Our faith
What We Teach
At All Saints Paderborn, we want to be clear about the Christian faith that shapes our worship, teaching and life together.
We are a church in the Anglican tradition. Our teaching is rooted in the Bible, centred on Jesus Christ, shaped by the historic Christian faith, and open to the presence and work of the Holy Spirit.
We gladly stand with Christians across the world and through the centuries in the faith expressed in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.
The following sets out the Christian faith as it will be taught at All Saints. It is not a test you have to pass before you can belong here. People come to church at different stages of faith, with different experiences and plenty of questions. You are welcome to come, explore, ask questions and discover more about Jesus with us.
What we teach · 1
God
We believe in one God, eternally existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God created all things and sustains all things. He is holy, loving, just, merciful and faithful. He made us to know Him, worship Him and live in relationship with Him.
Christian faith begins not with our search for God, but with the God who has made Himself known to us.
What we teach · 2
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, truly God and truly human.
Through Him all things were made, and in Jesus, God entered our world and took on our humanity. He was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, proclaimed the Kingdom of God, healed the sick, welcomed the outsider and revealed the Father to us.
On the cross Jesus died in our place, bearing our sin and its consequences, defeating the powers of evil and reconciling us to God.
On the third day He rose bodily from the dead, defeating sin and death. He ascended into heaven, reigns as Lord, and will come again to judge the living and the dead and renew all things.
Jesus Christ is the only Saviour and is at the centre of who we are. Christianity is ultimately not simply a set of beliefs or a way of life, but knowing and following Him.
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The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life.
The Holy Spirit brings us to faith in Jesus, gives new life, assures us that we belong to God and transforms us to become more like Christ.
We believe the Holy Spirit is active in the Church today. He gives gifts to His people for worship, mission and ministry, and we expect God to speak, guide, heal, empower and work among us.
We want to be a church that is open to the presence and gifts of the Holy Spirit while testing everything faithfully against Scripture, and exercising these gifts, as St Paul instructs, in a fitting and orderly way.
What we teach · 4
The Bible
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are divinely inspired, fully trustworthy and are God’s word written. They are our supreme authority for what we believe and how we live.
The Bible tells the great story of God’s creation, humanity’s rebellion, God’s rescue and the renewal of all things through Jesus Christ.
We therefore seek to read Scripture carefully, teach it faithfully and allow it to shape our beliefs, our character and the way we live.
We do not simply want to know the Bible; we want, by God’s grace, to live lives formed by it.
What we teach · 5
Humanity, Sin and Grace
We believe every human being is made in the image of God and therefore possesses God-given dignity and worth.
At the same time, humanity is affected by sin. We have turned away from God and cannot restore our relationship with Him through our own goodness, religious activity or effort.
The good news of Christianity is that God has acted for us.
Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, forgiveness and reconciliation with God are offered freely by grace.
We are justified, put right with God, not through anything we can achieve for ourselves, but solely by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
We receive this gift through repentance and faith. Salvation is God’s gift from beginning to end.
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New Life in Christ
Following Jesus means more than making a one-time decision. Jesus calls us to become His disciples.
Through the Holy Spirit, God begins a lifelong work of transformation in us. We learn to worship God, pray, understand Scripture, love one another, forgive, serve, pursue holiness and share our faith.
We will never do this perfectly. The Christian life is one of grace, repentance, growth and increasing trust in Jesus.
At All Saints, we want to help people take their next step with Christ, wherever they are starting from, and offer clear pathways of discipleship to help them grow as mature disciples of Jesus.
What we teach · 7
The Church
We believe the Church is the people of God: the worldwide family of everyone who belongs to Jesus Christ.
The local church is a community in which God’s people gather to worship, hear God’s word, pray, share Holy Communion, encourage one another and are equipped to live as disciples of Jesus in everyday life.
We are part of the Anglican tradition and value its pattern of Scripture, sacrament, prayer and historic Christian worship.
Through Baptism we are welcomed into the life of the Church, and in Holy Communion we remember and proclaim Christ’s saving death, receive His grace and share together in the meal Jesus gave to His Church.
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The Kingdom of God
Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God.
We believe that through Jesus, God’s Kingdom has already broken into our world, although we still await the day when Christ will return and all things will be made new.
The Church is therefore called not only to speak about Jesus but to demonstrate something of His Kingdom.
That means caring for people, seeking justice, showing compassion, welcoming the stranger, serving our communities, praying for healing, supporting those in need and sharing the good news of Jesus.
What we teach · 9
Mission
Jesus sends His Church into the world to make disciples of all nations.
Every Christian has a part to play in that mission.
At All Saints Paderborn, we want to be a church for Paderborn and the surrounding region: welcoming people from different nations and backgrounds, serving military and veteran communities, internationals, students, professionals, individuals and families.
Our desire is to introduce people to Jesus, help them grow as His disciples and equip them to live out their faith wherever God has placed them.
What we teach · 10
The Future
We believe that Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return.
God will raise the dead, evil will finally be defeated and all people will stand before God in judgement. Those who belong to Christ will share in eternal life with Him, and God will bring about the renewal of creation, a new heaven and a new earth.
The Christian hope is not ultimately that we escape this world, but that God will make all things new.
Until that day, the Church is called to worship faithfully, live hopefully, love generously and make Jesus known.
Come and explore
Come and Explore
You do not have to understand everything about Christianity before coming to All Saints.
Questions are welcome. Doubts can be talked about. Faith often begins with simply taking the next step.
At the heart of everything we teach is a person: Jesus Christ.
Our invitation is the same as His:
Come and see.