Who We Are
If you're checking out Christianity for the first time, or looking for a church to call home, you're most welcome. We're unpretentious and friendly, described by one visitor as 'a country church in the city.''. We're an evangelical Church committed to loving one another, the community and the world with the love of the Lord Jesus. Revesby Congregational Church was the first church in the Revesby area, serving a community of farmers and market gardeners. Over 100 years later we still seek to serve our changing community with the Good News about Jesus.
We belong to the Fellowship of Congregational Churches, which continues an evangelical Congregational witness after the formation of the Uniting Church in 1977. Congregationalism is over 350 years old, a Protestant movement that has its roots in the Puritans. It seeks to be faithful to the Bible and to the independence of local churches.
Statement Of Faith
As a member of the Fellowship of Congregational Churches we hold to an evangelical statement of faith:
God is Almighty, Eternal and Unchanging. He is just and holy, gracious and merciful. He is the Creator and Ruler of all things, exercising sovereign power in Creation, Providence and Redemption, and is deserving of all glory and praise forever.
God is One, existing through all eternity in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God’s greatness and holiness are such, that without His aid, man can neither understand God nor find the way to a right relationship with Him. In His mercy, however, God has made Himself known. He has done this partially through Creation but more fully and clearly to the people of Israel and explicitly and finally in Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God and the Word of God incarnate. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as originally given and divinely preserved, record, interpret and complete God’s special revelation to us. We therefore accept the Bible as not merely containing but being the divinely inspired and infallible Word of God written and the final and sufficient authority in all matters of Christian faith and life.
Satan is a person, a malignant Spirit, the enemy of Jesus Christ and of the saints, deceiving mankind; and he has been condemned to eternal damnation
God created man perfect, but after being tempted by Satan, man by his own free choice, disobeyed God and became a sinner. Man’s whole nature is now corrupted by sin and his fellowship with God is broken.
God alone can deal with man’s sin and bring about a reconciliation with Himself. In God’s great plan of Redemption, God the Son became man through the Incarnation. Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless human life and taught with divine authority. He suffered and died in the place of sinners, bearing their sin and its guilt and punishment. He thus sets free all believers from the domination of Satan and the corruption of their own sinful nature, and removes from them forever sin’s lasting consequences.
God, by His Grace, forgives and reconciles to Himself all who turn to Him in true repentance, turning from sin and trusting in Christ’s atoning death. God imputes to them the righteousness of Christ Himself and adopts them as His children.
The Lord Jesus Christ was shown to be the Son of God by His teaching, by His miracles and by His bodily resurrection from the dead. He has ascended in power and glory to the presence of God where He now pleads on behalf of those who call upon Him in truth.
God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, must work in a man before he can enter Salvation. He leads the sinner into an awareness of his sinfulness and brings him to repentance and trust in Christ. He brings to birth in him a new and eternal life and, by His continuing work, develops in this new life the fruits of love and holiness.
The Scriptures affirm that the sinner is justified by faith alone in the finished work of Christ, that is, by His substitutionary death upon the Cross and His resurrection from the dead. The works of men and the traditions of the visible Chross are of no avail in the Salvation and Justification of men.
God is bringing all human history to a climax which will be marked by the personal bodily return to the earth of the Lord Jesus Christ in power and glory.
God has appointed Jesus as Judge and there will be a final judgement. Those who are saved will be raised in a glorified body and enjoy eternally and to the full the presence of their Lord in heaven. Those who have rejected Christ will also be raised and banished from God forever in hell.
All who have been personally redeemed with the precious Blood of Christ and upon whom God has bestowed His righteousness as a free gift, belong to Christ. They alone may rightly be called Christians. They alone are members of the one universal and eternal Church which is the Body of Christ.
Each local church is a fellowship of believers gathered by Christ and under His sole, sufficient and supreme authority. Through Him, as Head of the Church, it has direct access to God and enjoys fellowship with other Congregations of His people in a unity which transcends all barriers.
The Holy Spirit gives many different gifts to equip all God’s people for ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, and He determines what is given to each believer. A gift is to be valued in the Church according to its contribution to the common good.
Every Christian is called to love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength; and to love his neighbour as himself. Therefore, all are to live godly lives, doing all things to the glory of God. The indwelling Holy Spirit makes this new life a reality as they yield themselves to Him.
Baptism is a sacrament ordained by Jesus Christ as a sign and seal of the Covenant of Grace. Where one who confesses faith in Christ is baptised, the sacrament is seen as an outward and visible sign of newness of life through faith in Christ on the part of the candidate.
Or
Where an infant of confessing parents is baptised, the sacrament is seen as an outward and visible sign of the Grace of God that works in the life prior to the response of faith, calling the one baptised to grow up into Christ and put on Christ.
The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament ordained by Jesus Christ and is to be observed in the churches for a perpetual remembrance and showing forth of the sacrifice of Christ, the spiritual nourishment of believers and a sign of their communion with one another.
We affirm the obligation to fulfil the Commission given to the Church by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples of all nations.
FAQs
Congregationalism is over 350 years old, a Protestant movement that has its roots in the Puritans. It seeks to be faithful to the Bible and to the independence of local churches. We don’t have bishops or any hierarchy over the local church. Together, every member is responsible to seek God’s direction for the church. Everyone has role and no-one is the ‘boss.’
In our services: We aim to have a child-friendly service, with a section at the back reserved for ‘crawl space’ and a cry room. We have creche each week for preschool children, and kids’ church during the service on the first and third Sundays. We have a good number of families ranging from newborns to Primary aged children.
During the week: We have Youth Group, Boys Brigade and Netball teams
Sunday School takes place before church, 9.00-10.00am. There are Bible study groups for men and women at the same time, and morning tea between Sunday School and church.
At Revesby we love to sing! We use a mix of both new and old songs, and the words are the important thing. If the words are good and the music is singable, we’ll use it, no matter when it was written! Currently we have musicians playing piano, flute, organ, guitar and bass guitar. We encourage new musicians to join the team.
Our order of service is printed in the bulletin each week, so there are no surprises. The person leading the service will always clearly explain what is happening. Usually we stand to sing and sit for everything else. You are not required to stand, especially if health reasons prevent it.
Mornings: We normally go through different books of the Bible. The Bible is God’s message to the world and and it is true, gripping, challenging and encouraging. The preaching aims to simply explain what the Bible means and apply it to life today in a helpful way.
Evenings: In a more relaxed atmosphere we have shorter messages, either live or from a DVD. We use the time to discuss what has been said, with questions and answers. It’s more of a cross between a church service and a Bible study. And we do that over supper!
The Lord’s Supper (or Communion) is a special time that Jesus commanded his followers to remember him by. We use bread and grape juice to remind ourselves about his death for us and the forgiveness of our sins. It is a simple time usually held at the end of the first morning service and third evening service of each month. Anyone who has asked Jesus for forgiveness and is seeking to follow him is most welcome to take part. You don’t have to be a member to participate.
Each church has their own way of doing this, and so the leader always clearly explains what is happening.
If you are not a Christian as yet please feel free to watch and listen to what is happening. You do not need to take part and your decision will be respected.
As an independent church we have to meet all our financial obligations without outside help. Regular attenders contribute money to help pay for things like insurance, utilities, the pastor’s stipend, etc.
We have a time in the church when the offering is taken up. We recognise that God has been very generous to us, and so we can afford to be generous too. Along with praying, singing and preaching, the offering is part of our worship to God.
Ten percent of all our offerings is given to support missionaries and other workers in Australia and around the world.
Some people give weekly, others fortnightly, depending on their pay situation. Others make use of online giving.
Guests and visitors are not expected to contribute.
Normally 60 – 70 minutes, and a bit longer when we have the Lord’s Supper.
No. People wear what is comfortable for them, usually neat casual.
Please contact us by email or phone and we’re only too happy to answer any of your questions.