We Believe

You may have heard of the Gospel before. The Gospel means, “Good News,” and it is short for “The Good News of Jesus.” this 5-minute video tells the Good News of Jesus throughout the entire Bible. This is the foundational story for what we believe and how we live our lives at South Blendon.

South Blendon is also a Church in the Reformed tradition and is a partner in ministry with the Alliance of Reformed Churches. Here are some distinctive beliefs we share with other Reformed Churches:

  • South Blendon Community Church wholeheartedly embraces the good news of historic Christian faith: that in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has acted to redeem and renew all things he has created through the power of his Holy Spirit.
  • In the Reformed tradition, the Bible (the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God) is the final authority for life and faith.
  • We believe in the Triune God—that God is three in one: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.
  • We believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith, not by what we think or do to earn God’s favor. Our good works don’t earn salvation, but they are evidence of the fruit of the Spirit within us.
  • We are creedal, expressing our unity with the historic Christian faith in three ancient creeds:
  1. The Apostles’ Creed
  2. The Nicene Creed
  3. The Athanasian Creed
  • We are confessional, embracing the Reformed tradition of Christian faith using three statements that guide our understanding of faith and shape its practice and two appendices one under the Heidelberg Catechism and the other under the Belgic Confession:

1. The Heidelberg Catechism

Appendix: The Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality

2. The Belgic Confession

Appendix:  The Belhar Confession

3. The Canons of Dort

  • We are sacramental, affirming two sacraments—baptism and the Lord’s Supper (also known as communion or the eucharist)—as visible signs of God’s grace working in us and in the world. Both sacraments were first established and commanded by Jesus Christ in Scripture.
  • We are “reformed and always reforming,” earnestly seeking to know Christ and to follow Christ’s Spirit faithfully in a complex and changing world.