Who we are

For us being Anglican has three dimensions; what we believe about God (the theological), the way we do church (the ecclesiological), and how we are held accountable (the pastoral). Let’s unpack each of those;

What we believe about God (Theological) As a church we believe saved by faith in Jesus alone. We believe in the bible as the highest authority and guide for all things relevant to getting right with God and living to please him. We believe in one Church that Jesus died and rose again for and lots of local expressions of that church in places all over the world. What we believe is summed up in two documents the Apostle’s Creed (an ancient and global confession of the things Christians hold dear) and the 39 Articles (the formative document that defined and created the Anglican church). It’s also our conviction from the bible that every member plays a role in making church happen and that it’s not just the responsibility of the paid staff. This is sometimes referred to as, “the priesthood of all believers”. In practice it means we’re thankful for those who serve full-time but view them as brothers and sisters amongst equals rather than as elevated to a position closer to God.

How we do church (Ecclesiological) The structure of our meeting together is based on the outline contained in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. This form of service was originally conceived almost 400 years ago and continues today to point us helpfully to prayer, repentance, singing praise, and most importantly, the place of the bible in our services. It is also teaches us the way we most helpfully celebrate the Lord’s supper, baptisms, weddings and funerals. Although we have updated the presentation this foundation is very formative. Being Anglican also informs the way that we run our church. In our tradition this means that the Pastor serves the congregation full-time with a team of non paid members who oversee the daily running and organisation of the church. As we grow these forms of governing will become more evident.

How we are held accountable (Pastoral) Not only does the Anglican church envisage a model of leadership that includes elected members from within the congregation it also provides oversight of each church to ensure that they are on track with speaking the truth about Jesus and holding to the way of living that’s appropriate for those who bear the name pastor. Those in oversight are called bishops and you might be surprised to know that ours resides in Wollongong.

Stuart Starr is the Lead Pastor at NewLife and oversees the church together with a group of key members of our congregation. You can find Stuart’s profile and contact details below.

NewLife reflects the suburb around us. We’re predominantly young families with kids in local schools including Oran Park Anglican College and Oran Park Public School. As the Chesalon retirement village in Oran Park grows we have been blessed to have more members from there come to join our NewLife community and so to see it reflect the breadth of life experiences around us.

Of course – come along and find out for yourself.