Someone once asked Jesus: “Which is the greatest commandment?” He replied “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.” Then he added “And love your neighbour as yourself”.

We believe that this is the key to a successful life. God has made us to live as his children in his world. He loves us passionately, and in response we are meant to love him, love each other and care for his creation. The reality though is that we all fall far short of this. Our relationship with God is broken, so human life is often marked by self-interest instead of love, violence instead of respect, and quiet despair instead of joy. We ravage the earth instead of cultivating it. The Bible calls this problem sin, and its effects are all around us.

But there’s good news, and it’s all centred on Jesus. He came to restore our relationship with God. He embodied the life of love himself and showed us how to follow in his footsteps. His death was a sacrifice which dealt with the problem of our sin, and his rising from the grave was the start of a new life for us all. Now our failures are not counted against us: instead God gives us his own Spirit to help us live the life we were always meant to!

This is our core message. We try to keep it at the heart of everything we do. It’s called the gospel and we’re proud of it. It doesn’t come from us, but we’re privileged to share in it. And we offer it to you too.

We regularly run short courses to help newcomers get to grips with it. For details take a look at our Christianity Explored. You’ll find a warm welcome there.

These are summed up in one sentence: sharing the good news of Jesus. We share in the gospel ourselves and we’re called to share it with others. We have four main purposes:

	Worship	We exist first and foremost for the glory of God; we’re not perfect, but we’re committed to living in a way which pleases him.
	Nurture	We help one another to get to know God better, through Bible teaching and discussion, prayer and friendship.
	Service	We aim to care for the needs of our local community, as well as further afield, both financially and practically.
	Evangelism	We believe that God loves everyone and we want everyone to know him.