What we believe

As a church we believe that God has made himself known in the Bible. It is the final authority in how we are to understand who God is, what he is like and how we are to relate to him. However, there has often been debate over how exactly we are to interpret the Bible and what it teaches.

To avoid confusion and to achieve reasonable consensus churches since New Testament times have summarised their understanding of God’s message in the Bible with the help of creeds, catechisms and confessions.

Grove Chapel has two complementary statements of faith. The first links it to the wider family of churches that identify themselves with the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century and its rediscovery of Christian belief that was shaped solely by Scripture. The Westminster Shorter Catechism is an internationally recognised and widely used summary of the faith which, though over 350 years old, provides one of the most concise, yet comprehensive summaries of Bible teaching that has ever been drawn up.

The other statement is found in the Articles of Faith of Grove Chapel. These were drawn up when the church was formed in 1818 and reflect in part the historical circumstances of its formation, but at the same time highlight some of the main Bible teaching that defined and shaped the life of the congregation at that time.

Those who serve as elders in the church are required to subscribe to the first of these two statements of faith - the Westminster Shorter Catechism - as the summary of their own beliefs and commit to ensuring that these teachings are safeguarded in the life and work of the congregation.

Questions about God

Questions about man

Questions about the Bible

Questions about Jesus Christ

Questions about the Holy Spirit

Questions about salvation