Where We've Come From

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Our History

Craigmore Christian Church is affiliated with the Christian Community Churches of Australia.

Our story began in 1962, when the new City of Elizabeth just north of Adelaide was being built. One of the many hundreds of construction workers involved in building the city was a man named Bill Springham. He had a passion to share the gospel of Jesus with the people who were moving into this fledgling community. He with his friends Murray & Heather Jackson began a Sunday School in Elizabeth Park Primary School in the new satellite city.

The Elizabeth Christian Church began to meet a little while later in the home of Ron & Lib Sweetman. The church fellowship grew and eventually moved to its new building on the corner of Hart Street and Yorktown Road in 1967, where it continued until May 1981.

Due to God’s blessing, the growth of the church congregation and the need for larger facilities for the newly established Craigmore Christian School, Elizabeth Christian Church moved up the hill to 213 Yorktown Road, Craigmore where it is today, and changed its name to Craigmore Christian Church.

Over the years God has continued to bless and grow both the church and the school ministry and we have continued expanding on the same property at Craigmore.

Early after the move to Craigmore, Yangala Retirement Village was built through the generosity of the church and a number of its Christian friends. The Craigmore Christian Community Inc. is a ministry of the Craigmore Christian Church, through which it operates the 19 unit village on the corner of Blair Park Drive and Carinya Street.

In 2010 Craigmore Christian Church moved into its new church facilities comprising of a 1000 seat auditorium, a café area, the church offices and other facilities. The school shares the site, and with the church jointly operates a new gymnasium, as part of wonderful new classrooms, administration and library. All of this was provided wonderfully by the generosity of God’s people.

In 2011 further buildings were added to the impressive complex, courtesy of the the Federal Governments Building Education Revolution which extended the existing complex with both primary classrooms and secondary science laboratories.

 

Our Heritage

In the mid 1800’s, a movement under the leadership of men like George Mueller began in Ireland & England in reaction to church restrictions on Communion. Believing that the only basis for sharing in Communion was saving faith in Christ, without the mediation of any human Priesthood, they met in homes to celebrate Communion in a very simple way. Their spontaneous worship focussed around the Lord’s Table is regarded by many church historians as the purest expression of primitive Christianity since the early church. Their leadership in autonomous local assemblies was relatively unstructured relying on a plurality of lay Eldership rather than paid clergy or a denominational hierarchy. They were marked by their strong commitment to the authority of the Bible, to sound doctrine and thorough biblical teaching, and to a profound dependence on the Holy Spirit’s enabling and empowering.

At Craigmore Christian Church, we still hold to many of our distinctives to this day and our membership of Christian Community Churches of Australia reflects this history and heritage.

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Christian Community Churches of Australia

Craigmore Christian Church is a part of the network of the Christian Community Churches of Australia.

We affirm the Statement of Faith and the Doctrines of the Christian Community Churches of Australia.

Statement of Faith of CCCAust

Statement of Faith – Christian Community Churches Australia (cccaust.org)

We believe the Bible as originally given by God is divinely inspired, infallible, and entirely trustworthy, and is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct, from which we can know that:

- God: There is one true eternal creator God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

- Creation: God created all things, making man and woman in His own image and for relationship with Him.

- Sin: Sin entered into the world through human disobedience following the rebellion of Satan against God.

- Christ: The Son, Christ Jesus, was born of a virgin and lived as a sinless man. Out of the abundance of God’s love the Father gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die to save all people from sin. Christ rose from the grave defeating the power of sin.

- Salvation: The death and resurrection of Christ brings salvation by grace through faith to those who repent, seek forgiveness, and believe in Him.

- Spirit: The Holy Spirit, following Jesus’ return to His Father in heaven, lives within those who have salvation as a comforter and guide, guaranteeing their eternal hope.

- The Church: The true universal Church is a spiritual entity composed of all individuals who put their faith in Jesus Christ. God has called individual Christians to meet together as local churches.

- Life: Those who trust in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are called to live a transformed life and as such we have the responsibility to:

- Encourage other Christians through meeting together for worship and fellowship;

- Uphold moral directives and ethical values contained in the Bible as expressed within the context of their personal life, their marriage life (the covenantal relationship of one man and one woman), and their relationships with others;

- Share the good news to all the world;

- Be active in expressing God’s love through social justice.

- Eternity: Jesus is the only way to a relationship with God. Those who have received salvation have eternal life as joint heirs with Christ. Those who do not believe in Christ are separated from God for eternity.

- Return & New Creation: Christ will return as Lord to the earth and everyone will see him. There will be a new heaven and a new earth.

These statements we are called to believe, uphold, and proclaim to all persons in all spheres of life.

Doctrine

Microsoft Word - CCCAust Doctrinal Statement Ver 2003.01.docx

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Our Core Values

Our Core Values – What Matters To Us

In 2002, we studied the Book of Acts and found the following eight things are what mattered to the early church. They are also the things that matter to us too…

- the Pre-eminence and Lordship of the resurrected Jesus Christ,

- a deep, and expectant, dependence upon the Holy Spirit for His filling and empowering.

- a whole-hearted submission to the absolute authority of the Word of God,

- a dependence on, and an intimacy with God expressed through prayer, and the meditation on His Word,

- a deep commitment to fellowship with the local body of believers, characterised by submission and sacrificial service,

- a sense of calling, and a passion for the mission of reaching a lost world with the gospel of faith and repentance,

- the worth of every person, created in God’s image, tho’ tragically lost, yet for whom Christ died to redeem, in order to transform into His own likeness and powerfully use.

- the expectation of dynamic growth of the church, in number, in extent of influence, and in Christ-like character.

Our Mission – Why We Are Here

“Craigmore Christian Church exists to raise up disciples of Jesus Christ to reach a lost world.”

These words resonate with Matthew 28:19-20. They touch on both the global scope and personal depth of the Great Commission. Making disciples is the church’s business. “Raising up disciples” implies that those who are reached by our mission in turn embrace it themselves. The term “disciple” implies qualities that Jesus Himself prescribed. A New Testament disciple is someone who…

- Puts Christ first in his life and is taking steps to separate from sin

- Maintains a rich daily devotional life, and is developing his prayer life

- Continues in the Word through regular study, memorisation and application

- Demonstrates Christ’s love by identifying with and serving other believers

- Identifies with Jesus Christ and is actively sharing his faith

- Is a learner, open and teachable

Our Vision – Where Are We Going

“Vision” is seeing what it will be like when we are succeeding. The profile above paints this picture for us individually, but as a church we are aiming …

- for sustained growth and on-going leadership development through church-planting

- for an ever broadening base to send and support effective labourers for World Mission

- to maintain a congregation of 500, and a leadership core of 12 disciple-making families

- to see a new church planted and a new missionary endeavour commissioned every five years

Our Strategy – How Are We Going To Get There

Embedded in our mission statement are three steps, each of which build upon one another in turn, like the tiers in a wedding cake;

- Evangelising – Bringing lost people back to God. (See Acts 14:21)

- Establishing – Building disciples to maturity in Christ. (See Acts 14:22)

- Equipping – Developing leaders to fruitful living. (See Acts 14:23)

- When we build into others lives to help them fulfil their potential, (as Paul the apostle charged Timothy in 2 Tim 2:2).

Then the power of multiplication kicks in as Jesus intended, and the task He left us to accomplish becomes achievable.

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