Our Vision and Mission
Our Vision
We are committed to our Vision and excited by it:
A transforming community where everyone is welcome and hope is tangible; where the Chapel and its family of believers’ endeavour to provide a place of refuge, rebirth, restoration and renewal for all who come to us.
We believe that ‘vision’ shapes ‘mission.’ For that reason, we endeavour that everything we do – from the way we welcome people for the first time to the way we use the resources that God has entrusted to us, is moulded and shaped by our vision. Our Mission, therefore, has four key elements to it.
Our Mission
Transformation – for all people in all ways
We are committed to growth, positive change and encouraging all those in the community to keep taking steps toward the Lord Jesus. We believe this is only possible as we understand what it means to be ‘Good News People’ in everything we say and everything we do.
Therefore, we are committed to transformation as a continuing process and part of our mission is to hold in tension the need to worship God and seek Him in prayer, and to serve and support others, teaching and speaking the truth and standing up for justice for those who are forgotten or excluded in our communities, and where appropriate worldwide.
Community – believing and belonging
We are committed to sharing our lives together and to an attitude of sharing that impacts us socially, practically and spiritually. Church is not about buildings and meetings; it is about a people committed to God in active faith and to open and compassionate relationships with one another.
For that reason, we are committed to an ever-deepening sense of community. Our mission is to support and encourage opportunities and ways of sharing in genuine relationship with one another and with God. We will encourage The Chapel community to be genuinely servant-hearted and unconditional in our actions, attitudes and approach to those around us.
Welcome – inviting and accepting
We are committed to the principle of being open and welcoming to all. We believe that this is at the heart of the message and teaching of Christ and that it is the heartbeat of God that all should know and experience His embrace and His love.
Therefore, our mission is to develop an attitude of openness and inclusivity in the way we gather, the words that we use and our styles of preaching, teaching and discipleship. We believe in and celebrate the gifts of God in His people and operate an open and inclusive approach to the roles of both men and women. We encourage a pro-active attitude to welcoming and hospitality and believe that people should be made to feel welcome, loved and part of our community from the moment they first encounter us. At the same time, we are committed to continuing discipleship and growth, and therefore our mission is to encourage and nurture growth, faith and dependence on God in those around us.
Hope
Hope is not wishful thinking – it is a real and certain expectation. We are committed to the principle that the Good News of Jesus brings positive lasting change in the lives of individuals, communities and the wider world. We are passionate about the reality of tangible, felt, real hope and expect God to move in our lives and in the lives of those who call out to Him.
Therefore, our mission is to continually seek to encourage, bless and serve others and to seek ever more relevant and effective ways of living, talking and relating to all around us as ‘Good News People’. We are committed to a lifestyle of prayer, faith and expectation and to encouraging each member of the community to walk ever closer to God and reach out to those around them.