Our Theology

Theological Foundations

God

There is one God in whom there are three distinct and equal persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the creator and unrivalled King of everything. He is infinite, eternal, faithful, all powerful and good. God is sovereign over all things, including creation, revelation, redemption, judgment and the establishing of his kingdom. As sovereign loving creator and redeemer, He is worthy of all glory honour and praise. (Gen 1; Exodus 34:6-7, John 1:1-3; Rev 4:11).

The Bible

The Bible is God’s revelation of himself to us. It is divinely inspired and infallible as originally given. Illuminated by the Spirit, it is our supreme authority in all matters of faith, conduct and experience. Scripture is sufficient for knowing God. It is not only central to the wellbeing of the church but is able to thoroughly equip the Christian community for life and godliness. There is no other way to know God unless he reveals himself to us. (Psalm 19:7-14; Luke 24:27; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21, 3:2,15-16).

Humankind

God created humankind (male and female) in his image for his glory. We are unique in all of creation, and called to live in relationship with our creator, with humanity and as rulers over the rest of creation. (Genesis 1:26-28, 2:4-25; Psalm 8:4-8, Psalm 139:1-18).

Sin

Sin is any feeling or thought or speech or action that comes from a heart that does not treasure God above all else. It is the falling short of God’s glory. The sobering revelation of the Bible is that every human is by nature sinful, and all of creation has been plunged into a fundamentally fallen world. In our sinful nature we are all guilty before God and deserving of God’s wrath and judgment. (Genesis 6:5-6; Romans 1-3; Ephesians 2:3).

Jesus

Jesus is the Christ. The second member of the trinity who is the begotten Son and not made. Jesus is both fully God and fully human. Jesus willingly died once for all humankind as our representative and substitute and his sacrifice redeems us from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin. Jesus is, at this moment in time, sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for his followers and ready to judge the living and the dead. (John 1:14, 2:2; Romans 8:34; Colossians 1:15-23; Hebrews 1:1-4, 9:25-27; 1 Peter 3:18).

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son and indwells all true believers. His role is to bring glory to Jesus Christ, thus making Jesus Christ central in all things. The Spirit works to illuminate believers’ minds to grasp the truth of Scripture, producing in them His fruit. He grants His gifts for the purpose of service, not self-indulgence. Their use is determined not by personal desire for fulfilment, or satisfaction but by the principle of building the church. (Gen 1:2; John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7-15, Gal 5:22-25).

Salvation

Salvation is the gift of God made possible by the Holy Spirit who enables us to repent and believe the good news about Jesus and our need for salvation. Salvation cannot be earned or made secure by works but God saves the sinner by grace through faith in Christ alone. (Luke 1:76- 78; Acts 4:12; 13:47; Romans 1:16, 10:9, Titus 2:11).

Prayer

God has given us the great gift and privilege of being able to communicate with him openly and vulnerably through prayer. Prayer is an expression of our dependence, affection, and relationship with God. God asks us to pray. Jesus teaches us to pray. The Spirit enables us to pray. (Matt 6:9-13; Eph 6:17-18; Philp 4:6).

The Church

The visible church is the gathering of all the believers around Christ in his word in faith. It is a community of people intended by God to bear witness to Him and actively seek the extending of His rule. The gathering of God’s people is an essential activity for the Christian as we seek to worship corporately as the body of Christ. Within the church (people, not building), the imperatives are to see people worshipping God, reaching the lost, serving, maturing, and gathering with the saints. (Matthew 16:18, 18:20; Ephesians 4:11-13; Hebrews 10:25).

The End

Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead and establish the new heaven and new earth. Until then we zealously and patiently pray. “Come Lord Jesus, come!” (2 Timothy 4:7-9; Revelation 21:1-4).

Statement of Belief

The Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son,
our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the grave.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy universal church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

Our Vision

In a sense, our vision has been set for us. Jesus gave MAC youth our vision. Jesus gave Menai Anglican Church our vision. Jesus gave the universal church our vision. Jesus gave us our vision before ascending to heaven to be seated at the right hand of the father. What is it? “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:19-20). So, what is our vision? Well, in everything we do, we want to see this happen for the glory of God.

What does this look like at MAC Youth?

1. The gospel is being preached on repeat.
2. Young people are becoming different* with Jesus.
3. Young people are gathering and finding Christlike community

Therefore, our Mission is:

1. To ensure that the teaching of Jesus as communicated in the Word of God is preached, shared, opened, studied, proclaimed, taught, and applied.
2. *To encourage, challenge and celebrate our young people who are becoming more like Christ and therefore less like the world (different).
3. To create, develop and foster a space where young people can gather and find community.

Our Purpose Statement:

Goals for our youth:

We want to see each of our youth own a faith that lasts beyond graduation day. For us, this means they:

• Will grow in their love of God and their love of others.
• Will see the Bible as their authority.
• Will be committed to the church and get on board with the great commission.
• Will engage with spiritual disciplines (prayer, Bible reading etc.).
• Will look for opportunities to serve regularly (ministry teams, rosters, love your neighbour etc.).
• Will understand and believe the ‘theological foundations’ asserted earlier in this document.