Our faith

What it means to be a Christian
Christian life is lived in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and in common with other Christians in the church seeking to deepen that relationship and to follow the way that Jesus taught.

For Christians, God is understood and known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
…Father… God is love, caring for creation and for every human being as God's beloved child.
…Son… God is as he has revealed himself to be in the historical person of Jesus Christ. Jesus' life, death and resurrection holds the key to knowing and loving God, and to making sense of life, before and after death.
…and Holy Spirit… God is alive, loving and active today, inspiring faith, justice and truth, sustaining the life of the world, giving spiritual gifts to the church and bearing his spiritual fruit in the world - changed lives and a transformed society.

Finding out more
If you want to wait before contacting anyone, and you'd rather find out more about Jesus online visit www.rejesus.co.uk or www.christianity.org.uk or see our Useful Links page. You can also learn more about God as he is in Jesus by reading the Bible - why not start with the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament?

But because Christianity is about relationship and community, the best way to find out about faith and prayer, to raise questions and to get help, is to meet some Christians. The Church of England and the Methodist Church are just two of the Christian churches in this country. We seek to work alongside other Christian churches and denominations as closely as we can, not least through the Ilkeston Area Churches Together (IACT) group. The six churches of West Hallam, Stanley, Stanley Common and Mapperley would like to welcome you at one of their services or other events and hope that the pages of this site provide you with a good introduction.