Scottsville Community Church

About Us

Mission

Scottsville Community Church exists to worship God and to proclaim the availability of his kingdom on Earth today. The primary characteristics of this kingdom include the supremacy of God as revealed in Jesus Christ and the recognition of people as God’s dearly loved image bearers. We are a family of people of who are honest about our sin condition and who long for the liberation that is found in Jesus Christ. This family will be equipped to become faithful and loving followers of Jesus. The result will be love for all people and the active transformation of any system and practice that is contrary to the character of God’s kingdom. As kingdom citizens, we have good news to tell. We hate poverty and inequality. We build our families. We protect children and women. We actively participate in the governance of our city. We dream of a Scottsville that is clean, safe, and is a residential suburb of choice for students, young families and the ageing population. In Scottsville, and in the city, we seek to secure the future of this nation by contributing to the education of the young, even as we tackle the impact of structural unemployment. As we patiently wait for the King to fully establish this kingdom, we will forever yield to the sanctifying and empowering work of the Holy Spirit.

Our basic distinctives

Evangelical – Man’s total depravity leaves him in a helpless condition. He is forever drawn towards sin and incapable of breaking the power of sin. Through Jesus God offers forgiveness of sin to those who repent from their sin and place their trust in Jesus alone for their salvation. We tell people about their sin condition, the wages of their sin and God’s salvation offer in Jesus Christ. This salvation from sin is not some pie in the sky promise. Those who come to Jesus for forgiveness, know beyond the shadow of doubt that they belong to him. The internal witness of the Holy Spirit and the outward growth in holiness all give the assurance of genuine salvation to the one who has experienced such forgiveness. As evangelicals, we also believe the Bible is inerrant, inspired, infallible and sufficient. We gather around the Bible. We sing about its message. We order our lives, build our families, and engage with society around its non negotiables.
Reformed – The doctrines of the reformers are our doctrines. People can be put right with God in the here and now. God justifies (declares not guilty) all those who turn to Jesus Christ in penitent faith. This justification does not rely on works. Salvation is based on a person’s faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross. That is, God justifies the sinner on the merits of the birth, the life, the passion, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus Christ. This salvation is by faith, and as such, it is said to be by grace. No one earns a right standing with God. It is imputed upon us at the point of faith and repentance. A salvation that rests on Jesus’ finished work is thus secure and eternal. The converse is also true. Those who, at the point of death, have not reconciled with God through Jesus Christ are, according to the scriptures, eternally lost. As a Reformed church, we embrace the priesthood of all believers. Our AGM provides us with an opportunity to account to one another and for members to participate in the governance of our church. As people who long for the appearing of our Saviour-Judge, the AGM is thus an integral part of our sanctification journey. We love living lives that are above reproach.
Liturgical – We are a new church in Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Our message is, however, not new. We stand in the shoulders of true worshippers whose love for God and for men has laid secure foundations for us to build on. We seek to be one with the church, past and present. Accordingly, we use a variety of worship resources in our gatherings. To be specific, we occasionally make use of the Anglican’s Book of Common Prayer. We sing Te Deum (fondly known as ‘Siyakudumisa Thixo’ in Southern Africa). Our goal is not to be innovators of the faith but faithful carriers of the faith from one generation to the next.
Missional – We understand God to be a missionary God. From the call of Abraham to the Great Commandment, to the Great Commission, to the Acts of the Apostles, God is working through his chosen people to spread his fame. We see ourselves as his hands and feet. We actively seek to be his spokespersons. The entire world is our pulpit. We love this world. We love our province, KwaZulu-Natal. We love our city, Pietermaritzburg. God calls us in South Africa to educate the illiterate and upskill an unemployable generation. He also calls us in Pietermaritzburg to promote peace and prosperity in the home, market, Msunduzi Municipality, and the Provincial Legislature. The rich and the poor must hear the good news of Jesus Christ. The poor must feel his love and care. The women must feel loved. The children must feel treasured. Men must lead for the benefit of women and children. The foreigner in Pietermaritzburg must find a spiritual home and siblings among us. This is not a spectator-church, and its members are not consumers who only care about how best they can be served. Instead, every member’s preoccupation is finding the worst stinking feet to wash. Our pastors too are missional in their outlook. They are church planters who are constantly on the lookout for ways to grow God’s kingdom and reach many with the good news of Jesus. They are not politicians whose only task is to please and maintain the church constituency to secure the longest possible tenure. No! On average, they serve us for a period of three years (and at most six years). At any given time, their main task is to plant, lay foundations, equip others, publish training materials, and prepare to leave for the next city. As missional people, our pastors neither have sympathy for a ‘holy communion club’ nor a ‘man of god cult’ that turns believers into dependent species who have nothing to offer to the One who has made them priests for the purpose of proclaiming His excellencies in the spaces they occupy.

Scottsville Community Church

Mission

Our basic distinctives

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