Ethos Statement

1. Our Christian Identity

Kingswood Baptist Church is a community of Christians who live to worship God, to grow in our understanding and experience of God, to share the good news about Jesus Christ and to work for the common good. It is this Christian identity, our covenant with the Baptist community and Kingswood Baptist Church’s agreed beliefs and values that are the foundation of all we are and do.

2. Our Commitment to the Wider Baptist Community

Kingswood Baptist Church has chosen to covenant with the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) and its member churches and organisations. Therefore, BUGB’s Declaration of Principle, Vision and Culture all inform our ethos as a Baptist church.

The Declaration of Principle

The three-part ‘Declaration of Principle’ forms the basis of understanding for all who belong to the Baptist Union and Kingswood Baptist Church affirms this declaration prayerfully and wholeheartedly:
1. That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each Church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
2. That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who ‘died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third day’.
3. That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.

Baptist Union of Great Britain Vision and Culture

BUGB is committed to intentionally developing a culture where we are “Growing healthy churches in relationship for God’s mission”. This means we:

Seek to be a movement of spirit led communities – As those who have encountered the living Christ, to intentionally seek his will and purpose for our local churches and every expression of our shared life. (Galatians 5:22-25)
Feel like one team – celebrating diversity; valuing, respecting and trusting each other as we work together in partnerships – making sure everyone feels included and listened to. (I Corinthians 12:24b-27)
Embrace adventure – being serious about discipleship, willing to take risks, pioneer and move out of the comfort zone of familiar ways of doing things. (Matthew 28:18-20)
Inspire others – with a generosity of spirit, to energise and motivate people to be all that God created them to be. (Ephesians 5:1 & 2)
Share a hunger for God’s coming kingdom – nurturing a ‘holy discontent’ that arises from our desire to give practical expression to our vision of God’s purpose for creation – confronting evil, injustice and hypocrisy and challenging worldly attitudes to power, wealth, status and security both within and beyond our Union. (Matthew 6:9 & 10)

3. Our Values and/or Vision Statement

As a church we have discerned these values and this vision statement specifically for our mission and ministry, complemented by the Vision and Culture of The Baptist Union of Great Britain.

Statement of Beliefs

In recognition of the Baptist principle that each church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer the laws of Jesus Christ, and following the ethos outlined above, Kingswood Baptist Church has discerned and agreed to hold to the following theological convictions.

Women in Leadership

Kingswood Baptist Church holds to the view that God created women and men equal in personhood and that He calls and equally affirms both men and women into a vast array of roles, including all forms of church leadership.

Sexual Orientation & Same-Sex Marriage

Kingswood Baptist Church holds to the understanding that while sexual orientation in and of itself is no barrier to full participation in the life of the church, sexual relationships can only be expressed in marriage which we recognise as being between a man and a woman.

This Ethos Statement was agreed by the Charity Trustees of Kingswood Baptist Church on 6 November 2023.

This policy will be reviewed every three years.
Review date: November 2026.