The basics
We believe that life is meant to be lived in relationship with Jesus Christ. In common with other Christians and other churches, we want to deepen that relationship with Jesus and to follow him in the way that Jesus taught and lived.
The Church of England
The seven parishes of the Kent Downs and Malling Team ministry are all part of the Church of England and so we share the basics of our faith with the Anglican church worldwide.
People often point to something called “The 39 Articles” as the basis for Anglican Christianity. The 39 Articles of Religion were published in The Book of Common Prayer in the 17th century and they have set out many key tenets as the basis of Anglican faith and belief for several hundred years.
The 39 Articles are quite traditional in their language but the main points are that:
- We believe in one God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- We believe that the Bible contains everything we need in order to have a relationship with God and to live as God would intend.
- We understand the Nicene Creed (.pdf file) and the Apostles’ Creed as sufficient summary statements of the Christian faith.
There’s an old Latin expression that is used in the Church of England sometimes that translates roughly as ‘we are as we worship’. In other words, you will find out what we’re like and what we believe by coming along to worship with us. We’d love you to join us for worship on Sunday mornings in any one of the churches where we meet.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the Christian faith, then you can find out a little more on our website here and we also recommend visiting christianity.org.uk.
Other associations
We are committed to playing our part in the communities of Addington, Birling, Leybourne, Offham, Ryarsh, Trottiscliffe and West Malling and in the wider Malling area and we enjoy good relations with local councils and other community groups. We are also blessed to have both Malling Abbey and the Pilsdon Community locally as well. Our Links page has more information on these and other local partners.
We are also committed to working with and for our local schools, some of which are Church Schools and where we have a particular role and duty. There are six primary schools within the boundaries of our Team Ministry and we seek to serve and support them all.