God actually exists. He is both infinite and personal and wholly good. He is the creator of the universe. He is one God but three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the trinity shows us that God in himself is love.

This triune God has revealed himself in his creation and in us as persons made in his image. He has also shown himself in history. The definitive record of what he has done is contained in the 66 books that make up the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. It reveals God’s character as well as showing us his plan for the restoration of humanity and creation. The centre of this story is the coming of his Son Jesus Christ. There are good reasons to accept the Bible’s claim to be entirely trustworthy and authoritative in its account of reality and of how we should live.

The Bible explains the human condition, both the priceless value of every person and the mess each of us has made because of our rejection of God and his good intentions for us. This spiritual wreckage is seen in the hatred, greed, lust and pride of our sinful hearts and in the breakdown of all human relationships, as well as our relationship with creation. It results in our physical death, a consequence of our alienation from God, which, if unremedied, leads to the tragedy of eternal separation from his life and love.

But the Bible also explains the good news: God is actively at work renewing lives. It also tells us that one day Jesus will come again and restore all things.

This is possible because of the forgiveness offered to us through Christ’s death on the cross in our place. At the cross, God deals with our sin, and all the destruction that flows from it.

This makes it possible for us to be born again. God can become our Father and we can be united with his Son as we are indwelt and helped daily by the Holy Spirit. This gives us a new identity and a new heart, one full of his love and his concern for truth and justice. The Holy Spirit enables us to live the rich, creative, and purposeful lives that God wants for us.

This restored relationship with God must take place at an individual level. It involves a clear belief in God, a recognition and rejection of our sinful ways, and simple, grateful trust in Christ’s forgiveness.

Then, it involves joining with other Christians in the life of the church, where God is worshipped and where we support one another to grow in faith. This happens especially as we gather to consider how his word (the Bible) speaks into our lives, and through the celebration of communion. At a practical level the church is a community which cares for its members and acts as salt and light in society, as we seek, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to imitate Jesus and demonstrate what the kingdom of God is like.

This summary is intended to express the main tenets of historic, orthodox Christianity within the Protestant tradition, as found, for example, in the 39 Articles of the Anglican Church and the Westminster Confession of Faith. We affirm the ecumenical creeds. We acknowledge that there can be reasonable disagreement on secondary matters such as baptism.