The Union Chapel unequivocally holds that the supreme authority in all matters of faith and life are the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments which we believe are the inspired and inerrant Word of God. We are committed to the system of doctrine contained in the Westminster Standards (The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms) believing them to be an accurate restatement of the theology of the Bible.
You can read more about the Westminster Standards at https://thewestminsterstandard.org/the-westminster-standards/.
Alongside our doctrinal commitments we have a commitment to a set of values that flow from a deep love for our Lord Jesus Christ and his mission to make, mature and multiply disciples. The three values stand within a theologically Reformed ethos and are to be saturated in kingdom-centered prayers to the glory of God alone.
The values are as follow:
1. Gospel-Centered
The gospel is the great message about what God has done in history through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s the grand story that gives context to, and makes sense of, every other story we find ourselves in. Through faith in this true story we are drawn into God’s kingdom and sustained for kingdom life. Belief in the gospel is both the way people become Christians and the way they mature as Christians, growing in deeper love and obedience towards God. As a result, everything we do in our personal lives, our public lives, and as a church, is shaped, informed, and empowered by deep, consistent reflection upon the gospel. We access that gospel through regular study of the Bible, by the help of the Holy Spirit who illumines our hearts and minds.
2. Community-Based
The gospel word creates a gospel community, a new people, who have turned from seeking their own justification, to living out together the justification that Christ brings. Isolation is not an option for the Christian because through the gospel he/she has been adopted into God’s family along with other Christians. We are convinced that biblical community is an identity not an event. As a result of this new identity we aim to share our lives together as extended family, loving, supporting, and encouraging each other as we seek to love Christ and love his world.
3. City-Focussed
The gospel not only forms us into community but it also sends us out to the city in which God has placed us by his providence. So that hope might be multiplied we are committed to boldly, gently, respectfully, and winsomely engage our city with the good news of the gospel of Christ. Alongside this we aim to demonstrate the transformation of the gospel in tangible deeds of love, compassion, care, mercy, justice, and blessing to our city. It is our dream to see our city become a better place to live, flourish, and enjoy the beauty of God as an outworking of Christ’s call upon us to love our neighbours as ourselves.