Welcome to Kew Baptist Church. Our community is a diverse body of people meeting in many different places during the week. Together we are seeking to say yes to Jesus at every point of our lives.
Kew Baptist Church is among the oldest surviving churches in Australia. Founded in 1856, it has a rich heritage and history of faith and service within the community of Kew and beyond. Our doors are open to everyone. We believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life for all people. We seek to Grow spiritually through engaging in daily spiritual disciplines; Gather regularly in community at Sunday worship, in Small Groups and Prayer Huddles; Give of ourselves in service to others and be generous with our lives; Go into all the world to share the love and good news of Jesus.
We believe that out of his great love for us, God sent his Son Jesus Christ who came to earth where he died on a cross and rose again so that we can be in direct relationship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who forgives us and empowers us to experience free and hope-filled lives that increasingly reflect Jesus’ values and priorities.
For many of us, this truth has been foundational in our lives for some time, while others of us are just beginning to explore it, wondering what it all means, or grappling with its implications for us. Wherever you find yourself, we hope you will feel welcome, very free to ask questions and to journey with us.
As a Baptist Church, we form a union with other Baptist Churches in Australia. The foundations of our beliefs and doctrines are as follows, with some comment in italics for further clarification:
Biblical Truth
The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We trust that God communicates divine truth in the Bible.
Incarnation
The deity and incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. The historical person of Jesus of Nazareth was God in the form of a human being.
Salvation
The salvation of men and women from the penal consequences and power of sin through the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, His atoning death, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His unchanging priesthood. Jesus is God’s final and definitive solution to all the mess and evils of humanity and the world.
Repentance
The necessity, in order to know salvation, of repentance towards God and of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to come clean: our lives and hearts are in a bad way before God. We can trust Jesus to forgive us and to lead us in ways pleasing to God.
Baptism and communion
The two ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ, namely Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which are of perpetual obligation: Baptism being the immersion of believers upon the profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a symbol of the fellowship of the regenerate in His death, burial and resurrection; the Lord’s Supper being a memorial, until He comes, of the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said to baptise people when they turn from sin and trust in him, and also to regularly share a meal together with other Christ-followers to remember his life, death for our sins, his resurrection, and his future appearing.
The Trinity
The existence of one God in three persons – the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. A mystery beyond human cognition, to be sure; but this is how God is revealed in the Bible.
Sin
The fallen, sinful and lost estate of all people. People desperately need God’s help to sort out this mess we got ourselves into.
Holy Spirit
The immediate work of the Holy Spirit in the regeneration of men and women, in their sanctification, and in their preservation to the heavenly Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. (God changes our hearts and transforms us to be continually growing more Christ-like, and has a glorious future for us)
Resurrection
The resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment of all people by the Lord Jesus Christ. Death is not the end of life- just a transition to a different mode of living. Jesus holds all the cards and will lovingly and justly put all things right, holding each person accountable for their earthly lives.