What do we believe? We believe that you matter to God! In fact, you matter so much to him that He paid for your life with the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. God made all of us to enjoy relationships, with Himself and with each other. Through faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and by leading of the Holy Spirit, we can have a relationship with God the Father, and with each other as brothers and sisters in the family of God. Statement of Faith We believe in God the Father. He is our perfect Heavenly Father who reigns, loves and watches over all things. We believe in Jesus Christ. He is God’s Son, the Saviour of all who trust in Him, and the Lord of the church. We believe in the Holy Spirit. He lives in all who trust in Jesus. He empowers and instructs all Christians by guiding them to live and love more like Jesus. We believe in the Bible. It is the Word of God and the final authority for our beliefs and actions. We believe in the church. The church is the body of Christ, the hope of the world. The family of God has a special place for all people, young and old and in between. We believe the Father has special place for the family, so we baptize children of believing parents as a sign and seal of the covenant of grace through Jesus. We believe in evangelism. Sharing the Good News is the joyful mission of the church. We believe in discipleship. All Christians are called by God to grow in faith and to share the fellowship of believers. Vital to this is learning the Bible, prayer and Christian service. We believe in worship. Humans are created and redeemed to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Worship is more a matter of our hearts before God than it is about style or preference. Reformation Canada Network (RCN) www.reformationcanada.ca Bethel Church is a member of the Reformation Canada Network which is a new evangelical, protestant denomination grounded on strong biblical teaching reflecting the creeds and confessions of the Reformation. In the Reformed tradition, all statements of faith are subject to evaluation in light of the Bible and are always subordinate to Jesus Christ. While recognizing the faithful biblical witness of various historic Confessions and contemporary Statements of Faith, many of the RCN churches have looked to the three Standards of Unity to guide their teaching. The Heidelberg Catechism was formulated during the Reformation, and is still important as a teaching tool in many churches. It has had the most formative influence on the life and spirituality of the Reformed Church. The Belgic Confession was written in the 16th century by Guido de Bres, a pastor and itinerant preacher in southern Netherlands, it was intended to persuade King Philip II of Spain that Reformed people had orthodox beliefs. De Bres hoped to convince the king to stop persecuting the Protestants, but he himself became a martyr for his faith in 1567. The Canons of Dort were formulated in 1618 to resolve a detailed dispute among Dutch theological professors on the issue of divine sovereignty in the work of human salvation. The RCN also affirms the three ecumenical creeds that arose in the early church, the Apostles’ Creed, the Athanasian Creed and the Nicene Creed.

Bethel Community Church

3260 Gladwin Road, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 7B4 604.854.5710 office@bethel-church.ca

What do we believe?

We believe that you matter to God! In fact, you matter so much to him that He paid for your life with the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. God made all of us to enjoy relationships, with Himself and with each other. Through faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and by leading of the Holy Spirit, we can have a relationship with God the Father, and with each other as brothers and sisters in the family of God.

Statement of Faith

We believe in God the Father. He is our perfect Heavenly Father who reigns, loves and watches over all things.

We believe in Jesus Christ. He is God’s Son, the Saviour of all who trust in Him, and the Lord of the church.

We believe in the Holy Spirit. He lives in all who trust in Jesus. He empowers and instructs all Christians by guiding them to live and love more like Jesus.

We believe in the Bible. It is the Word of God and the final authority for our beliefs and actions.

We believe in the church. The church is the body of Christ, the hope of the world. The family of God has a special place for all people, young and old and in between. We believe the Father has special place for the family, so we baptize children of believing parents as a sign and seal of the covenant of grace through Jesus.

We believe in evangelism. Sharing the Good News is the joyful mission of the church.

We believe in discipleship. All Christians are called by God to grow in faith and to share the fellowship of believers. Vital to this is learning the Bible, prayer and Christian service.

We believe in worship. Humans are created and redeemed to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Worship is more a matter of our hearts before God than it is about style or preference.

Reformation Canada Network (RCN) www.reformationcanada.ca

Bethel Church is a member of the Reformation Canada Network which is a new evangelical, protestant denomination grounded on strong biblical teaching reflecting the creeds and confessions of the Reformation. In the Reformed tradition, all statements of faith are subject to evaluation in light of the Bible and are always subordinate to Jesus Christ. While recognizing the faithful biblical witness of various historic Confessions and contemporary Statements of Faith, many of the RCN churches have looked to the three Standards of Unity to guide their teaching.

•The Heidelberg Catechism was formulated during the Reformation, and is still important as a teaching tool in many churches. It has had the most formative influence on the life and spirituality of the Reformed Church.
•The Belgic Confession was written in the 16th century by Guido de Bres, a pastor and itinerant preacher in southern Netherlands, it was intended to persuade King Philip II of Spain that Reformed people had orthodox beliefs. De Bres hoped to convince the king to stop persecuting the Protestants, but he himself became a martyr for his faith in 1567.
•The Canons of Dort were formulated in 1618 to resolve a detailed dispute among Dutch theological professors on the issue of divine sovereignty in the work of human salvation.

The RCN also affirms the three ecumenical creeds that arose in the early church, the Apostles’ Creed, the Athanasian Creed and the Nicene Creed.