Our Vision and Values
Vision
St Matthews is an Anglican church for all people. We desire:
'To be a community of lifelong disciples of Jesus engaging our world with grace and truth.'
The spectacular grace God showered upon us in Jesus and the wonderous truth revealed to us in Jesus gives us genuine encouragement and motivation to live together as his people in grace and truth.
"The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
God gave his only son, Jesus Christ, to live, die and rise again, that we might love him as our Lord and Saviour and receive his gracious gift of forgiveness and new life.
People’s lives are wonderfully changed when they experience the grace and truth of God through Jesus. The people of St Matthews would love to show you more of God's grace and truth.
Values
Our Values create an unwavering and unchanging guide for all we do.
Unrelenting prayer to God – Everything we do at St Matt’s begins in dependent prayer to the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In 1 Timothy 2:1-6 the apostle Paul makes prayer the first priority of the Christian community and in doing so brings the church into line with Jesus’ own persistent commitment to prayer throughout his earthly life. So we align ourselves with our Lord and his apostle’s priority and give ourselves to persistent, prayerful dependence on God (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Undying devotion to the Word of God – Everything we do at St Matt’s flows from our commitment to live in obedience to the God-breathed Scriptures as contained in the 66 books of the Bible. We believe these provide all we need to be fully furnished for ministry in the world in terms of salvation, right doctrine and right behaviour (2 Timothy 3:15-17).
Unreserved commitment to love people impartially – Everything we do at St Matt’s is motivated by the compassion and graciousness God showed us in Christ. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:7-21). The selfless servant love of Christ unites us in a fellowship of faith creating a safe environment and community where everyone is valued and treated with respect and dignity. We want to be courteous and generous in our speech and behaviour, always seeking to encourage and build up, not discourage or tear down. We take every opportunity to connect with grace and care for people with whom we interact (Galatians 6:10).
Unquenched heart for evangelism – Everything we do at St Matt’s fulfils our intent to bring people to Christ. We believe God’s call on our lives is to bridge the gap between the generous God and the bankrupt world of the lost (1 Peter 2:9-12). So we reject complacency and embrace conviction, proclaiming the gospel of the dying and rising Christ Jesus in every circumstance and at every opportunity (2 Timothy 4:1-5). Evangelism involves words and works; therefore we seek to exemplify the transformative power of God’s good news, living attractive lives empowered by the Holy Spirit (Philippians 2:14-16). We desire to be a church of irresistible influence for Christ (Matthew 5:13-16).
Unfading resolve to mature as Christians – Everything we do at St Matt’s reflects our resolve to be disciples who demonstrate our faith in every aspect of our lives. We ‘walk the talk’ (Matthew 28:18-20, Colossians 1:28). Our purpose is to ensure our confessions of faith are authentic, matched by our actual practice. Consequently we encourage each other to be reading and applying the Scripture’s teaching and morality to every situation in life: relationships, study, career and leisure. We understand this isn’t an individual activity but something we do in community, ministering the word of God to one another and spurring each other to live and speak as God intended (Colossians 3:15-17).
Unfailing commitment to work together as a team - Everything we do at St Matt’s we do interdependently, with patience and a forgiving spirit. The New Testament’s teaching about the Body of Christ is taken seriously so we encourage and equip all Christians to embrace a shared and apprenticeship pattern of service. No one is insignificant. Everyone can contribute, so we endeavour to minister in community with others, not in isolation from them (Ephesians 4:7-16). We also highly value and affirm the significant contribution our members make both in the workplace and the church and this, regardless of gender or generation or ethnicity.
Untiring determination to train, send and support servants of God – Everything we do at St Matt’s seeks to encourage Christians to serve in God’s place in God’s way. We focus on creating a culture where Christians are given opportunities to mature in their understanding of God’s mission in the world while discovering and developing their gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). We want to be a church known for its encouragement to all members to prayerfully consider exploring and entering Christian ministry wherever the Lord leads. Our resolve will include ongoing spiritual and practical support especially for those who move beyond local ministry.
What We Believe
As an Anglican church we hold to the doctrine expressed in The 39 Articles of Religion and the Book of Common Prayer.