What we believe at Reflect Church
We join with all the major Christian traditions over centuries to acknowledge the words of the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed as a summary of our beliefs as a church. The Nicene Creed was first adopted at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and is a more detailed version of the Apostles’ Creed.
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Christian marriage is God’s idea and is always described in the scripture as exclusively between a man and a woman. Sex is a gift from God for procreation, pleasure and unity and is only appropriate within marriage.
Jesus confirms this design in Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV):
4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Christian marriage is a picture of Christ and his church as described in Ephesians 5:22-33.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Whilst we rightly celebrate the beautiful thing that is Christian marriage, the Bible also celebrates singleness as a worthy and whole expression of Christian faith. The most notable examples in the scripture include Jesus as well as the Apostle Paul.
For more teaching on this subject, listen to our messages on podcast or YouTube.
The word catholic (lower case c) means universal as opposed to the (capitalised) Roman Catholic Church. The references to the catholic church in the Nicene & Apostles’ Creed refer to being connected to the wider body of Christ. Throughout scripture we see reference to local churches as well as the global Church.
Our beliefs are protestant in nature and our expression of church leans towards charismatic or pentecostal. For example, our Sunday services have room for the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We are a local church and registered charity in the UK but we also belong a wonderful family of churches called C3 Church Global.
Reflect Church is a registered UK Charity (No. 1194463). Each year we submit our accounts to the Charities Commission and also release a more user-friendly annual report for the whole church to see.
We are funded entirely by voluntary donations from our church community and receive no external funding. In our church services, there is often a short opportunity to give which is optional.
To find out more about how to support our work, head to our giving page.
Church services at Reflect Church last around 1 hour 30 minutes. Many people will also come a few minutes early and linger afterwards to catch up with friends, meet new people and enjoy a tea/coffee.
Our church services are informal which means that most people will be wearing casual clothes. For example, the pastors will often wear jeans & trainers but it’s totally up to you as to what feels most comfortable.
We sing modern songs, many of which we write ourselves. There are lyrics projected on a screen so everyone can sing along. Worship is often lively with instruments like drums, synths and electric guitars etc. You’ll see many people lifting their hands, dancing and all round having a good time.