What we believe

Bread of Life’s
Statement of Faith

Whether you’re new to faith or exploring what we’re about, this is where we share our core beliefs that define who we are and how we live.

What is a Statement of Faith?

A statement of faith answers the question: ‘What do you actually believe?‘ For our Bible-believing church in Clacton on Sea, ours isn’t just theology on paper; it’s the living framework that guides every worship service, community outreach, and pastoral decision we make.

At Bread of Life Community Church, we have 15 core beliefs which don’t just define what we think, they determine how we live as followers of Jesus Christ.

What’s on during the week?

Sunday Service at 3:30pm at the Brotherhood Hall in Clacton on Sea

Monday Prayer Group in Clacton on Sea

Tuesday Ladies Bible Study (Fortnightly) and Men’s Bible Study (Monthly)

Wednesday Evangelism in Colchester, Essex at 11:30am

Thursday Evangelism in Clacton on Sea, Essex at 11:00am

Thursday Bible Study in Clacton on Sea 4:00pm and 6:00pm

Friday Prayer for Israel Meeting

Saturday Evangelism Away Days

Bread of Life Community Church’s Statement of Faith

What we believe about…

We believe there is only one true God (Isaiah 44:6, 46:9, Mark 12:32) who exists in three distinct persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). These three are in perfect unity as the one and only God (Deuteronomy 6:4).

We believe Jesus Christ is God’s only Son (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9, 5:5), who became a human being (John 1:14, Philippians 2:8, 1 Timothy 3:16). He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-20, Luke 1:34- 35), and therefore without sin (1 John 3:5). He was fully God and fully human (John 1:1, Colossians 1:19, 2:9, Philippians 2:7, 1 Timothy 2:5). He suffered death by crucifixion as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:2). He rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 28:1-10, John 20:1-18, Romans 1:4, 8:11, 1 Corinthians 15:4), and ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) and thus was made equal with the Father.

We believe the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God which is given to all who are born-again through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (John 20:22, Acts 2:38, 5:32). It is the Holy Spirit who transforms sinners into new creations, making them God’s children (John 1:12-13) and sealing them for the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5). The Holy Spirit empowers believers to live obedient Godly lives and to turn away from sin (Romans 8:29, 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Galatians 5:16-25). The Holy Spirit teaches believers the truth and true meaning of the Scriptures (John 14:26, 16:13). As well as receiving the Holy Spirit upon salvation, believers may also be baptised with the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ, to impart power for service and Spiritual gifts (Matthew 3:11, John 1:33, Acts 1:5, 11:16).

We believe the Holy Bible is the infallible, inerrant, and immutable Word of God (John 10:35). It is through the Bible that God chose to reveal Himself to humanity, and the Bible remains the ultimate authority over all mankind. The 66 books of the Bible, although physically penned by prophets, kings, apostles, and others, were all written under direct inspiration of the Spirit of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:19-21), and are all part of a single integrated message. The Scriptures in their original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) are perfect, pure, and life-giving (Psalm 12:6, Proverbs 30:5, Hebrews 4:12). God has supernaturally protected His words from corruption at the hands of men (Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35). The words of God are never to be removed, added to, or altered in any way (Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:6, Revelation 22:18-19). The Bible is to be diligently read, studied, meditated upon, correctly understood, and obeyed by all believers (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4, Luke 11:28, 2 Timothy 2:15). The ultimate purpose of the Bible however is to point us to Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Redeemer (John 5:39-40, Galatians 3:24-25).

We believe that sin and death entered the world through Adam’s disobedience (Romans 5:12), and that the entire earth and mankind are cursed as a result of sin (Genesis 3:14-19). Every person inherits a sinful nature from the womb, and is born with a desire and a natural inclination to sin (Psalm 51:5, 58:3, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 8:6-7, Galatians 5:17, James 1:14). Due to our sinful nature, every human being has sinned against God in thought, word, and deed (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8-10). Our sins have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2), leaving mankind in a condition of complete spiritual depravity. Human beings are spiritually dead because of sin (Ephesians 2:1-2, Colossians 2:13) and so, in our natural state, incapable of seeking, knowing, loving, and obeying a holy righteous God (Psalm 14:1-3, Romans 3:11-12).

We believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the one and only way God has ordained for any person to be saved from their state of sin (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). Salvation and eternal life cannot be earned, nor are they a reward for good works, but are given solely as a free gift by God’s grace and mercy (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-5). However, due to mankind being spiritually dead because of sin, a convicting work of the Holy Spirit is needed for any person to be able to repent and believe. This conviction is conveyed to every person (John 12:32, John 16:8, Acts 17:30), who then has the personal responsibility, free will, and choice to either accept or reject God’s gift (Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Joshua 24:15, Matthew 23:37). On the Day of Judgement, every person who has rejected Jesus Christ will be condemned for eternity in hell (John 3:18, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, Revelation 20:11-15). There is no other way to salvation and eternal life (John 14:6, Galatians 1:8-9).

We believe every person who has been born again should be baptised, which means by immersion (Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38). This is to symbolise the burial of the old sinner, the raising to life of the new creation (Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12), and the washing away of the person’s sins (Acts 22:16). Baptism is done as a public declaration of faith after salvation, rather than as a requirement for salvation. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a separate experience to being born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8) and being baptised in water (Acts 8:14-17).

We believe in the partaking of the Lord’s Supper, consisting of bread representing Christ’s body which was broken, and wine representing Christ’s blood which was shed for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 22:15-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). We do this as a memorial of Christ’s sacrifice and as a collective expression of our personal faith in His death and resurrection. Communion is strictly for born-again believers who are walking in faithful obedience to God (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). Non-believers or believers who have backslidden into unrepentant sin are to abstain from communion until repentance is reached.

We believe God ordained marriage to be solely between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5, Ephesians 5:31). Marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ and His bride – the Church (1 Corinthians 11:3, Ephesians 5:23, Revelation 19:7-9). Likewise, sexual intimacy is to be practised exclusively between one man and one woman who have entered into a marriage covenant recognised by God (1 Corinthians 7:2).

We believe that the universal Church consists of all born-again believers who have the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Believers make up the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) and Christ Himself is the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18).

In the local church, we believe in the frequent and consistent meeting and fellowship of believers together (Hebrews 10:25). We believe Christ has appointed pastors, teachers, and elders to oversee, shepherd, disciple, correct, teach, and equip God’s people (Ephesians 4:11, Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:2). Those placed in these positions of authority must meet any relevant criteria set out in 1 Timothy ch. 3 and Titus 1:5-9. Believers are to submit to church leaders, learn from them, and follow in their example (1 Corinthians 11:1, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 5:1-5). We believe that God has reserved exclusively for men the responsibility of teaching (1 Corinthians 14:34-35, 1 Timothy 2:12-14). However older women should teach younger women in family matters (Titus 2:3-5). We believe in modest dress for both men and women (1 Timothy 2:9), including head coverings for women during praise and worship, as an outward expression of humility and submission (1 Corinthians 11:1-16). Head coverings are not to be worn by men during praise and worship (1 Corinthians 11:4-7). We believe every born-again believer and every church should actively evangelise and publicly share their faith (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Romans 10:14). We believe in the observance and theological basis for the feasts and holy days ordained by God (Leviticus ch. 23), not as a matter of legalism or compulsion (Colossians 2:16, Romans 14:5-6), but because the Gentile Church shares in the roots of the faith handed down to Israel and as an expression of our love and reverence for God (Romans 11:11-18).

We believe all nine spiritual gifts are active and available for believers today, practised and understood scripturally (Mark 16:17-18, 1 Corinthians ch. 12 to 14). The authentic practice of spiritual gifts comes after baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-11, 10:44-47, 11:14-16, 19:6).

We believe that Satan the devil, originally an archangel of God, was cast out of Heaven along with one third of the angels (Revelation 12:4) as the result of leading a rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-14, Luke 10:18) and is now the chief of those fallen angels or demons. Satan is the present ruler of this world (John 12:32, 14:30, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2, 1 John 5:19), and along with his army of demons, is the origin of all evil. However Satan is limited to the boundaries and restrictions God has set him (Job 1:12). In the last days, Satan will be manifest on the earth in the person of Antichrist (Daniel 7:20-25, 8:23-25, 9:27, 11:36-37, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 1 John 2:18, Revelation 13:1-18), who will be the final world leader. Hell was created as the final place of judgment for Satan and all demons (Matthew 25:41).

We believe the ancient and modern Jewish state of Israel was and still is God’s chosen nation (Deuteronomy 7:6-8, 14:2, Psalm 135:4), with Jerusalem as its eternal and undivided capital (2 Samuel 5:6-10, 1 Chronicles 11:4-9, 2 Chronicles 6:5-6, Ezra 1:2-3). The nation of Israel was chosen by God to bring the Messiah into the world and to be a light to the Gentiles (Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 49:6, John 4:22, Acts 13:47). Both the old covenant and the new covenant were made with Israel and the Jews (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Romans 9:4-5, Hebrews 8:8-12). Non-Jewish believers are grafted into Israel and become spiritual descendants of Abraham (Romans 4:12, 9:8, 11:17, Galatians 3:29), and share in the blessings and promises made to Abraham Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 22:18, Galatians 3:14). Likewise, unbelieving Jews are cut off from the promises of God concerning Israel (Romans 11:20), until they repent and accept their Messiah (Romans 11:23-24). We believe in the rebirth of the nation of Israel and we support the regathering of the Jewish people to their rightful homeland (Deuteronomy 30:1-5, Isaiah 11:11-12, Jeremiah 30:3, Ezekiel 11:16-18, 20:41, 34:12-13, 36:24, Hosea 1:10-11, Amos 9:14-15, Micah 2:12, Zephaniah 3:19-20). We believe this land was promised exclusively to the Jewish people as part of an everlasting covenant made to Abraham Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 17:7-8, 26:2-4, 28:13-15, Leviticus 26:44-45). When the times of the Gentiles come to an end (Luke 21:24, Romans 11:25), Jesus will redeem the remnant of the nation of Israel (Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11:26).

We believe God created the earth, and everything in it, in six literal 24 hour days (Genesis 1:1-31, Exodus 20:11) and rested on the 7th day (Genesis 2:2). We believe that God created mankind in His own image and that there are only two genders, male and female (Genesis 1:27). We believe that life begins at conception (Psalm 139:13-14, Luke 1:41). We believe the teachings of the Bible are consistent with the scientific evidence that the whole universe, including the earth, is young; approximately 6000 years old.

We believe in the literal physical return of Jesus Christ to earth (Zechariah 14:4, Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11-21) to: raise all believers to life (1 Corinthians 15:12-58, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17); redeem the remnant of the nation of Israel (Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11:26); reign on David’s throne for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4); and bring judgment to the unrighteous (Matthew 25:31-46, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, Revelation 20:11-15).

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At Bread of Life Community Church, You’re Welcome Here

We believe church isn’t just a place you visit, it’s a family you belong to. Whether you’re taking your first steps of faith or have been walking with Jesus for years, you’ll find a warm welcome and genuine fellowship here.

Ready to visit? We’d love to meet you! Join us this Sunday and experience the love of Christ in action.

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Become a Member at Bread of Life Community Church

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1

Biblical unity isn’t just a nice idea, it’s God’s design for His Church. When believers are united in doctrine, purpose, and love, we become a powerful witness to the world and a source of strength for one another.

At Bread of Life Community Church, membership means more than just having your name on a list. It means:

  • Standing together on the foundational truths of Scripture.
  • Growing together in biblical knowledge and spiritual maturity.
  • Serving together to advance God’s kingdom.
  • Supporting one another through every season of life.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Our 9-week Membership Course at Bread of Life Community Church with
Pastor Stephen Clayden will take you deeper into our Statement of Faith, equipping you to understand these biblical truths and confidently share and defend them in your daily life.

This isn’t just about joining a church, it’s about being equipped as a disciple of Christ, ready to stand firm in your faith and make a difference in your community.

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