Anglican

The Creeds

Within the ancient writings of the church we find that from very early on the church was working hard to determine the core elements of the Christian Faith. These are found in creeds, or statements of belief. We consider it important to begin here to describe what we believe because we realize that we are on a journey that has a much wider scope than just our time and place. This also keeps us from picking and choosing what we desire based on the whims and wills of a certain people or time. Instead we desire to receive the faith as it was handed down from Jesus to His disciples, and then embraced by the church world-wide for over two thousand years.


The Apostles Creed


The Nicene Creed

More Specifically...

While the creeds provide a solid base for us to work from, we realize there's also a need to address specific questions regarding our interpretation and understanding of the Bible. This is especially true in light of the key issues that affect how we relate to God and how God relates to us. The first place Anglicans turn for a statement of faith is to something called the 39 Articles of Faith. This belief statement was composed as a result of the English Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries. However, we also offer a summary of what Wellspring believes based on the 39 Articles in more modern language here:


Wellspring's Core Beliefs


Charity within Orthodoxy

Sometimes there are areas of life that aren't directly addressed or are unclear in scripture. At Wellspring we are Orthodox in our teaching on major tenets of the Christian faith, but at the same time we encourage being generous and charitable when marginal beliefs differ. We want to put Jesus and the Gospel first and have that reflected in the way we interact with each other, especially when we disagree on unclear topics of the Christian walk. In other words, we believe in the praxis of the Gospel inasmuchas we believe the Gospel itself.


Other Resources

  • The Gospel Coalition wrote a helpful article titled "9 Things You Should Really Know About Anglicanism." Most, in our churches, who are from an evangelical background have found this to be helpful and encouraging.
  • The Jerusalem Declaration is a short statement about how our corner of Anglicanism is grappling with difficult modern issues.
  • Here's a well-written and easy to follow resource and guidebook on what it means to be Anglican, written by Thomas McKenzie "The Anglican Way".