Whether people realise it or not, what we all long for most of all is to know the love of God for ourselves. The good news is that the love of God is completely revealed to us and available for us, no matter where we have come from and what we have got ourselves into.

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God’s love is revealed in His gift of Jesus. God loves us so much He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us and rise again for our new life. The goal of life is to keep going deeper into the infinite love of God, and enjoying that love with others around us.

This is where our relationship with God starts, how it goes deep, and how it changes the world around us.

These are 5 key principles of what God calls us to be as a church.

We are passionate about seeing our church thrive in our walk with God and in our calling in our world. We really do long to see people experiencing the extraordinary love of God in authentic and ever stronger dimensions.

But what are the key factors which must be present for this to be the case? These are our “core values”- five key factors which we believe must be present for our church to develop as God desires us to.

In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul lists five leadership gifts God has given to the church to enable it to grow in health. These are: the apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher.

When you think about it, each of these five types of leaders brings a different quality to the table to stimulate the church’s growth in spiritual health. We have broadly alligned our five core values below around the operation of these five different leadership gifts which God gave for the growth and flourishing of the church.

Definition: We seek to be a people who grow via multiplication as we reproduce God's work through intentional discipleship.

Biblical Examples:

Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Timothy 2:2;​​

Definition: We seek to be a people who live in the presence of God in an attitude of prayer and worship, and bring God's power and word into every day circumstances of life.
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Biblical Examples:

Luke 3:21, 4:1, 5:16, 6:12, 9:18, 9:28, 10:38-42, 11:1, 22:39;

Ephesians 1:16, 2:18, 3:14, 6:18.

Definition: We have a heart for those who don't yet know Jesus and prioritize sharing the message of Jesus in word and deed, even when God is leading us out of our comfort zone.
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Biblical Examples:

Luke 10, Romans 10:14-16, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; 1 Peter 3:15.​

Definition: We believe that God’s people are spiritual family, and so we rearrange life to make sure that we are living in authentic Christian community in everyday life.

Biblical Examples:

Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 1 Peter 5:1-4, Acts 20:28-32, Hebrews 13;

Definition: We are shaped by the teaching of the Bible in our minds, hearts and actions, especially as we interpret life through the lens of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Biblical Examples:

2 Timothy 3:16-17, Acts 20:27; Hebrews 4:12, 5:11-6:1;

Inspired by our Mission Statement, guided by our Church Core Values, and implemented through our Ministry Strategy, our vision is as follows:​

Our church is associated with a network of churches known as the Christian Community Churches of Australia (see www.cccaust.org.au). The church has its historical roots in a movement known to many as ‘open’ Christian Brethren.

The ‘open’ Christian Brethren movement commenced in the 1830s as a group of Christians desired to reaffirm a biblically-based understanding of church practice and worship as opposed to the formalism and sectarianism which was rife in many of the mainstream churches. In particular, theses churches sought to emphasise the unity of the church, offering fellowship to all people who take the name of Christ as their Lord. Secondly, these churches also emphasised the priesthood of all believers, encouraging all attendees of the church to be actively involved by using their God-given spiritual gifts, with far less dependency on the clergy to conduct all ministry.ord, remains the Head of His church and this local church in particular.

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We continue to emphasise these values, and to focus strongly on the centrality of the Bible as one’s true guide for life. The need to be involved with global evangelism remains highly significant, and the importance of celebrating communion remains an important part of the weekly gathering of the church. As a church we are fully independent and autonomous from the control of any outside organisation and recognise that Jesus, as Lord, remains the Head of His church and this local church in particular.

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NOTE: We of course have no connection with the Exclusive Brethren sect. This group was indeed part of the same movement as ours originally, but they went their own way in the mid-19th century, and then took on their sect-like characteristics in the 1960s.

Our church had its beginnings with a group of Christians who lived in Ballina who were part of the fellowship meeting in the Lismore Gospel Hall. Regular evangelistic meetings were commenced in 1975 in the home of Keith and May Baly. John and Christine Skinner had come to live in Ballina, and engaged in gospel ministry for eleven months in 1976. A Tuesday night Bible Study began and a number of other believers joined the group.

In 1984 a block of land in Kalinga St was purchased for $15000. Despite several objections to the DA lodged with Council, the green light was given to commence building a church hall. The hall was mostly built on Saturdays by a group of volunteer builders. The first Sunday services in the hall were commenced on 6^th April, 1984.

The church slowly grew in numbers with numerous ones coming to faith in Christ and joining the church. In about 2010, after a number of people had been converted in the Wollongbar area, it was decided to commence a new church there. The Ballina church was left depleted in numbers yet thankful for the blessings of God in allowing such growth to lead to a new church being planted. We continue today with gratitude to the Lord for his blessings and trust in him for His work to continue in us for His glory in Ballina and beyond.

We believe that the scriptures are the final authority for Christian living, and also they are a vital ingredient for Christian growth, as God renews our minds through his Word. For this reason we aim to teach the scriptures regularly and systematically in various ways in our fellowship (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The Lord’s Supper represents the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, as well as communion, unity, thanksgiving, the sign of the new covenant, and an anticipation of His coming again. We seek to keep the meaning of the Lord's death and resurrection fresh in our minds by a weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper, as He expressed His desire for us in Luke 22:19-20, and in keeping with the example given in Acts 20:7. This is celebrated in the context of our weekly church service, but also may from time to time be celebrated in informal contexts in the home (Acts 2:46).

We welcome all to participate with us in this who have trusted Christ to be their Saviour and Lord, and are following Him in sincerity. Those who do not know the Lord or who are not living in a right relationship with the Lord should refrain from participating (1 Cor. 11:27-30). Parents should ensure that only children who have a sincere faith in Christ participate, and that this is done with reverence. It is our normal practice that people should begin participation in the Lord’s Supper after they have been baptized, as their first public act of faith.

We are an independent and autonomous church. This means we have no allegiance to an institutionalized church hierarchy who governs our practices and activities. We believe we are answerable to the Lord Himself, our Head, as He has made Himself known to us through the scriptures, rather any human institution. However, it is worth noting that we have links to the network of churches associated with the Christian Community Churches of Australia (see www.cccaust.com) and that many of our perspectives reflect this heritage.

We seek to maintain a strong emphasis on the truth of the “priesthood of all believers”. This means firstly that Christ Himself is our priest, senior pastor, and archbishop. Secondly, it means that all Christians are called to be ministers and priests in the church, in the different ways God has gifted us differently. However, the Bible also describes a human leadership within the church in which God raises a group of elders to lead the church. The Bible also describes leaders who are financially supported to be able to devote their time to the leadership and ministry of the church.

Our church practices baptism for Christians only (Mt 28:19), and by the means of immersion. Water baptism is the outward symbol of the baptism of the Spirit, which at the point of conversion, places the believer within the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13). Though it does not confer forgiveness of sin or reception of the Spirit, water baptism expresses outwardly and visibly the confession of faith the believer has in Christ. Furthermore, it is the symbol of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection which the believer identifies himself with Christ in these experiences (Rom 6:3-5). If you wish to be baptised to symbolise your salvation and identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Rom 6:2-3), please speak to one of the leaders who can discuss this with you.

Men and women are created by God and stand in Christ with equality of personhood and importance (Gen 1:27, Gal 3:28). The Bible also teaches that God has created us to live within ordered relationships, wherewe are equally accountable to God for our common roles in service to Him, but whereman has been given thespecific responsibility for headship and leadership in marriage and the church (Ephesians 5:22-33, 1 Corinthians 11:3).

Men and women both have spiritual gifts and have important roles to play in the speaking of God's Word to one another in appropriate contexts (Acts 2:17, 1 Corinthians 11:5). Whereas women have broad scope for ministry in general, it appears that in the local church, they should not be functioning as elders (overseers, leaders) or teachers of the church at large (1 Timothy 2:12-14). However, this does not preclude their functioning in many other areas of church life. We greatly value the important part that women play in the Christian church worldwide (including missions) and in our church in particular.

We believe that there is a large degree of freedom in how a church service is to function. We seek to learn from all the different specific practices that the people of God used in their gatherings described in the scriptures, such as sermons, love feasts, musical worship, open sharing, the Lord’s Supper, prayer times, etc. We believe that we are not called to replicate an exact pattern of church service, but rather to enact the general biblical principles of corporate church life we see from these practices into our contemporary culture in appropriate ways that build up the church.

We believe that all true Christians belong to the body of Christ, the Church, whatever the social class, age, nationality or denominational background (1 Cor 12:13, Col 3:11), and so we are happy to welcome all such people into our local expression of the church in Christ’s name.

The only reason for exclusion from Christian fellowship is because of serious moral rebellion inconsistent with the Christian life (1 Cor 5:11) or serious doctrinal error on basic doctrines (2 John 7-11). Differences of opinion on secondary doctrinal matters (matters not essential to salvation) can be expected to exist within the church; these should never be an opportunity for a break in fellowship but rather for greater learning from one another, as we all strive to come to a more accurate understanding of the Word of God together.

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Fellowship includes more than just a welcome to church meetings or participation in the Lord’s Supper; it extends to the sharing of our time, hospitality, finances and whole lives with one another.

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We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God and is a person, not a force or influence. God gives the Holy Spirit to all true believers, and equips them with spiritual gifts for the upbuilding of the church. We believe in our full dependence on the work of the Holy Spirit to bring His power amongst us to extend God’s kingdom. Individuals are free to practice what they believe in regards to spiritual gifts in their personal lives, but we ask in regards to our public church services that people submit their exercise of spiritual gifts to the discernment of the leadership of the church

Within the Christian church, there are numerous topics on which Christians differ in their interpretation and application of the scriptures, such as the relationship between God’s election and human free will, or the understanding of the sequence of events in relation to the return of Christ.

We believe that it is possible for different people with different convictions on difficult issues such as these to fellowship harmoniously together within our church, provided their views are in broad agreement with our general statement of faith. We ask people to develop convictions on difficult topics such as these, based on careful study of the scriptures and of the views of other Christian leaders. However, we ask people to refrain from promoting disunity on topics such as these, and to recognize that these are secondary doctrinal matters rather than essentials of the faith.

The local church is a spiritual organism and it is God who raises up a leadership who are gifted for this. These ones will also be already functioning as respected leaders before being formally recognized. It is therefore a functional role, not one of status, employing a servant attitude, as Jesus demonstrated. “Christ-likeness” is therefore a pre-eminent characteristic of one who is a Christian leader.

Our church follows an eldership model of church government in which the final authority for decisions made within the church lie with the church leadership, rather than a congregational model which relies on congregational voting. However, we are keen to encourage a high degree of ownership and input from all members of our church.