Our Beliefs
For the sake of consistency and clarity, we have set out the beliefs that we hold and practice together in two documents: a Doctrinal Statement and a Doctrinal Summary. The Doctrinal Statement contains the full statement of our beliefs, along with references to the Bible passages in which they are found and relevant teaching resources. The Doctrinal Summary is the shorter of the two documents and provides a brief introduction to, and summary of, our beliefs.
Each of these documents includes two main sections: Decisive Doctrines and Distinctive Doctrines. Decisive Doctrines are those that all genuine, healthy and faithful Christians believe. As a result, we believe these doctrines in common with other evangelical Christians and local churches. However, there are some doctrines that other genuine, healthy and faithful Christians may not share. These primarily relate to the nature and practice of the local church and are described as Distinctive Doctrines.
You can access both the Doctrinal Statement and Doctrinal Summary using the relevant buttons below. If you have any questions about what is contained in either of them, please do let us know.
“The Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God and, being clear and inerrant, is the final and sufficient authority for all of Christian faith and practice.”
Reception Policy
Given that we meet in a residential area of central London, we often have visitors attending each of our services. Whether you have been before or not, we would love to meet you. Everyone is welcome to attend any of our meetings – no matter their background or faith.
However, given the open nature of some of our services (for example, the Lord's Supper and Prayer Meeting and Bible Reading) we would ask that if you wish to participate in these services (e.g. pray, teach from the Bible or partake of the bread and cup) that you do so in accordance with our Reception Policy. Our Reception Policy explains how we apply our beliefs, as set out in our Doctrinal Summary and Doctrinal Statement, to visitors and members.
In summary, we ask that only those who CONFESS a similar faith by professing to believe the same core doctrines (known as Decisive Doctrines in Our Beliefs), COMMIT to observe the same local church practices while participating (known as Distinctive Doctrines in Our Beliefs) and COMMEND the above to us by way of verbal, written or electronic communication from their current local church, a member of Bermondsey Gospel Hall or as part of a personal discussion with us participate in our services.
Our Reception Policy is built on our understanding of the Biblical teaching surrounding the nature of the local church, the responsibilities and privileges of members and the principle behind the Lord's Supper. If you have any questions, we would love to discuss these with you. Alternatively, you can find more details in our full Reception Policy by following the button below.