What is distinctive about Evangel?
Our primary purpose is to glorify The Lord Jesus Christ in everything.
Everything else flows from that.
We are about ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’. That means we do not say “something needs to be done, here is a good thing, so we must do that”. There are innumerable ‘good things’ and ‘faith without works is dead’ but if they fail to meet our criteria of bringing glory to Christ they are distractions from our purpose.
We believe the bible to be the complete revealed word of God and we reject tradition and the doctrines of men.
We believe in the privilege and power of prayer… and we pray.
We preach the full gospel of The Lord Jesus Christ praying always that sinners come to repentance and real discipleship to our Saviour.
We teach the word of God. We do not do talks or homilies, we do not ‘tickle ears’, we do not consider who might be offended or pleased but preach the whole counsel of God to the best of our God given ability. Our preachers seek to apply the word to themselves and encourage their hearers to weigh what is said, not against private opinion or political correctness but against the word of God itself.
We lovingly reprove and correct without fear or favour, we never seek to hurt or diminish but always to restore and grow God’s people by the application of truth according to God’s word.
We love and honour the local Church of Christ as the gathered body of believers.
The Bible is clear that we should be together for worship, communion, prayer, study, teaching and fellowship. Whilst we accept that the Lord is close with those who are unable to be in the house of God through illness or age and we seek to include them through visitation and communion it is not the norm for most believers. We preach, teach and expect this commitment from believers.
We believe in the priesthood of all believers, all are equal before God, all are servants one of another. There are differences of gifting and roles but not of value or respect.
We forgive one another freely through the grace given to us by the Lord and we love one another.
We believe that a genuine commitment to the Lord will result in prayer, a love of God’s word, people and house and the fruits of the spirit being evidenced in the believer’s life.
Statement of Faith
We believe in the Bible (that is the Old and New Testaments excluding the Apocrypha) as the Inspired word of God, the infallible and all sufficient rule for faith and conduct; in the unity of the One True and Living God revealed in Three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; in the Virgin Birth, Sinless Life, Miraculous Ministry, Substitutionary Atoning Death, Bodily Resurrection, triumphant Ascension and Abiding Intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ and in His pre-Millennial Second Advent; in the fall of Man; in Salvation through Faith in Christ; in Baptism of Believers by immersion in Water, in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of Speaking with Other Tongues; in the Gifts of the holy Spirit and Offices set by God in the Church; in Holiness of life and conduct; in Deliverance from Sickness by Divine Healing; in the Breaking of Bread; in the Everlasting Conscious Bliss of all Believers and the everlasting Conscious Punishment of all whose names are not written in the Book of Life.