What we believe and why
Centrality of the Bible
We believe that the Bible is God’s Word. The belief in the total authority, veracity, and sufficiency of God’s Word is at the core of our church. Therefore, we value equipping ourselves in God’s Word. We want to know God’s Word and be transformed by it. We work hard at listening to it and joyfully submitting our entire lives to it.
Power of the Gospel
The gospel, or good news, is the message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for our salvation and God’s glory. We believe that the gospel is God’s power to transform those who believe in Jesus. Therefore, we value sharing the gospel through both word and deed to bear witness to Christ’s transforming power. The gospel changes everything in our life.
Supremacy of Christ
We believe that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus is God’s king and he deserves our allegiance and praise. We seek to submit ourselves to his rule and reign as his followers.
Significance of Family
We believe the Bible shows us that family goes beyond blood relations. We belong to a faith family that consists of those pursuing Christ together. Whether young or old, married or single, parents or without children, we believe we are enriched by each individual, regardless of relationship status. Every person at St. Thomas is significant, therefore; there are no little people.
Life of Mercy
Because we have experienced God’s mercy, we desire to extend God’s mercy to others, particularly those in need. We want to see the love of Jesus extended to our neighbors by offering physical, emotional, and spiritual relief to those around us.
Richness of Community
Our community is brought together by the reconciling work of Jesus Christ. This enables us to value diversity and embrace differences in a Christ-like way. We believe that racial, cultural, and socio-economic diversity strengthens, enhances, and enriches our faith community.
Irony of Weakness
While our society places a high value on strength, our church is learning to live in weakness. Why? Because when we are weak, we are actually strong through Christ. The Puritans put it this way: The way up is the way down. You may call it the irony of weakness. God is drawn to people who are humble and rely upon him for their strength in all things. So, we value prayer and dependency on the Holy Spirit rather than self-dependency.
Our Values
We are gospel-centered people. There is still much that the Lord wants to accomplish in us. We came to Jesus by grace—we continue in Jesus by grace. That’s the good news we proclaim and seek to live out.
St. Thomas Anglican Church exists to know Jesus Christ and to make Him known. We seek to accomplish that through biblical preaching, teaching, and authentic Christian community here in Northern Virginia and around the world.
ANGLICAN - St. Thomas Anglican is a member of the Anglican Church in North America, and locally connected to the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic. Our worship follows the patterns of the early church and is both ancient and modern. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd of our church. Locally, we are under the authority of our bishop and led by our Rector and church elders called the Vestry (Church Council).
EVANGELISTIC - We exist to give ourselves to others and God as living sacrifices. The love and grace we have received from God compels us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ – the Great Commission – with others by any means possible.
REFORMED - We seek to understand and apply God’s Word to every aspect of our life. To guide us in this endeavor, we embrace the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1571, along with the Book of Common Prayer (1662) and its Ordinal and Homilies (The Anglican Formularies). We’re a confessional people! We also really like the other great confessions and catechisms of the English Reformation and beyond (Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort, and Westminster Confession).
CHARISMATIC - We believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit we see on display in the New Testament are still active within the life of the church. We expect the gifts of the Holy Spirit to elevate Jesus Christ and build up his Church. We reject any use or demonstration of these gifts that are contrary to God’s word.
COVENANTAL - We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are unified throughout by God’s loving relationship of devotion and loyalty (His covenant love) to us as his people. There is one way to salvation in both Old and New Testaments: by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
Our Distinctives
Every church is built upon strong foundations. Ours are…
About Human Sexuality
In our view, there has recently been an over-conflation of sexuality with identity. We agree with our denomination’s (ACNA) statement: “While questions pertaining to human identity are ancient, a certain vividness around personal identity has been introduced into our current cultural conversation. Our society has collapsed into a sexual world view which attempts to redefine the image of God in humanity as predominantly one of sexual orientation and behavior. To the contrary, the early chapters of the Bible reveal that the Lord made humans to be primarily doxological creatures, designed to worship the one true God forever. Humanity’s essential identity is found in communion with God and not in sexual activity. For this reason, even though God made humans with sexual capacity through the enjoyment of procreation in Biblical marriage, sexual activity is temporal and not eternal. Yet overall, we see this development of distorted worldview and culture as a God-given opportunity to share the Gospel truth that by God’s grace we may become new persons in Christ.”