TRANS-NATAL DISTRICT of the WESLEYAN CHURCH IN SOUTHERN AFRICA is always striving to grow closer to God in community and in service.
Jesus Christ is the essential trait of God’s will for mankind. Christ is both our example and strength as we pursue integrity, excellence, faith, hope and love.
Make disciples is a clear directive from Christ. This of course requires a strong focus on evangelism, training in spiritual growth and holy living.
Respect the leadership placed over you, while realizing that the authority and effectiveness of spiritual leadership is not primarily donated, but earned and evident by a loving and willing heart of obedience that serves God and mankind gladly.
We must be proud and willing to go out and preach the gospel in all manners.
There MUST be room for failure
Where there is no failure there is no risk taking. Where there is no failure there is no growth.
GRACE: Without GRACE, we would never be able to have a relationship with God
GROWTH: Ongoing evidence of a changed life and growth to Christ-likeness
GROUPS: Relationships with others in P.A.L.S Groups
GIFTS: Serving Christ’s body according to spiritual giftedness and passion
GOOD STEWARDSHIP: Honouring God through our resources, time, and talents by what we give and what we keep
We do not believe that prayer is merely preparation for the work. We believe prayer is continually an essential part of the work.
We believe that lost people matter to God therefore; they ought to matter to us. Jesus came to seek and save the lost and has left us here in part to do the same. Our individual lives and corporate efforts will reflect this conviction.
The Bible does not tell us to use only certain styles of music, or to present our message only through words. The Bible does make it clear, however, that we are to find ways to effectively bring the message "into all the world" in order to make disciples. We believe this will require careful scrutiny of everything we do-new practices and old-and a willingness to change when necessary within biblical parameters, in order that we, "by all possible means might save some."
We desire our fellowship to be a caring family that values community, informality, and spontaneity, freedom of expression, humour, fun, commitment, and loyalty. In our pursuit of holiness, we will acknowledge our imperfection, and provide an environment in which people are free to risk, fail and find grace and encouragement in time of need.
Membership in our body requires a tangible commitment to our purposes and our vision… Everyone is welcome to attend our church and participate in our times of celebration and encouragement. However, it is our intention to call all believers in our midst into membership.
Belonging to our community requires a visible commitment to being intentionally involved with others in accountable and encouraging relationships. We believe life change happens best in smaller groups. In these clusters of caring people, participants share and encourage each other toward spiritual growth. Here people can experience both the benefits of a larger church and yet enjoy the kind of relationships that only develop in small, safe settings.
We believe that each believer has received a special gift and should employ it in serving others, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
We desire all people to be in a passionate, relentless pursuit of God's heart, mind, presence, voice, and to follow after Him.
We believe full devotion to Christ is normative for the believer. We desire to emulate the attributes of Christ and be increasingly conformed to His image.
We acknowledge our need to be completely yielded to and guided by the Spirit. God's purposes will be accomplished here not by our great efforts but by His great work through us and in us.
We do not desire to mandate or be identified by any particular form or practice in worship, but to create a worship environment that resonates with the soul of the worshipers. This will occur in an atmosphere of freedom in which people can express their heart for God while at all times maintaining sensitivity to others.
We view children not only as the future, but as a significant part of the church right now. Our goal is to raise passionate, realistic followers of Christ, and so we believe our children are worth all the time and energy we can invest in them.
Intentional participation in relationships with others at different levels of spiritual maturity is essential. While we provide many formal occasions for growth, we place a higher priority on the value of relationships. Jesus apprenticed His disciples, even as His disciples are called to mentor or be mentored by others today.
We believe life-change happens best in the context of relationships. We value honest relationships where truth is spoken in love and every member takes responsibility for the well being and reputation of others they know in the body.
In response to Christ's directive to spread His Good News around the world, we want to use a multi-faceted approach in helping reach today's world. We seek to involve our church in projects to communicate the Gospel and share our resources.
We are God's extended hands. We must with vision and servant leadership, increasingly learn to minister directly to the poor, sometimes with our money, sometimes with our lives. We must live in fellowship with an awareness of our blessings and corresponding responsibility to others.
We believe excellence honours God and reflects His character. We strive for excellence without compromise in all areas of our ministry and lives.