We believe there is only one God, creator of the universe in all its wonder of time and space, things seen and unseen.

God created humanity in His own image - with eternity in our hearts, and able to enjoy companionship with God. We have turned our back on the glory of our creation, exercised out God-given free will in rebellion against our creator and Lord God. We have sought to write our own rules, to be our own authority - we have turned from God's ways…we have sinned.

Since our fall from grace, God has pursued us seeking to restore the lost relationship. He has acted to demonstrate that we matter to Him, that He cares for us - He promised us a Saviour, someone to rescue us from the slavery of sin and the fear of eternal death…to fulfil in us the promise of the eternity we still hold in our hearts.

We believe that Saviour is Jesus, the Jesus of history and the Bible, Jesus Christ - 'God with us'. Both truly God and truly man, Jesus led a faultless life but still knew the pain of suffering, loss and rejection. Jesus explained His mission to His friends through parables and symbolic acts - a mission which was to bring the opportunity of salvation for each of us through Christ's death and resurrection.

Jesus, our Saviour, chose to offer His life as a sacrifice - a ransom paid to free us from the slavery of sin - to heal the rift that humanity had chosen to create between ourselves and God.

Jesus' death and resurrection is a matter of historical record. Following a brutal flogging, Jesus was nailed by His hands and feet to a wooden cross: crucifixion - the Roman occupying forces' method of execution. To ensure that Jesus was dead, His heart was pierced through with a spear. Jesus' scarred corpse was then wrapped in linen graveclothes and sealed in a rock tomb - that was on the Friday before the start of Sabbath. His friends were utterly disheartened and afraid.

But, within three days, something happened which transformed His friends into confident, fearless and passionate witnesses to the living Lord Jesus - He appeared to them in physical form. Jesus had risen victorious from death, dealing once and for all with sin and hopelessness. There was nothing in the tomb apart from the now empty linen wrappings.

Billions of individuals have since encountered the living Jesus and had their lives transformed by Him. Since the resurrection, His followers have celebrated that cosmic event every Sunday. Since His death and resurrection, Jesus' followers have regularly re-enacted the last supper he shared with His disciples, in memory of those events and Jesus' explanation of them.

God in His love wants us to come back to Him. For those who accept God's gift of salvation and allow Jesus into their lives, there is the certain hope of being united with Him by His Holy Spirit, a part of His family, both in this time-bound life and beyond death in eternity.

Search no longer for God, He is here now and asks you to put your trust in the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

the ministry team...

Monika came to Newbattle in October 2003, having trained at Glasgow. Her background is in education - having been involved in HIV/AIDS education for anumber of years - and community voluntary work. Although English(!), Monika has a passion for the opportunities that the Church of Scotland still has for both ministry and mission in Scotland, and is excited to be heading up a pilot project for team ministry here in Newbattle.