Who We Are

Our Vision

We exist for the glory of God. In his mercy he has saved us through the death and resurrection of Jesus his Son. In the power of his Spirit we respond to him in repentance and faith. In joyful obedience we gather as his people, sitting under his Word and sharing his love with each other. In loving expectation we reach out to those around us, offering the life-giving message of the gospel to all.

Trinity South Christchurch is a church created by, built upon, sustained through, and delighting in the gospel of the Lord Jesus. Our core values are an expression of who we are:

Hearing Jesus Speak:           We long to and expect to hear Jesus speak as we hear his word in the Bible.

Seeing Jesus Work:              We delight to see Jesus’ work for us in the cross and resurrection, and to see him continue to work by his Spirit in our lives today.

Sharing Jesus’ Love:             We share his love both by sharing his message and by showing his care to those around us.

While Trinity has come into existence as a result of seeking to remain faithful to Scripture in the context of a controversy in the Anglican Church, this controversy does not define us. All people will be welcomed, no matter their position on this. Indeed, all people will be enthusiastically welcomed, regardless of their background or what they believe, for we believe in a God who turns none away who seeks him and who transforms them by the work of his Spirit into the image and likeness of his Son.

 

Our Beliefs

We are an evangelical Anglican Church made up of Christians of all ages and from all walks of life. While we are saddened by the departure of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia from the teaching of the Bible, we hold to the traditional Anglican faith and welcome all into our congregation. The new church holds strongly to the beliefs that the international Anglican communion has historically upheld for 500 years.

As Anglicans, Scripture is our ultimate authority, and our doctrine is expressed in the 39 Articles, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal. We also subscribe to the Jerusalem Declaration of 2008.

The purpose of the church is to glorify God by proclaiming the gospel through Scripture, and by maturing believers. A full copy of the purposes of the church can be found in the rules for the society and are available on request.

 

Our Denomination

Along with fellow Anglican churches, we are in the process of establishing an expression of Anglicanism that remains faithful to the original spirit of the denomination. Therefore a new structure is being finalised over the coming months, and will become a formal denomination with appropriate oversight and regulations. This will be the new body to which we will belong. As part of this, representatives from our church will take part in appointing a Bible-believing Bishop to provide us with oversight.

In the short term, Richard Condie, Bishop of Tasmania, will act as our episcopal Visitor. In this role he will offer guidance and pastoral care, but will not licence clergy in New Zealand, and we will not be part of the Diocese of Tasmania. Richard is a former lecturer at the Ridley Theological College and in his current position has shown a track record of godly leadership.

We will be affiliated with fellow evangelical Anglican churches who subscribe to the Jerusalem Declaration: West Hamilton Community Church, Latimer Church (formerly St John’s, Latimer Square),  St Stephen’s Christchurch and St John’s Woolston.

There are also a significant number of other congregations throughout the country who are currently prayerfully discerning whether they can remain affiliated with the Anglican church, or whether God is calling them to join us in this new expression of Anglicanism.