Our Vision
To Be a Church that Impacts a Community
Our Purpose:
We Make Disciples!
From studying God’s Word (especially Acts 2:42-47), we believe as a church we are called to:
WORSHIP our God
CARE for one another
EQUIP our people
SHARE His love.
In other words, it is our mission to be a church where each person genuinely worships God, loves and cares for each other, is provided with opportunities to mature in their Christian faith and service and shares the relevant message of Christ with others.
Our Core Values:
We value life related Bible centred preaching and teaching as the Bible is God’s word to us.
All Scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17.
We value Godly servant leadership in every area of the church ministry.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with god something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. Philippians 2: 5-7.
We value prayer where we communicate with our God and allow Him to communicate to us by his word and his Spirit
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything be in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6.
We value commitment to growing in relationship with God; to loving and caring for each other; to helping others know him more fully
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you to the very end of the age. Matthew28: 18-20.
We value evangelism and mission where we share the good news of Jesus, locally and globally.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3: 16.
10 Objectives:
- To be a church where God’s Word is proclaimed, where prayer is made for individual, local, national and world issues, and where worshippers are passionate about their God and serving Him.
- To disciple and encourage each Christian to grow in Christ-likeness and to be equipped to fulfill their God given potential in service to their Lord.
- To be a church that reaches out with the gospel of hope to a hurting and needy community and that expects to regularly see people committing their lives to Christ for salvation.
- To develop CBC as a centre for excellent ministry into its community by providing quality seminars, workshops and resources on appropriate community issues.
- To expand our ministry to children and youth by providing God honoring, safe programs, appropriate for each age group.
- To seek to meet the needs of an ageing population by providing ministry, care and support for ageing residents in the church and in the community.
- To minister to men and women of our church and community, by assisting them to find fulfillment and make their contribution to God’s world.
- To welcome and integrate every new person into the life and ministry of the church.
- To expand and more fully resource our team of missionaries serving their Lord in a variety of ways, in many places around the world.
- To redevelop and expand our property to provide effective and efficient facilities for each ministry need, at a quality that honors the Lord whom we serve.
What we believe:
- There is one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He created and sustains the universe and gave us life.
- Jesus Christ is God in human form. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died for the sins of the world, rose bodily from the grave, entered heaven and one day will return to this earth.
- The Holy Spirit lives in every believer and is at work in the world today.
- The Bible is God’s living word to us and is our authority for what we believe and how we live.
- Satan is a spiritual being opposed to God, but ultimately subject to God’s purposes.
- People are made in the image of God and are the supreme focus of his creative work but because of sin are hopelessly lost, separated from God and destined for hell but….
- Salvation is God’s free gift through repentance from sin and belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection giving eternal life.
- The church is the body of Christ. The local Church is to grow Christians and be a centre for service and witness.
- Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only two ceremonies given by Jesus Christ through Scripture to be observed by the Church.
How do we Live?
We believe the Bible is God’s Word to us and has authority for belief and conduct, so we
Study it. Teach it. Apply it. Live it.
When faced with a decision, we ask “What would Jesus do?”and then ask for His strength and power to do it!
‘The Road to Maturity’
Is an attempt to visualise the path for Christians at Cleveland Baptist Church, although we recognise that each journey will be slightly different.
Welcome Everyone
Everyone, regardless of background or station in life is welcome. We seek to make contact with newcomers by letter, phone and visit
Catching the Vision
We are working to help newcomers and long term attendees catch the vision God has given us for ministry to this community.
Helping new Christians
For those coming to faith in Christ we offer Christianity Explained, Alpha and other suitable programs.
Being Discipled and Finding a Mentor
We encourage every new Christian to be part of a discipleship process in a group or with and individual mentor.
Active in a Small Group
It is our experience that participation in a Small group is a great way to grow and be encouraged in our walk with Christ
Discovering Personal Gifts and Passion
Every Christian has a Spiritual Gift and God given abilities. We help Christians to discover and develop these.
Serving the Lord in a Ministry
Our gift and abilities are for God’s service so we encourage each person to be involved in serving our Lord in at least one ministry.
How do we function
Cleveland Baptist Church is an autonomous church, that is, it makes its own decisions, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, without any group or individual having authority to impose upon it. The members of the the church meet each quarter to pray, discuss and decide upon the major issues.
At the annual General Meeting the members elect Deacons who together with the Pastors, form the leadership team. Deacons are appointed as Pastoral Deacons and Ministry Deacons. Pastoral Deacons look after the spiritual and pastoral issues. Ministry Deacons see to the implementation of the vision and mission of the church.
Pastors are appointed by the church at a Pastoral Call Members Meeting upon a recommendation from the Leadership Team. The church also recognises Ministry Leaders who have shown passion and gifting to lead a ministry.
Cleveland Baptist Church is affiliated with Queensland Baptists (The Baptist Union), a family of churches across the state who together are involved in local and overseas ministries, social services, theological and leadership training and other activities to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of people in today’s world.
Cleveland Baptist Church is financed only by the gifts of its people. These offerings are used to pay pastoral and office staff, support missionaries sent out by the church, upkeep the property and pay for the ministries of the church.