About Bergvliet Methodist Church

The Bergvliet Methodist Church is a Society of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa  in the Heathfield Circuit.

We exist to draw ALL people closer to Christ

In our attempt to draw ALL people we offer Traditional and Contemporary worship services each week. Our Sunday School and Young Families Ministries are aimed at providing for the specific needs of younger people.

Our Sunday Sermons usually follow the scripture lessons as set out in the Revised Common Lectionary,  but we sometimes deviate according to the felt needs of the congregation.

What we believe / Value

• We hold to the historic doctrines of the Christian faith.
• We are evangelicals but we are not fundamentalists – we value the intellect and modern science.
• We look to the Bible as the authoritative guide for faith and practice.
• We have a passionate faith with strong convictions but we recognize that the world is not always black and white and we are willing to wrestle with difficult issues with grace and compassion.
• We believe that true holiness is realized in the perfection of our love and not in our obedience to a set of laws.
• We are known for our emphasis on personal faith, lived out in concrete ways in the world.
• We value well-informed and passionate preaching.
• We value worship that is lively and small groups where people may grow in faith.
• We have open hearts and open minds and welcome anyone interested in learning more about the Christian faith.

Membership:

Anyone who wants to be saved from their sins through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and is willing to take up the duties and privileges of belonging to the Methodist Church is welcomed into membership.

Membership is NOT conditional upon the profession of theological tenets, or dependent on traditional authority or church ritual. Rather it is based on a personal experience of the Lord Jesus Christ – ranging from the earliest signs of Divine Grace, to the joy of Perfect Love.

In 1742 John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) wrote:

‘The distinguishing marks of a Methodist are not his opinions of any sort.’

In 1788 he declared:

‘There is no other religious society under heaven which requires nothing of men in order to their admission into it but a desire to save their souls… The Methodists alone do not insist on your holding this or that opinion, but they think and let think.’

Ethos

Our first ambition is to be faithful to God’s call to us in scripture – to be Holy, to be obedient to the command that sums up the law and the prophets: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbour as yourself.” Loving perfectly is what we call Christian perfection.

Community

To do this, we need all the help we can get – and so we meet together in Christian Community. Class meetings, small groups or Bible Study groups are essential to our spiritual growth; We need help to grow in love, and are all able to help others grow.

Rule of Life

Do No Harm, Do Good, Worship God

Methodists traditionally, in obedience to God, live according to three simple rules: Do no harm, Do all the good you can, and Worship God.

Do no harm:

This means we should avoid doing all that harms others and ourselves – this rule extends to the way that we do business, the way that we speak to and about others, and the way in which we participate in community / civic life.

Do Good:

This means that we do all the good that we can – for the sake of the bodies of people, as well as their souls. In doing all the good that we can to people’s bodies and souls we should strive to be as generous as possible; sharing our faith with others, as well as – as far as possible our resources.

Worship God:

We should always do everything that we can in order to grow spiritually. This includes attending public worship, especially the service of communion. We should enjoy Christian community, spending time together encouraging one another in the faith, we should read (and study) the scriptures.