Our Statement of Faith is expressed below in three forms – 1) a statement, 2) a narrative, and 3) a prayer (in both English and Te Reo).
1) Statement of Faith
1. We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is love, God is holy, and God is the source of all wisdom.
2. In his sovereignty, God created the heavens and earth, and declared them good. God upholds and sustains all things.
3. We believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father. Through him and for him all things were created. He is God incarnate, the true image of God, fully God and fully human.
4. God created human beings in his own image. As image bearers we are designed for relationship with God and with one another, are blessed to be fruitful and productive in all areas of life, to the glory of God, and are entrusted with the stewardship and care of God’s world.
5. Our relationship with God, with others, and with creation was fractured when sin, evil, and death entered the world. All have sinned and are unable to restore their relationship with God by their own efforts.
6. Therefore, God sent his only Son into the world. Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a holy, loving, and sinless life. He was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and now reigns at the right hand of the Father.
7. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God revealed himself to the world, defeated the powers of sin, evil, and death, provided for our salvation and reconciliation to Him, inaugurated the kingdom of God, and is working to renew all things. Jesus’ resurrection marks the beginning of the new creation.
8. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is at work in the world bringing people to faith, drawing them to God, guiding them into truth, and working in them regeneration and transformation so that those in Christ will be conformed to his image. All the redeemed in Christ are united by the Holy Spirit and belong to one, holy, universal Church.
9. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God. As the supreme account of God’s activity in the world, they attest to Christ and are trustworthy and authoritative. The Holy Scriptures are God’s word to us through human authors.
10. Creation is moving toward its God ordained goal, when Christ will return as king, the dead will be resurrected, God will bring about his final justice and reconciliation, and the heavens and earth will be made new.
11. To be disciples of Christ is to respond to Christ’s call and to participate in God’s story as revealed in Scripture: to seek to know God’s word and bear witness to his gospel; to seek to know and share in God’s work and world; to form communities of faithfulness; and to be co-labourers with Christ in the renewal of all things.*
*We also hold to the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed, the first two historic creeds of the Christian faith.
2) Narrative of Faith – The real story by which we live
Lesslie Newbigin wrote, “The way we understand human life depends on what conception we have of the human story. What is the real story of which my life is a part?” The following story is a summation of the overarching narrative of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, from Creation to New Creation. Through this story God locates us in history, gives our lives meaning, sets before us a vision of where things are going, and shows us how we can be part of it. The grand narrative of Scripture is the story by which we live, and it can be summed up as follows.
The one true God, who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is a holy trinity of self-giving love. God determined to share his love and life with human beings. Therefore, God created the heavens and the earth, with its spinning galaxies, mountains and rivers, teeming oceans, and abundant wildlife. Then God created human beings in his image and likeness, male and female. He created them for relationship with himself and with one another. God blessed them to be fruitful and gave them a mandate to fill the earth, rule over it, steward God’s creation, and care for its creatures. God looked upon all he made and declared it very good. God continues to uphold the world and sustain all he has created.
Our relationship with God, with others, and with creation, was fractured when sin, evil, and death entered the world. Yet God did not abandon his world or his image bearers. God had a plan which began with the call of Abraham to bless the world, firstly through his descendants—the people of Israel. God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, established a covenant with them through Moses at Mount Sinai, and led them into a good land. God gave the law to guide them, summed up in the Ten Commandments, and the two great commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength,” and “Love your neighbour as yourself.” But God’s people did not remain faithful to the covenant. When disaster struck, they cried out for help, and God raised up deliverers to rescue them from their enemies. Then they lived in peace for a while until once again they failed to keep their covenant obligations. This pattern repeated itself over and over, until Israel began to look less like the people of God and more like the nations around them. Eventually they asked God to give them a king so they could be like other nations. This request was a rejection of God as their true king. Nonetheless, God raised up David to be their leader. God’s Spirit was with him, and he united the Israelites and saved them from their enemies. Although David wanted to build a house (temple) for God, God promised instead to establish David’s house (dynasty) and commissioned his son Solomon to build the temple. For a while Israel lived in peace and saw the fulfillment of some of the promises God made to Abraham. But their time of peace was short lived. Solomon began to worship other gods, and after his death his kingdom was torn in two.
In the years that followed, God’s people became more and more unfaithful. God sent prophets to call them back to him. The prophets warned them of approaching danger, but they did not listen. Eventually the land was invaded, the temple destroyed, and the people taken into exile. Yet God did not abandon his people or his plan to save the world. God promised to rescue them and send the Messiah. He would be their king par excellence, and through him all the nations of the world would be blessed. For he would make atonement for their sins, and the sins of the whole world.
These hopes were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. God the Son, through whom all things were created, became God incarnate, fully God and fully human. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, revealing to the world what God is truly like. Jesus lived a holy, loving, and sinless life, modelling for humanity what it means to be human. Through his ministry, Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God. He was rejected by the ruling authorities, was crucified, died, and buried. On the third day he rose from the dead. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God defeated the powers of sin, Satan, and death, ushered in a new covenant, and provided for our forgiveness and salvation. The bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead marks the beginning of the new creation. Jesus ascended into heaven where he now reigns at the right hand of God the Father.
The Holy Spirit, who is the giver of life and who was active in the ministry of Jesus, came upon the early church at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is at work in the world bringing people to faith, drawing them to God, guiding them into truth, and bringing about the work of regeneration and transformation in their lives so that those in Christ will be conformed to Christ’s image. The redeemed in Christ are united by the Holy Spirit and belong to one, holy, universal Church. Guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the church is called to participate with Christ in God’s mission to bring reconciliation, restoration, and renewal to a hurting and broken world until Christ returns to usher in the new creation in all its fullness. At that time, the dead will be resurrected, God will bring about his final justice and reconciliation, all evil will be eradicated, and the heavens and earth will be made new.
This overarching narrative is not the only story of human history, but it is a true story of human history, and it informs the work of the KWT and its network of schools.
3) Prayer of Faith
Father God, creator of heaven and earth, we acknowledge our dependence upon you. We speak as ones spoken into being, sustained by your power and love. You have revealed yourself to us through your written word and through your Son, Jesus Christ. And you have breathed new life into us by your Holy Spirit. In this awareness, we the Kingsway Trust and its network of school communities, stand and pray. As part of your ongoing work of reconciliation, restoration, and renewal in the world, we ask for your guidance, empowerment, and strength as we seek to partner with parents and families to provide accessible, Christ-centred, quality education for children and young people in the Auckland region.
We worship you God and acknowledge that everything is from you, for you, and to you. May we be infused with a deep awareness of your presence, and may all aspects of our life, work, and learning find their active centre in you.
We are in awe that you have created us in your image and desire that all people come to know you and participate in your trinitarian life. Help our Trust and school communities to be places of acceptance, where every person and all creation is treated with care and respect. May we delight you by reflecting your creativity and love within our lives.
Though the world and all people within it are broken and far from your original design, you love us still and call us to return to you. May we live in your grace and share your grace with others, while doing all we can to keep the vulnerable safe.
We thank you Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who became truly and completely human. We acknowledge that you are Lord, and that salvation is available to us only in you. May we find our joy and vocation in partnering with you to bring restoration to this world and all those in it.
We thank you for the Holy Spirit, who is at work in the world drawing people to participate in Christ’s life through the church and fulfilling God’s mission of restoration and renewal. May our Trust and schools be places of prayer, where we are deeply, intentionally, and increasingly dependent on the Holy Spirit’s empowering and guiding.
We thank you for the Holy Scriptures which were inspired by you and are your gift to us, through human hands. They provide us with authoritative guidance on matters of life and faith. May we be conversant with the Scriptures, skilled in both understanding their meaning and applying them wisely.
Thank you for directing creation towards its ultimate goal where every remnant of evil and darkness will be swept away by your all-encompassing goodness and light. May our Trust and school communities be expressions of hope, modelling (to the extent we can) your design and intent for humanity and creation.
With faith in you Father, and in our Lord Jesus Christ, with hope for the future that is truly approaching, and with the love of God dwelling in our hearts, we ask that you work through our Trust and school communities. May everything you are and do be reflected in who we are and what we do, so that your light may be increasingly seen through us.
Prayer of Faith in Māori:
3) He Karakia Whakapono
E te Atua Matua, Kaihanga ō te Rangi me te Whenua, e whakawhetai ana, e whakawhirinaki atu ana, mō to awhi mai ia matou. Kotahi tonu te reo i whakapuakina ai te oranga tonutanga I runga I to mana, me to aroha. I whakakitea koe ki tenei Ao na to Kupu Tapu me to Tamaiti a Hehu Karaiti a na te Wairua Tapu ano hoki i whiwhi ai matou ki te hā o te oranga. Na enei whakamaramatanga e tuohu nei, e inoi whakamoemiti nei matou, te Kingsway Trust me te hāpori o te kura. Kia tau tonu te maungārongo, te rangimarie me te whakahoutanga ki te Ao. Whakakiia o matou ngākau ki to wairua manaaki me to wairua kaha, kia pai ai to matou mahi tahi I roto i ngā whānau, ngā maatua, o ngā tamariki, taiohi o Tāmaki, kia whai urunga atu ki ngā akoranga rangatira, ngā akoranga piripono ki te Karaiti.
E koropiko, atu ana matou kia e te Atua, nau nei ngā mea katoa I hanga, nau ano I homai, kia whakahokia atu ano kia koe te kororiatanga. Me matua whakamohio tonu matou kei to matou taha tonu koe, e haere tahi ana me matou, I roto I o matou mahi, me o matou akoranga katoa.
Nau ano hoki matou I hanga kia rite tonu kia koe, ko te inoi, kia kaha tonu ngā Iwi katoa, kia piripono kia koe kia mau tonu I te ara o te Tiriniti. Manaakitia to matou Taraiti me ngā Komiti Kura kia wātea tonu hei waahi whakarurunga mo te katoa ahakoa te kara te kiri, te rawakore, ā kia manaakitia I runga I te tika te pono me te aroha. Ka tukua atu enei mahi enei inoi katoa kia koe, e te kaihanga, te puna o te aroha nui.
E raruraru ana te ao, e raruraru ana te tangata, na te kore e rite ki to hiahia ki te mea I hanga nei e koe. Engari ahakoa enei mea katoa, e aroha tonu ana koe kia matou, e karanga tonu ana kia hoki mai ki to taha. Kia noho tonu matou katoa ki to aroaro. Atawhaitia te hunga I pikau ana I ngā taimahatanga.
E whakawhetai ana matou kia koe e Hehu Karaiti, e te tama a Te Atua, I whakatangatatia ai ki tenei ao. Ko koe tonu te Ariki, te Kaiwhakaora o te ao, te kaiwhakaora mo matou katoa. Ka hari matou ki te mahi tahi kia koe, me to matou mohio ko koe anake te oranga mutunga kore mo matou me te ao katoa.
E whakawhetai ana mo to Wairua Tapu, e mahi nei, puta noa te Ao. He kupenga e hao ana I ngā tangata whakapono kia uru mai ki te Haahi o Hehu Karaiti, kia tutuki ai ngā wawata I tukua mai e Te Atua Matua mo te whakaora, me te whakahou ano I ngā wairua katoa. Whakatūwheratia to matou Taraiti me o atou kura hei whare karakia, hei wharewhakapumau I to matou whakapono ki raro tonu I korowai o Te Wairua Tapu.
E whakawhetai atu ana mo ngā Tuhituhi Tapu I tukua mai nei e koe hei koha kia matou, nā te ringa tangata I mahi. Ko enei ngā kupu arataki ia matou I roto I tenei ao, I roto hoki I te whakapono. Me mātua mohio matou ki enei kupu o Ngā Tuhituhi Tapu, kia mohio, kia matau, kia kawea ano I roto I omatou mahi o matou whakaaro me o matou korero katoa.
E whakawhetai ana mo te tuku mai I ngā mea katoa kua hangaa e koe, me te matua mohio ka whakakahoretia, kia murua, ngā mea kino katoa, ngā mea kei roto I te pouritanga kia puta ai ki te maramatanga. E inoi ana matou kia tukua to matou Taraiti me o matou hāpori akoranga hei waahi manaaki,he waahi tumanako hei tauira ka puta ki te ao hei kitenga mo te katoa.
Mā te whakapono kia koe e Te Atua Matua Nui I te Rangi, ki to tamaiti kia Hehu Karaiti e wakawhetai ana e tumanako ana I runga I te aroha o te ngakau, ka inoi nei matou kia koe kia tukua mai to wairua tapu hei whakakii i o matou ngākau ara matou te Taraiti o Kingsway me te Hapori o te Kura kia haere tonu o mahi i roto I a matou. Ko te atarangi tenei e kitea ai to rangatiratanga I roto I a matou, ko wai matou, he aha hoki o matou mahi. E tiaho ana to rama mā roto ia matou.