vision & values
We help people to know and love Jesus
We have two main aims. We believe we are called to:
This means we disciple people so that they develop a growing:
- love for Jesus
- love for his word
- love for one another
- love for the lost and needy
This means we send people out to:
- witness to their families, workplaces and networks week by week
- serve our parish, locality and city
- support and plant other churches in Manchester
- impact cities throughout the world with the gospel
So we are a teaching/training church and an outward-looking church. We seek to present people mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28), so that they may go out and bless our parish, city and world (Jeremiah 29:7).
This vision is underpinned by our core values:
The gospel
This is the good news of Jesus Christ who has come into the world to change the world. He confronts our rebellion towards God and offers us, by grace, his forgiveness through his death on the cross in our place. We are no longer forever condemned but are forever declared right with God and brought back to him. From this springs our worship.
The Bible
The Bible is God’s written word. It is all we need in order to know what to believe and do. The “seed of the word” is the power by which, with the Holy Spirit, God’s life is generated and grows in us. We seek to engage our minds with the Bible, wanting everyone to be convinced for themselves of the truth of what it says. From this springs our loving obedience to His word.
Changed lives
The Gospel changes us from the inside out. Through the in-dwelling power of the Holy Spirit, the gospel forms our true identity in Christ. Our purpose now is to serve Jesus and to live in the light of His coming. From this springs our desire to live like Christ and see his kingdom come.
New people
The gospel produces a new, worshipping community of God’s people who, transcending age, race and gender, are brought together under Christ. From this springs our desire to be one people under God.
Loving service
Christians must be known by their love for all, and especially each other. We expect acts of mercy to be manifested in a church that lives out the gospel. From this springs our love and care for the weak, vulnerable and disadvantaged.
Mission in the City
The gospel is for sharing and living out in the city. We believe that the gospel moves people outward into the wider context: parish, workplace, school/university, neighbourhood, the city of Manchester. From this springs our passion for God’s mission to our city.