Our Vision and Mission
Our Vision
An invitation to know God more and connect with His heart and vision. God is inviting us into deeper surrender, humility, dependence and intimacy. If we abide in Him we will bear fruit. Increasing intimacy with Him will result in us knowing & loving Him more and connecting with His heart & vision.
Picture: A walnut being cracked open: the breaking away of apathy.
Thought: When reading the Song of Solomon there are places where the couples closeness seems too intimate to be watched. God wants us to be close to Him.
Verses: John 14:15,21 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. . . Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Verse: Hosea 14:1-2,4-6 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him,“Take away all iniquity; accept what is good. . . I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.”
Our Mission
Transformation – for all people in all ways
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.