Our identity
Our identity, in a Christian landscape
Those who come to “la Chapelle” on a Sunday morning at 230 avenue Saint-Exupéry in Toulouse, or during the week for one of the various house groups, are men and women like you and me, living out their faith in spite of their fragility and weaknesses. They come to pray, to listen to the Gospel, to share their faith and everyday experiences, to live out the presence of God and to encourage each other mutually,
We still have so much more to learn from the example of Jesus! However we all live because of the forgiveness and grace of God, for which his only son gave his life on the cross. This forgiveness unceasingly calls us to forgive one another and this grace enables us to be always gracious to others.
Family
Together, we constitute a church regarded as the “family of God”. Forming a church means choosing solidarity between men and women of all conditions who have decided to become disciples of Jesus. We recognise ourselves as brothers and sisters, not because we share the same ideas about everything, but because we are all equal according to the love of God who gives us life.
Even though we are a french and a french-speaking church, it is open to those who come from different countries and different cultures.
Unity with other churches
As a member of the French Federation of Evangelical Baptist Churches (FEEBF), we are not just one church standing on its own without other churches, or even less being against other churches. We are seeking unity and collaboration, but at the same time not denying that discord exists. Sometimes we claim our particular convictions, but for us, the barriers of denominations do not go right up to the heavens. God saves by grace, not because of us being right. So in the same way we work hand in hand with all those who love Jesus Christ and confess his name.
Protestant
We are protestants, firstly due to our attachment to the Bible which is, for us, the only authority which declares the truth of the love of God for the world. The Bible is our most prized possession. We read it in faith, with humility, but not refusing to use intelligence and questioning which come from our contemporary culture.
As protestants, we also emphasise the fact that salvation is a gift from God and not a reward based on our merits. The free generosity of God always overrides our failures. We are also protestants by our attachment to dialogue, in the way that we place more importance on the Holy Scriptures than to church traditions. This is why the FEEBF is a member of the French Federation of Protestants (FPF).
Evangelical
In the family of protestantism, we are evangelical, by this conviction : we are not born Christian, but we become one through a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. This fundamental encounter, otherwise called “conversion” constitutes the beginning of a renewed life.
What we have in common with other evangelicals, is also the desire and the commitment to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ to our contemporaries. We are also waiting for him to return to save this suffering world and establish his eternal reign of justice and peace. We have hope.
Baptist
We are Baptist due to the fact that we baptise people, who so desire themselves, through baptism, state their faith in Jesus Christ and belong to the Church.
The work of the Holy Spirit
Our community recognises the need for every believer :
- to be constantly renewed and led by the Holy Spirit “be filled by the Spirit” Eph 5, 18
- to put “gifts of Grace” (charisma) that the Holy Spirit gives out, to good use to others as he wishes it to be in the Christian community (Rm 12, 4-8 ; I Cr 12-14; I Pr 4, 10ss) to edify all.