolution took place where many millions of church members adopted this need for change and a movement called the “Reformation” took place.
We believe that the truths that were re-established at that time are just as important and precious today and we stand on the shoulders of that tradition. We believe the principles of the great Reformation are the basis for ongoing reform in the life, worship and work of our church.
Reformed Churches are also Confessional Churches. The Christian Reformed Churches of Australia subscribe to the Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort and the Westminster Confession. Copies of our doctrines, creeds and confessions are available upon request. Confessions are not innovations devised by churches, but rather faithful expositions of the truth of Scripture put in plain language for everyone to understand.
Reformed churches have five core beliefs:
1. Christ Alone 2. Grace Alone 3. Scripture Alone 4. Faith Alone 5. God’s Glory Alone
CHRIST ALONE
The Bible reveals Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who became human. He came into this world to be our Saviour. We are not saved by our good works, or our attempts to be religious, or our nice lifestyle. He alone is the bridge between God and mankind. In his death on the cross he paid the price for our sins (our inability to do what is right) and turned away the anger of God from us. In his resurrection Jesus secured victory for us over sin, death and condemnation. New life can be found in him and only in him.
So at Bay we talk a lot about Jesus Christ. He is our focus and our King. We believe the work of the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus’ spirit on Earth. The Holy Spirit gives us faith to believe in Jesus, draws our attention to him, helps us understand his Word, makes us more like him, gives us gifts to use in serving others and enables us to share the good news about him to the world.
GRACE ALONE
This salvation in Jesus is not something we have earned or deserved. It is the free gift of God. This is called “grace”. Another definition of “grace” is “undeserved favour”. We believe this is the greatest gift God has given us – an undeserved blessing in the fact that Jesus restored us to God and to a life of hope and purpose when we had done nothing to deserve it. Our new life is an experience of joy, peace, hope, love and purpose and all of that is a free gift from God!
So at Bay we stress that God’s grace to us is to be celebrated and enjoyed and it is to motivate us in living good and grateful lives to God like children do to a loving father.
SCRIPTURE ALONE
We believe the Bible is the Word of God. In it, God has revealed himself to us and only as we get to know the Bible do we get to know God. Because it is his Word, it has authority. We want to submit our lives to it; following its principles and testing everything we do and teach by its standards.
So at Bay we place a strong emphasis on teaching, preaching and coming to know the Bible.
FAITH ALONE
The only way to be saved by Christ is to have faith in him. Meaning, to fully depend on him. We are saved by believing in Jesus and accepting his death and resurrection in our place.
So at Bay we call people to believe in Christ – to trust him and not rely on themselves or anyone else for becoming right with God.
GOD’S GLORY ALONE
We believe that God alone is worthy of praise and worship. He is our Creator and Redeemer. He is to be honoured, loved, respected and praised.
So at Bay the focus is on God and his glory. Worship is not just what we do at church – all of our life is worship. In everything we do, we are responding to the God who made us and saved us. Every area of life is to be embraced as an area of service to God and an expression of love for him.
(credit to Open House Church)