The church has adopted the following statement with regard to the 2010 Equality Act.
Oasis Community Church Ethos Statement
1.Our Christian Identity
Oasis Community Church (“this church”) is a community of Christians who live to worship God, to grow in our understanding and experience of God, to share the good news about Jesus Christ and to work for the common good. It is this Christian identity, our covenant with the Baptist community and this church’s agreed beliefs and values that are the foundation of all we are and do.
2. Our Commitment to the Wider Baptist Community
Oasis Community Church has chosen to covenant with the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) and its member churches and organisations. Therefore, BUGB’s Declaration of Principle, Vision and Culture all inform our ethos as a Baptist church.
The Declaration of Principle
The three-part ‘Declaration of Principle’ forms the basis of understanding for all who belong to the Baptist Union and this church affirms this declaration prayerfully and wholeheartedly:
1. That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each Church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
2. That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who ‘died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third day’.
3. That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.
3. Our Values
In addition to the Declaration of Principle of The Baptist Union of Great Britain this church has adopted a Statement of Faith which is annexed hereto and which forms the basis for our mission and ministry. (you can access the Statement of Faith here)
Statement of Beliefs
In recognition of the Baptist principle that each church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer the laws of Jesus Christ, and following the ethos outlined above, Oasis Community Church has discerned and agreed to hold to the following theological convictions.
Women in Leadership[1]
This church holds to the view that, whilst God created women and men equal in personhood and that he calls and equips both into a vast array of roles, including leadership, God intends that the position of pastor in the church should only be held by men.
Sex and Gender
This church holds to the understanding that the Bible teaches that God created man and woman and that a person’s gender identity is God given, established at conception, and recognised biologically at birth.
Sexual Orientation & Same-Sex Marriage
This church holds to the understanding that sexual orientation in and of itself is not a barrier to participation in the life of the church. However, we believe that sexual relationships can only be expressed in marriage which we recognise exclusively as being between a biological man and a biological woman.
Marriage & Divorce
This church holds to the understanding that neither divorce or remarriage are necessarily barriers to church leadership or full participation in the life of the church.
Statement of Inclusion
Oasis Community Church holds that all people are loved by God and are invited into his Kingdom life. We are therefore called to become a church community where all are loved and are invited to belong.
We welcome everyone regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, physical and mental ability, neurodiversity, education, class, economic status and political outlook to participate in our church life together.
Full participation includes being eligible to participate in all areas of the mission and ministry of the church, including baptism, communion, church membership, child dedication, and positions of leadership.
Our welcoming of everyone includes those who may struggle with our commitment to offering participation to all, and calls each of us to graciously live together in the community of Christ regardless of our differences.