ABOUT US

Our vision at Shawnigan Alliance Church is to grow closer to the heart of God and to go to the centre of our community.

This comes directly from Jesus' command in Scripture to:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this; 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." - Mark 12:30 & 31

This means we worship God corporately; engaging in His Word (the Bible), while being in community; loving our local and global neighbours, in ways that reflect Jesus and draw people to Him.

OUR VALUES

• Active participation in prayer & listening prayer
• Teaching founded in God's word, the Bible
• Authentic worship that invites all to worship in spirit & truth
• Families engaging in worship together
• Discipleship of every age and every stage of life
• Life-long growth as disciples of Jesus
• Engaging in the renewing practice of confession and repentance
• Dependence on the Holy Spirit and His continual filling to equip each person for service
• Foster authentic community through weekly small groups for spiritual growth, encouragement and accountability
• Partnering with God to offer out time, talents and treasures, believing that each person is equipped to serve in the local church
• Share the good news of Jesus Christ with al who are willing to hear
• Welcome and connect each person who comes to worship

OUR HISTORY

Shawnigan Alliance Church was first dreamed of in 1979 by a small women’s Bible Study group. Their vision came to fruition in 1980 with the first church gathering, led by Pastor Marv Croswell, his wife Lynette and their four young children. Shawnigan Alliance Church first gathered in the Shawnigan Lake Community Hall and later moved to the Mill Bay Community Center. A decade later, the church stepped out in faith to build the building we now meet in, and by 1991 had begun holding services on Wilmot Avenue in Shawnigan Lake. Many people were instrumental in the building of this church, including individuals in Victoria who sold an old parish to provide the funds to purchase the land.

We believe that Shawnigan Alliance Church was built to encourage all to grow closer to the heart of God and go to the center of the community, a foundation that still stands strong today.

Statement of Faith

God: There is one God (1) who is infinitely perfect, (2) existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.(3)

Jesus: Jesus Christ is true God and true man.(4) He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.(5) He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures.(6)He is now at the right hand of the Majesty on high as our great High Priest.(7) He will come again to establish His kingdom of righteousness and peace.(8)

Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is a divine Person, sent to indwell,(9) guide, teach and empower the believer, and to convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.(10)

Bible: The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of people. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.(11)

Sin: Humankind, originally created in the image and likeness of God,(12) fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All people are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.(13) The destiny of the impenitent and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment, but that of the believer is everlasting joy and bliss.(14)

Freedom from Sin: Salvation has been provided only through Jesus Christ. Those who repent and believe in Him are united with Christ through the Holy Spirit and are thereby regenerated (born again), justified, sanctified and granted the gift of eternal life as adopted children of God.(15)

Christian Living: It is the will of God that in union with Christ each believer should be sanctified thoroughly(16) thereby being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to God, receiving power for holy living and sacrificial and effective service toward the completion of Christ's commission.(17)

This is accomplished through being filled with the Holy Spirit which is both a distinct event and progressive experience in the life of the believer.(18)

Healing: Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil as taught in the Scriptures are privileges for the Church in this present age.(19)

Church: The universal Church, of which Christ is the Head, consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and commissioned by Christ to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the Gospel to all nations.(20) The local church, the visible expression of the universal Church, is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together to worship God, to observe the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, to pray, to be edified through the Word of God, to fellowship, and to testify in word and deed to the good news of salvation both locally and globally. The local church enters into relationships with other like-minded churches for accountability, encouragement and mission.(21)

Life after death: There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life;(22) for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.(23)

Second Coming of Christ: The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent and will be personal and visible.(24) As the believer’s blessed hope, this vital truth is an incentive for holy living and sacrificial service toward the completion of Christ's commission.(25)

Scripture References:

1. Isaiah 44:6; 45:5-6 | 2. Matthew 5:48; Deut. 32:4 | 3. Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19 | 4. Philippians 2:6-11; Hebrews 2:14-18; Colossians 2:9 | 5. Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35 | 6. 1 Corinthians 15:3-5; 1 John 2:2; Acts 13:39 | 7. Hebrews 4:14-15; 9:24-28 | 8. Matthew 25:31-34; Acts 1:11 | 9. John 14:16-17 | 10. John 16:7-11; 1 Corinthian 2:10-12 | 11. 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21 | 12. Genesis 1:27 | 13. Romans 8:8; 1 John 2:2 | 14. Matthew 25:41-46; 2 | Thessalonians 1:7-10 | 15. Titus 3:5-7; Acts 2:38; John 1:12; 1 Corinthians 6:11 | 16. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 | 17. Acts 1:8 | 18. Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:16-25 | 19. Matthew 8:16-17; James 5:13-16 | 20. Ephesians 3:6-12; 1:22-23 | 21. Acts 2:41-47; Hebrew 10:25; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8, 11:19-30; 15 | 22. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 | 23. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 | 24. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 | 25. 1 Corinthians 1:7; Titus 2:11-14; Matthew 24:14; 28:18-20