We believe in ...

1. The one true God who exists eternally in three persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
2. The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.
3. The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, which are the written Word of God - fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.
4. The dignity of all people, made male and female in God's image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet are corrupted by sinfulness which brings divine anger and judgment.
5. The human birth of God's eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ - born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.
6. The redeeming sacrifice of Christ on the cross - dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.
7. The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first evidence of our coming resurrection; His ascension to the Father, and His reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.
8. The forgiveness of sinners solely by the grace of God, through repentance and faith in Christ.
9. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with God through a spiritual new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.
10. The Church, the body of Christian believers both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers given new life by the Holy spirit and endowed with the Spirit's gifts to worship God, to proclaim the gospel and to prompt justice and love.
11. The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to those redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and a new earth.

Our work as a church is not survival but to fulfil the Great Commission and make disciples. We are not in the business of merely holding on but of moving forward, seeing people come to faith in our Lord Jesus and growing in faith, and 'preparing God's people for works of service, so that the body of christ may be built up ...'

So, what is the basis of our work as a church on Croftlands - this varied and gifted small group of people who are serving God on an estate of around 2000 homes (and proposed to grow by another 1000+) - a remarkable privilege and a series challenge? What are the present planks in our platform of operation?

Among them are:-

• Our unity and vision to be an effective Bible-based and Spirit-led fellowship reaching out to the community - these need to be protected - the enemy will keep trying to steal this unity and spoil our vision
• One another - this varied and gifted small group of people who love the Lord and care for each other - we need to care, protect and pray regularly for each other
• Our prayfulness and the promises of God's Word - we must maintain the first and go on standing on the second
• Our present programme - Sunday worship and Sunday School, Homegroups, prayer times across the week, Little Nippers (parent and toddler), Kidzone (after school club), Lunch Club, Coffee Afternoon, Holiday Club, Fun Day, 31st October Light Party, Schools Work and the annual Coffee Morning in the Coronation Hall Ulverston - can we build on these?
• Our use of the school and the good relations there, and the use of the Community Hall and our membership of the committee - we need to protect and maintain these
• Our place in the life of the church in the town - in Churches Together in Ulverston and the Library pray times. We accepted and valued - these need to be protected and nurtured