The Churches of Christ in Australia is a movement of the people of God gathering around the central figure of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, living out His way in our local communities and inviting others to do the same. We are a movement of independent Christian churches, who champion, support and resource one other in living out the radical mission of God in our culture in this time. You could say that they are another denomination, but in contrast to other groups, Churches of Christ are committed to the independence and autonomy of each local church. We are all different, and we all operate in a different local setting, so we will all do things differently, but Jesus is central to who we are and all we do.
While worship styles and approaches can vary between individual churches, we all adhere to the doctrine of Believer’s Baptism (not infant baptism or christening) and join together to share communion every week.
The Churches of Christ grew out of the Restoration Movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, which sought to move past the divisions in the wider Church and unite on the basics of the faith. The catchcry was, and still is “in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, in all things, charity“.
As for what that means now, for us at The Bridge Church, we work together with other like-minded churches and organisations to present and live out the Gospel in Australia and beyond. We are an active member of the Churches of Christ Vic/Tas conference, and we can know that we are part of a greater whole, a movement that spans the world and works to bring the love and truth of God to a world that needs it.
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As a Church of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania we have affirmed and adopted a number of Collective Statements on issues such as Refugees and Asylum Seekers, First Peoples, Domestic Violence and Disability Inclusion. These Statements represent the larger goals and beliefs of Churches of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania and it is our hope and goal that we as a church would live into these Statements in all we do as a church community.