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What kind of church?
With all the different churches in the world it’s important to state that ultimately there is one church and it includes all believers that have ever lived, are alive now, and are yet to be born. Ultimately only the Lord knows who they are, but together they make up the universal church.
But what ‘kind’ of church is Revelation Church? We are often asked this question and below are some elements that are important to us.
Evangelical
This term means that we consider the Bible to be the word of God, take it as our authority, believe it literally and order our individual and corporate lives in the light of it. So we believe the miracles recorded in the Bible really happened. We believe Jesus physically rose from the dead. We believe He will actually, physically return. We try our best not to twist or bend the scriptures so that they fit with what culture is currently saying but work really hard at trying to figure out what the original authors really meant, so that we can obey it.
Charismatic
This means a lot more than being lively – the heart of being charismatic goes way deeper than that. It means that we believe the model of church as seen in the book of Acts is a model for us to pursue today, particularly in the area of being filled with the Holy Spirit and all that leads to, from looking after the poor to expecting miracles. We don’t believe that the era of the early church was totally unique – yes, it was uniquely foundational, but the foundation shapes the entire building and we believe the ingredients in the foundation (power, sacrifice, community, impact, opposition, boldness, proclamation, signs and wonders – Jesus stuff) should mark the entire building. So we believe in all the things you’ll find in the charisma lists in the Bible (Romans chapter 12 and 1 Corinthians chapter 12).
Complementarian
We believe in the absolute equality and the absolute distinctiveness of men and women. We openly celebrate masculinity and femininity and though this is an emotionally loaded topic, we confidently assert God’s right to determine what a man is and what a woman is and boldly resist both chauvinism and feminism. We also resist the pressure to blur all lines of distinction in the name of equality – we believe in equality as the Bible presents it. We believe in men and women using their gifts and serving in the church. We believe eldership is a male role because we believe that’s what the Bible teaches.
Diverse
We’re not into the black church thing. We’re not into the white church thing. We’re not into the rich church thing. We’re not into the poor church thing. We’re not into the youth church thing. We’re not into the old church thing. We’re not into the men’s church thing. We’re not into the women’s church thing. What are we into?! We’re into the Revelation 7 church thing – where every kind of person is gathered around the throne! It may mean growth is slower but that’s what we’re going for – it’s a beautiful thing because it speaks of the victory of Christ – that on the cross He has brought down every dividing wall so that we are all now one in Christ. What a picture.
Missional
We are a people that have been commissioned by our Lord and King to make disciples of all nations. Whether or not the idea is popular is irrelevant. We insist on speaking to all people about Jesus, making sure that we do so respectfully, keeping our lives and conversation full with grace and yet still seasoned with salt (we maintain our flavour!) At the end of the day, we believe that Jesus is the only way to be reconciled to God and so we proclaim Jesus and Him crucified.
Planting
We believe God's plan for reaching the world is through church planting. That's why we're passionate about training up leaders, commissioning them and sending them out. We've sent out pioneers to Poland, Latvia and Manchester to gather people, share the gospel and take the first steps in establishing a church.
But what ‘kind’ of church is Revelation Church? We are often asked this question and below are some elements that are important to us.
Evangelical
This term means that we consider the Bible to be the word of God, take it as our authority, believe it literally and order our individual and corporate lives in the light of it. So we believe the miracles recorded in the Bible really happened. We believe Jesus physically rose from the dead. We believe He will actually, physically return. We try our best not to twist or bend the scriptures so that they fit with what culture is currently saying but work really hard at trying to figure out what the original authors really meant, so that we can obey it.
Charismatic
This means a lot more than being lively – the heart of being charismatic goes way deeper than that. It means that we believe the model of church as seen in the book of Acts is a model for us to pursue today, particularly in the area of being filled with the Holy Spirit and all that leads to, from looking after the poor to expecting miracles. We don’t believe that the era of the early church was totally unique – yes, it was uniquely foundational, but the foundation shapes the entire building and we believe the ingredients in the foundation (power, sacrifice, community, impact, opposition, boldness, proclamation, signs and wonders – Jesus stuff) should mark the entire building. So we believe in all the things you’ll find in the charisma lists in the Bible (Romans chapter 12 and 1 Corinthians chapter 12).
Complementarian
We believe in the absolute equality and the absolute distinctiveness of men and women. We openly celebrate masculinity and femininity and though this is an emotionally loaded topic, we confidently assert God’s right to determine what a man is and what a woman is and boldly resist both chauvinism and feminism. We also resist the pressure to blur all lines of distinction in the name of equality – we believe in equality as the Bible presents it. We believe in men and women using their gifts and serving in the church. We believe eldership is a male role because we believe that’s what the Bible teaches.
Diverse
We’re not into the black church thing. We’re not into the white church thing. We’re not into the rich church thing. We’re not into the poor church thing. We’re not into the youth church thing. We’re not into the old church thing. We’re not into the men’s church thing. We’re not into the women’s church thing. What are we into?! We’re into the Revelation 7 church thing – where every kind of person is gathered around the throne! It may mean growth is slower but that’s what we’re going for – it’s a beautiful thing because it speaks of the victory of Christ – that on the cross He has brought down every dividing wall so that we are all now one in Christ. What a picture.
Missional
We are a people that have been commissioned by our Lord and King to make disciples of all nations. Whether or not the idea is popular is irrelevant. We insist on speaking to all people about Jesus, making sure that we do so respectfully, keeping our lives and conversation full with grace and yet still seasoned with salt (we maintain our flavour!) At the end of the day, we believe that Jesus is the only way to be reconciled to God and so we proclaim Jesus and Him crucified.
Planting
We believe God's plan for reaching the world is through church planting. That's why we're passionate about training up leaders, commissioning them and sending them out. We've sent out pioneers to Poland, Latvia and Manchester to gather people, share the gospel and take the first steps in establishing a church.