MSCC is a community church in Southwestern Ontario. Above all else, our vision is to inspire people to follow Jesus. For us this means pursuing our relationship with God and seeking to live out the way of love that God modelled for us through the life of Jesus. To love God and our community – to actively be engaged in serving and working to make our community a better place.

What does this mean for you? Most importantly, you're always welcome at MSCC. We're saving a seat for you and wherever you're at in your faith journey, you are welcome to join our community.

If you'd simply like to get in touch with a staff member to learn more, click the button below.

At MSCC, we adopt the Statement of Faith as written and accepted by the Evangelical Mennonite Conference.

THE BIBLE

• We believe that the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, is the Word of God. Inspired by God and without error in all

that it teaches, it is the final authority in matters of belief and conduct.

(Deut. 6:5-6; Josh. 1:8; Neh. 8:5-6; Ps. 119; Zech. 7:12; Matt. 5:18, 24:25; Mark 7:13; 2 Tim. 3:16–17; 2 Pet. 1:16–21)

GOD

• We believe in only one God, loving, holy, eternal and unchanging. God alone is Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer and Judge.

God exists and reveals himself in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All persons in this Trinity are fully and

equally God.

(Gen. 1:1; Deut. 6:4; Psa. 90:2; 96:10; 139:7-12, 147:5; Isa. 40:28, 44:6, 57:15; Mal. 3:6; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Col. 1:16-17; Heb.

1:8, 12; 1 John 4:8)

• God the Father

We believe in God, the Father of all believers and, in a special sense, the Father of Jesus Christ. He has revealed himself

in nature, in the Scriptures and especially in the person of Jesus Christ.

(Psa. 19:1-4, 47:1–9; Mal. 2:10; Matt. 6:9; John 3:16, 14:8-9; Acts 17:28; Rom. 1:20, 8:15; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 4:4–6)

• God the Son

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He became human, being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of

the virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully human, tempted and yet without sin. We believe that Jesus Christ, the divinely appointed Substitute, provided the only atonement for sin by shedding his blood. Through his death he defeated the Devil, enabling people to be set free from the power of sin and to be reconciled to God. He conquered the power of death by rising from the dead, bringing life and hope. He ascended to the right hand of the Father. There he rules as Lord and lives to intercede for those who come to God by him until he comes again as King.

(Isa. 7:14, 53:5–6; Matt. 1:20–23, 28:6; John 1:1-4, 14; Acts 1:10-11; Rom. 3:25-26, 5:8-10, 6:6-8, 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:20, 55-57; 2 Cor.

5:21; Heb. 2:14, 4:15, 7:25)

• God the Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit exists eternally as one of the persons of the Trinity, equal with the Father and the Son. He

convicts the world of sin, of God’s righteousness, and of coming judgment. The Spirit comes to live within every believer

from the time of salvation giving assurance of salvation. He encourages, comforts, intercedes, and guides God’s people

into the truth. The Spirit empowers and equips believers for kingdom service through the giving of spiritual gifts to each

one. He enables believers to grow in holiness and to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

(Gen. 1:1-2; John 16:7-8, 13; Acts 1:8, 5:3-4; Rom. 8:9, 26; 1 Cor. 3:16, 12:4-11; Gal. 4:6, 5:22-23; Eph. 1:13-14, 4:11-13)

THE CREATION

• We believe that God created the world, as revealed in the Bible, and that nothing exists apart from what God has made.

(Gen. 1–2; Exod. 20:11; Neh. 9:6; Job 38–39; Psa. 8, 33:6-9, 136:5-9; Mark 10:6; John 1:3; Col. 1:15–17; Rom. 11:33–36; Heb. 1:1–3;

Jer. 10:12-13; Rev. 4:11)

THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN BEINGS

• We believe that God created human beings, both male and female, in his own image. Therefore, every human life is

sacred from conception to death, and must be protected regardless of age, ability or stage of development.

(Gen. 1:26-27, 2:7; Ex. 20:12-17; Ps. 139:13-16; Acts 17:24-29; Gal. 3:28)

THE FALL OF THE HUMAN RACE

• We believe our first parents, Adam and Eve, through unbelief in God’s goodness and disobedience to his command, by

their free choice brought themselves and the whole human race into a state of sin and separation from God. This act

resulted in death, corrupting our relationship with God, with each other and with the whole creation.

(Gen. 1:26–27, 2:7, 16–17, 3:1–24; John 6:44; Rom. 3:23, 5:12; Eph. 2:1–10)

SATAN

• We believe that Satan is a real spirit being, not simply the personification of evil. He is a fallen angel who rules over the

kingdom of all evil, opposing God and seeking to destroy humankind.

(Gen. 3:1-5; Job 1-2; 1 Pet. 5:8-9)

• Satan is the father of lies, masquerades as an angel of light, and leads the world astray. However, through faith in Christ

and the power of the Spirit we can resist him. The destiny of Satan will be the eternal lake of fire, which God prepared

for him and his angels.

(Matt. 4:1-11, 25:41; Luke 10:17-21; John 8:44; 2 Cor. 4:4; 11:14; Eph. 6:10-18; Col. 1:13, 2:14-15; 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 2:14; James 4:7, 1

Pet. 5:8; Rev. 12, 20:7-10)

SALVATION

• We believe people are saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. The basis of this salvation is Christ’s

life, teaching, his atoning death and his resurrection. Justification, the new birth and the trans-formed life are

experienced through repentance and faith in Christ. His atonement is sufficient for all, and all are invited to accept the

free gift of salvation.

(Isa. 53:4-6; Matt. 18:1–14; Mark 10:13–16; Luke 24:47; John 1:9–13; 3:3–8, 15–18, 14:6; Acts 4:12, 20:21; Eph. 2:1–10; James

2:14–24)

• We believe it is the privilege of all Christians to know that they have passed from death to life and that God can keep

them from falling away. Faith and obedience are essential in maintaining this assurance and growth in grace.

(John 8:31–32; Rom. 8:14–17; Gal. 3:10-14; 2 Cor. 5:17-21; 1 Pet. 1:3-9; 1 John 3:14, 5:11-13)

DISCIPLESHIP

• We believe that our relationship to Jesus Christ is to be an unconditional commitment to discipleship. Discipleship is the

total life of the believer lived in community and patterned after the life, teaching, death and resurrection of our Lord.

(Matt. 4:16–22, 28:19-20; Mark 8:34-35; Acts 11:26; Rom. 12:1–2, 7–12, 13:8–14; 2 Cor. 6:14–7:1; Eph. 1:1–10, 4:32–5:2; Col.

3:1–17; Titus 2:11–14; 1 Pet. 2:13–24, 4:16)

THE LIFE OF PEACE

• We believe in the life of peace. We are called to walk in the steps of the Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace. Everything

about his life, his teachings and his redemptive death on the cross, summons us to a life of nonviolence.

As Christians committed to love and nonviolence, we may not participate in or support anything that will violate this life

of peace.

• We should do whatever we can to lessen human distress and suffering, even at the risk of our own lives. In all

relationships, we should be peace makers and ministers of reconciliation.

(Isa. 53:3–9; Matt. 5–7; Mark 9:50; John 18:36; Rom. 12–13; Eph. 2:14-18; Phil. 2:3–4; Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 2:9, 20–23)

THE CHURCH

• We believe all who have experienced new life in Christ belong to his body, the church, of which he is the head. All who

repent of sin and make a commitment to Jesus Christ by faith are baptized into his church by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

(Matt. 16:18, 28:18-20; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8, 2:38-39, 42-47; 1 Cor. 12; Gal. 3:25-29; Eph. 1:19-23, 4:1-6, 11-16; Col. 1:18)

• We believe the church is the visible expression of his body. God calls the church ... To grow in maturity to be like Christ;

To care for fellow believers; To gather the believers together in fellowship; To worship God through Christ; To make

disciples through teaching God’s Word; And to share the love of God in word and deed with all people.

(Matt. 25:31-46; Rom. 12:1-2; Gal. 6:1-2; Col. 3:12-17; Heb. 10:25; 1 Pet. 2:4-10; 1 John 3:16-18)

THE ORDINANCES

• An ordinance is a symbolic observance, instituted according to the Bible, which is to be administered by the church body

as a visible sign of spiritual truth. We believe Christ instituted three ordinances: water baptism, the Lord’s Supper and

foot washing.

• Believer’s Water Baptism

We believe a Christian should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit following a personal

recognition of and repentance from sin, and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

• Water baptism represents the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion and the washing of regeneration

which the believer has experienced. It is an act of obedience which identifies the believer with the church of Christ.

(Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:36-47, 10:47-48, 18:8, 22:16; Rom. 6:1-4; 1 Cor. 12:13, Titus 3:5-6)

• The Lord’s Supper

We believe that Christians are to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as instituted by Christ. The elements – the bread and the

cup – symbolize the body of Christ and his shed blood. With this celebration, Christians call to mind Christ’s suffering for the sins of the whole human race and proclaim the Lord’s death until he returns. The Lord’s Supper, also called communion, involves fellowship, self-examination, and thanksgiving. Christians should examine their own relationship to God and to other people before participating in this commemoration.

(Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 10:16, 11:17-34; Eph. 2:11-22)

• Foot washing

We believe in the practice of foot washing. When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, he gave the church an example

to follow. Foot washing is an expression of humility, love, and equality. It symbolizes cleansing from sin and a Christian’s

commitment to a lifestyle of servanthood. When we accept the washing of our feet by other Christians, we demonstrate that we accept Jesus’ ministry to us.

(John 13:1-20)

THE RESURRECTION

• We believe Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead. When he returns, all, believers and unbelievers, will be raised bodily

from the dead as well, the believers to the resurrection of life, and the unbelievers to the resurrection of condemnation.

We also believe that those in Christ, at the time of death, enter into the presence of their Lord.

(Dan. 12:2; Matt. 22:29-32, Luke 16:19-31, 23:43; John 5:28-29, 20:20, 24-29; Acts 24:15; Rom. 8:19-23, 1 Cor. 15; Phil. 1:19-26; 1

Thess. 4:13-18, Rev. 20:11-15)

THE RETURN AND FINAL TRIUMPH OF CHRIST

• We believe in the visible, bodily return of Jesus Christ at the end of the age. When He returns in glory, He will judge the

living and the dead. Those who died in Christ will be raised to join living believers to reign with Him forever in a new

heaven and new earth. The unrighteous will suffer eternal hell in separation from God.

• In Christ's final triumph, Satan and his angels will be thrown into the lake of fire prepared for them from the beginning.

All rulers, powers and authorities will be brought into subjection, and death, the last enemy, will be destroyed. God will

reign supreme. This is the blessed hope of the church.

(Matt. 25:31-46; John 14:1-6; Acts 1:11; Rom. 8:12-15; 1 Cor. 15:24; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 20-22)