Beliefs

Who We Are

Holy Cross is a community living for Christ in the power of the Spirit, to the glory of the Father. 



IDENTITY

God first. God loves us and engages us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, to provide us with a saving relationship with Himself. Salvation is a free gift that everyone can receive by turning away from a life “lived your own way and for your own sake” and by yielding the right of way to Christ who is the Lord. In kindness, God gives us His Holy Spirit who makes us new and takes up a renovation process in our hearts and our lives. He forms us to be Christlike and gives us new purpose and renewed values. This happens as we grow to know and love Him by spending time with God in prayer and by reading and living what He has given us through the Good News contained in the Bible, the Word of God.

With Others. This relationship with God, while personal, is not solitary. God saves us to be in His family the Church. This involves regular engagement with other believers whom we learn to know and love in community. As Anglican Christians, our engagement together includes regular Sunday worship (liturgy, singing, prayer, and sacraments). We grow through Life Groups - small gatherings of Christians who study Scripture, learn spiritual practices, grow in friendship, and serve together in the church and the community around us. 

For Others. Because God is growing His family and extending His Kingdom on earth, and because Christ gave his life for the sake of others, we too are called to bless and benefit others. We become generous with our time and our finances. We serve. We help. We love. We lead. We seek justice. In doing so, we discover great joy and deep satisfaction. And others discover there is a God who is for them and who deserves our worship. This brings God much honor.


MISSION

To make disciples who make disciples of Jesus. 

God’s plan is for his followers to help others make a transformational journey into Christlikeness. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)


VISION

Our vision guides us. It’s the “how to” of God’s mission for Holy Cross: 

• Being a people of prayer. 

• Growing disciples through Life Groups. 

• Equipping parents to disciple their children. 

• Reaching beyond ourselves to love and serve others. 

        - Go Home: serving family and friends 

        - Go Out: serving Holy Cross and serving the local community 

        - Go Off: serving those beyond our local community in our nation and the world

Anglicanism

As Anglicans, we are part of a global communion of churches established over the centuries by the Church of England. The Anglican Church is a biblically based church with ancient roots and a treasure of rich resources that help us grow as followers of Jesus Christ to love God and serve our communities as Christians.


Anglicans have always sought to worship God faithfully with living forms of worship. Therefore, our services and liturgies mirror the worship of the ancient apostolic church while incorporating the common language and culture of the communities in which they are practiced. Furthermore, Anglicans incorporate both ancient sacramental practices and visual symbols to celebrate the certainty of our faith and the mysteries of God. Together, sacrament, symbol, and word, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, connect our senses with our minds and hearts.


In order to remain true to the teachings of Christ and the apostles, Anglicans have historically upheld the Holy Scriptures as God’s Word, have held to the summary of evangelical beliefs known as the Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith, and have accepted the three great Christian creeds, the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, as the fundamental statements of the Christian faith. We celebrate the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as commanded by Jesus and we uphold the historic order of bishops, presbyters, and deacons in the administration of the church’s life and mission.


Today the worldwide Anglican Communion is experiencing both tremendous stress and tremendous renewal. The stress comes as some provinces depart from historic Anglican faith and practices and from the orthodox understanding of the Holy Scriptures. On the other hand, the renewal comes from the explosive growth of the gospel through Anglican churches and missions in many locations, particularly the “two-thirds world.” For example, there are more than 15 million Anglicans in Nigeria— over 5 times more than all the Anglicans in the United States.


For more information about Anglicanism, check out these sources: 


'Speculating in Anglican Futures' An article by renowned Anglican theologian J. I. Packer, detailing the eight key characteristics of Anglicanism 


Our Anglican Heritage, Can an Ancient Church be a Church of the Future? a book by John Howe and Samuel Pascoe