Vision and Values — Bookham Baptist Church

OUR VISION AND VALUES

Bookham Baptist Church is called to grow fruitful followers of Jesus.

Our Values are:

Seeking God and working things out
Growing Christ-like together
Collaborating in God’s mission
Enabling service and leadership

What We Believe…

We believe and trust in God the Father, Almighty,

We believe and trust in the Holy Spirit,

We believe and trust in Jesus Christ His Son,

We believe and trust in the Three in One.

In common with other Christian churches, we worship one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the ‘three in one’ or TRINITY - as revealed to us in the Bible, our authority in all matters of faith.

The Bible tells us the story of how God has acted to rescue humanity, through the life, death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. It tells us how God acts today to bring us back into relationship with himself, forgiving our sins and giving us life to the full. It tells us how the Holy Spirit – God’s presence among us – forms us into a community (the Church) and empowers us to live in the way of Jesus Christ for the good of the world – indeed the whole of creation.

We hold to the historic creeds of the world-wide church, while being part of a particular Christian tradition, known as Baptist and are part of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (Baptists Together).

Baptists are a well-established Christian denomination in the UK and around the world, with a fascinating history. The early Baptists stood out in their day for freedom of belief and conscience and called people to profess their faith publicly through baptism as believers. They also called followers of Jesus to work out their faith in community, walking together and watching over one another. The principles of the Baptist movement are as follows.

Declaration of Principle

The Basis of the Baptist Union is:

1. That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy
Scriptures, and that each Church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.

2. That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who 'died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third day'.

3. That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.

If you would like to know more about the Baptist movement, visit Baptists Together.

Statement of Ethos

Healthy Relationship and Sexuality

View the Statement

In November 2022 the leadership team of BBC brought a proposal to the church: a two sided paper entitled ’Inspiring and Nurturing Healthy Sexuality’. This opened a process of discernment which involved many of our members in biblical study and reflection, prayer and much discussion. In March (2023), in the light of our conversations, an updated version of paper was presented to our members and was approved by a strong majority. We have, therefore, adopted the paper, now entitled ‘Healthy Relationship and Sexuality’ as an ethos statement to guide and help us in inspiring and nurturing healthy sexuality in our church and in the wider community.