Mission
Follow Jesus together, inviting everyone.
Vision
By 2029, with God’s help, we will be a church that is…
growing with new followers of Jesus
visible and accessible
connecting across generations
working towards reflecting the ethnic diversity of our community
and known for bringing hope and help.
As we launch in 2024, we acknowledge that this vision does not paint a picture of who we currently are, but rather who we hope to become.
Values
- Prayer is the foundation for everything we do.
- Prayer is an essential part of our relationship with God. Individually and together, we speak with God and listen for his guidance in all areas of life and ministry.
- Prayer is an essential part of our relationship with God. Individually and together, we speak with God and listen for his guidance in all areas of life and ministry.
- People over programs.
- We value meaningful relationships as we share our lives with each other (especially around food!). Everything we do as a church deepens our relationship with God and each other.
- Serve sacrificially.
- Following Jesus’ example, we serve others with glad and generous hearts, especially people in need.
- Partner with the work of the Holy Spirit.
- God is always at work in the world and we join in with what he is already doing.
- Intentional discipleship.
- Following Jesus is active not passive. It involves being honest before God and investing in others, allowing his word to shape every part of our lives.
- Embrace Sabbath rest.
- We choose to embrace Christ-centred rest as a defining characteristic of our identity as God’s people.
Statement of Beliefs
Our Plentylife beliefs are shared with the Anglican Church of Australia. They have been reworded to make for easier reading.[1]
- We hold to the Christian faith as professed since the early church, and in particular, as stated in the creeds known as the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed.
- We receive the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, as being the ultimate rule and standard of faith, given to us by God through human authors and communicating all things necessary for salvation.
- We obey the commands of Jesus Christ, teach his doctrine, administer his sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, follow and uphold his discipline and preserve the three orders of bishops, priests and deacons.
- With Christians everywhere, we believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that God the Son entered the world in a decisive way and lived among us as Jesus of Nazareth; and that the dying and rising again of Jesus is the means by which everyone might be reconciled to God, having been separated from God by sin.
[1] The original version can be found here: https://www.melbourneanglican.org.au/what_do_anglicans_believe/
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic [2] and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
from there he will come to judge
the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic [2] Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
[2] In this context, ‘catholic’ means the true Christian church of all times and all places.