In common with other Bible-believing churches, we
recognise that central to meeting these goals are the
following activities:
In seeking to recognise the specific ways in which we
as a church might seek to glorify God, to support each
other and to witness to the world, we identify the
following strategic focuses in which we believe God is
calling us to concentrate our energies at this time:
1) In-depth ministry of the Word of God
Surrey Chapel has a historic commitment to
in-depth Biblical ministry. Proclaiming ‘eternal
truth for a changing world’ continues to be our
ongoing priority. Expository preaching is central to
the role of our Pastor. We aim to identify and to
develop the gifts of men and women in preaching,
teaching, evangelism and other Word-based ministries
within our Church and beyond. We provide ministry
and support for smaller churches in the area with
similar vision. We are committed to support
long-term ministry training for building the UK and
worldwide church.
2) Equipping our members to live for Christ where
God has placed them
Most of our church family travel some distance to
Surrey Chapel. We are drawn from a wide area by the
vision we share. The majority of most members’ time
and resources is spent in callings beyond the church
building. So we aim to equip Christians to live
effectively for Christ in the contexts in which the
Lord has placed them: their homes and families;
their work and study; their community and
citizenship, and their wider Christian interests and
leisure activities. In so doing we support fellow
Christians, influence the world, meet social needs,
proclaim the Gospel and honour our God. Central to
this are our network of Fellowship Groups and ‘
interest groups’– e.g. Sketchers, Smarties, 18-30s –
that provide friendship, support and evangelistic
contact.
3) Engaging with Surrey Chapel’s local area
We believe we have a calling to serve our
locality but recognise that few of our present
members live nearby. We therefore target activities
for specific groups with which we already have
links, such as Christmas shoppers in Anglia Square
and the local residences for the elderly. We seek to
maintain a visible presence in the area and to make
a positive contribution to its life. We are
exploring other means of connecting with people who
live, work or shop in the locality, in co-operation
with other Churches and organisations, with a view
to encouraging Christian fellowship, meeting social
needs and proclaiming the gospel.
4) Engaging with God’s work in the wider world
Surrey Chapel is an internationally-minded church
seeking, with the guidance of its Mission Support
Team, to maintain its longstanding commitment to the
Great Commission of Jesus Christ to go into all the
world with the gospel. To our mutual benefit, we
actively foster diverse relationships with
individuals, churches and organisations overseas and
in the UK engaged in church-building, evangelism and
promoting Christian compassion and values in
society. We aim to encourage and support individuals
from within our congregation into training and
service whenever we recognise a call to serve
further a field. We are members of the FIEC and
Evangelical Alliance.
5) International and UK students
Many people come to study in our city and enrich
our community. We aim to offer challenging and
relevant Bible teaching, practical support and
hospitality in order to reach out to those
international and UK students who are not
Christians, and to sustain those who already believe
and to equip them for their future service. We
support the work of Friends International, UCCF and
Christian Unions and co-operate with other churches
with a similar vision.
6) Strategic youth and children’s work
Young people form a significant and valued part
of our church family. Surrey Chapel provides youth
and children’s work ministry that is both in depth
and relational. We aim to supplement the central
role of Christian parents, providing in-depth Bible
teaching, adult relationships and peer groups that
help bring youngsters to personal faith and to equip
them to live in a hostile world. We aim to reach
youngsters from outside the church through
friendship networks and interest-based activities.
We are seeking to build upon the foundations laid by
our football groups and our Holiday Clubs, and to
explore other avenues. We support and co-operate
with others with a similar vision, including Norwich
Youth for Christ.
This vision statement is currently under review
(January 2009). We recognise that increased attendance
at Surrey Chapel is not the only measure of progress in
any of these areas; our vision is to identify and to
realise the contribution that God calls Surrey Chapel to
make to the wider Kingdom of God.
