WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE BELIEVE
We are a young, vibrant, Kingdom Apostolic Church located in the town of Knysna in the Garden Route. We believe that life should be more than just existing from day to day but more about living a life full of friendship, fun and faith.
We are committed to creating a relevant and vibrant Church full of energy and vision to care for our community, help people explore the Christian faith and fulfill the purposes of God within today’s generation.
We passionately believe that our Church is not just for people who have a faith but also people who would like to start or restart a journey of faith.
WE BELIEVE…
- We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that only they constituted the Divine Rule of Christian faith and practice.
- We believe there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver and Governor of all things and who is the only proper Object of worship.
- We believe there are three Persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory.
- We believe that Jesus Christ was God made manifest in the flesh through the virgin birth, truly and properly God and truly and properly man, and that He by His suffering and death made atonement for sin, and that by His resurrection there is eternal life for all who believe in Him.
- We believe that since the fall of our first parents man is entirely unable in his own strength to find salvation and reconciliation with God and that he is wholly dependent upon God’s grace and mercy.
- We believe that salvation, by God’s grace, depends upon repentance, faith in Jesus Christ, cleansing by the shed blood of Jesus, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
- We believe that baptism in water is a personal and dynamic meeting with God and a sign of the believer’s death, burial and resurrection in Christ Jesus.
- We believe it is the privilege of all believers, in response to the command of God’s Word, to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live holy and victorious lives, and that the Holy Spirit operates through gifts, ministries and manifestations to glorify Jesus through His Body to the world.
- We believe that Jesus Christ, at the time of His ascension into Heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father, gifted the Church with living ministry expressions of Himself through apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the building of Body of Christ and the equipping of the believers to the work of service.
- We believe that neither ritual, tradition, ceremony or rite can replace salvation, relationship with God, or true worship, and that nothing less than the Lordship of Christ upon a life is the mark of a Christian.
- We believe in the continuance of the Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine, as instituted by Jesus with His disciples, so that we may truly discern the Body of Christ in its totality, unity, and authority, and that this celebration stands as a memorial of Christ’s suffering and death and as a prophecy of His coming, and as such is commanded to all His followers until the Day.
- We believe in the physical, triumphant return of Jesus Christ as a resurrected saviour and king to an overcoming and glorious Church.
- We believe it is the Commission of the Church to go into the whole world to preach the gospel of the Kingdom, make disciples and extend the Kingdom of God, knowing that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to the whole world for a witness to all nations, and then shall the end come.”
- We believe in the judgement of God, in the eternal punishment of the wicked and everlasting joy of the righteous.
PUTTING KINGDOM VALUES AND WAYS BACK IN EVERYDAY LIVES (Prov.29:18)
Doing things Gods way
What this means:
- Do the right things for the right reasons (Matt. 6:1-8)
- Pray God’s agenda, not your own (Matt. 6:9-13)
- Relationships will make or break you (Matt. 6:14-15)
- Prioritize eternal things, not temporal things (Matt. 6:19-24)
- Don’t sweat the small stuff (Matt. 6:25-31)
- God’s kingdom is paramount; seek it (Matt. 6:32-33)
- Judge yourself before you judge others (Matt. 7:16)
- If you need something, ask; if you have something, give it (Matt. 7:7-12)
- Stay true to your convictions; don’t wander from the narrow path (Matt. 7:13-20)
- Obedience to God is the only sure foundation for life (Matt. 7:21-27)
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 22:37-40.
What this means:
- To love God is to know God
- To love God is to worship and praise Him (Luke 4:8)
- To love God is to put Him first, God is priority (Mark 12:30)
- To love God is to desire Him, to yearn for His righteousness, His Word, and His grace. (Psalm 42:1)
- To love God is to obey Him (John 14:15, 23; 15:10; 1 John 5:3)
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 22:37-40.
What this means:
- Share with the poor and the alien
- Compassion
- Absolute honesty and justice in our relationships
- Impartiality
- A refusal to gossip or slander
- Absence of malice toward anyone
- Refusal to bear a grudge
- Taking care never to put another’s life at risk
- Never taking private vengeance upon another
- When we have an issue with anyone, we should strive to make it right by going to him or her directly (James 2:8)
- We should do to others as we would have them do to us (Matthew 7:12)
- Lovingly share the good news of the gospel with others
“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” John 10:10
What this means:
- Abide in Him and experience God’s will for your life then everything Jesus has will be yours.
- Pay attention to Him then you won’t be focused on the problems in the world; you’ll be able to live with God’s peace and joy.
- Keep your focus on Him, it keeps you from being continually stressed-out, living in survival mode and just getting through the day.
- Live in the moment and enjoy what God is doing in me and through me now, God wants you to enjoy your life now
- The Holy Spirit gives us supernatural strength and anointing to live this ordinary, day-to-day life with the supernatural joy of the Lord.
- Laugh, it causes the release of endorphins, a chemical in the body that relieves pain and creates a sense of well-being.
- Laugh, it can raise your energy level, relieve tension and change your attitude.
- Laugh, it increases antibodies and strengthens your immune system.
- Laugh, it causes you to inhale more oxygen and stimulates your heart and blood circulation.
- Decide everyday to enjoy your life.
- Learn to laugh at yourself and the things that normally frustrate you.
- Rejoice in the Lord
- Look for fulfilment in the right place.Only God can provide the fulfilment you seek.
- Give yourself permission to live life and enjoy it.Don’t feel guilty about enjoying the blessings God gives you.
- Notice God’s gifts, and thank Him for them.Acknowledge basic, everyday blessings.
- Place the seasons of your life in God’s hands
- Don’t isolate yourself. God created all human beings to engage in relationships – with Him and each other
- Use your time wisely.Don’t fall into the traps of being either lazy or too driven, missing out on God’s best for you.
- Place God at the center of your marriage
- Turn your worries into prayers
- Pursue contentment.Ask God to help you be content with your money, your health, and other situations in your life
- Find friends with crazy faith.Don’t confront sorrow or pressure alone
- Regularly clear sin out of your life.Confess your sins honestly and frequently, repent of them, and embrace God’s forgiveness and grace to keep growing
- Forgive others and yourself.
- Be patient
- Personalize Scripture verses
- Don’t let your emotions lead you
- Trust that God will redeem your mistakes
- Give generously
- Take care of your body, mind, and spirit
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,…” Matt. 28:19
“Give careful attention to your spiritual life and every cherished truth you teach, for living what you preach will then release even more abundant life inside you and to all those who listen to you.” 1 Timothy 4:16 (TPT)
What this means:
- Love God with all your heart
- Love the people God has placed around you
- Be the best “your name” you can be
- Identify and step into God’s calling for your lives
- Obey God
- Believe His prophetic promises
- Release His life
- Share Jesus with others
- Invest in relationships
- Share your life with others
- Help others experience God’s grace, mercy and peace
- Make sure Jesus is Lord
- Do good to all men
- Seek opportunities to be of service and show the love of God that dwells in you
- Be good to fellow Christians, recognize that they are God’s people whom He has graced as my equals
- Do my personal best to be united with them against our common foe, in accordance with the standard of God’s Word and the one spirit that empowers us all
- A Christ-centered life begins with realizing that the source of everything we are is the Lord. He created us, he owns us, he gifted us with talents, he authors our story, and every blessing that we receive comes from him (Gen 1, Acts 17:26, James 1:17)
- A Christ-centered life means that Jesus is the motivation for everything we think, say and do.
- A Christ-centered life has one ultimate goal: that Jesus gets the glory.
- A Christ-centered life is one that is focused upon a commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord.
- A Christ-centered life makes every lifestyle decision weighed on heaven’s scales and evaluated for its eternal significance
- A Christ-centered life lives resting in the finished work of Jesus on their behalf and yearns for holiness as a means of staying close to Him (Hebrews 12:14).
- A Christ-centered life understands “fear of the Lord” (Psalm 19:9; Proverbs 16:6).
- A Christ-centered life cannot endure living in disharmony with God and will quickly confess sin and be restored to fellowship with Him.
- A Christ-centered life is love-centered
- In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. John 1:1 (AMP)
- We believe that God’s Word is yes and amen. What He says He will do.
- Reflection of God’s character
- Being led by the Holy Spirit
- Word driven and spirit led
- Every person is valuable. Embrace your place – Psalm 139
- A person is still a person no matter how small – Dr. Seuss
- We believe that genuine love and caring relationships are key to every endeavor and central to what it means to be the church.
- Find your passion and you will find your purpose, then embrace it
- Colossians 3:18-21
- Ephesians 5:21-33
- A Kingdom Family embodies the character of Christ
- A Kingdom Family lives out the mission of Christ, through the Spirit of Christ, for the glory of Christ
- A Kingdom Family manifests His kingdom here on earth.
- A Kingdom Family is an ambassador for God’s Kingdom here on earth.
- A Kingdom Family demonstrates Christ’s rule and reign through their families they put the gospel on display for the world to see.
- A Kingdom Family dreams big, they have God-sized expectations
- A Kingdom Family has Big Faith
- A Kingdom Family believes rather than seeing
- A Kingdom Family believes the least is the greatest
- A Kingdom Family believes It’s better to give than to receive
- A Kingdom Family are trendsetters
- A Kingdom Family leads
- A Kingdom Family practices what they preach
- A Kingdom Family pursues sanctification
- A Kingdom Family is not perfect, but, they pursue it.
- A Kingdom Family shows one another “reckless grace.”
- A Kingdom Family doesn’t isolate themselves from the culture, they understand that their purpose is to impact culture in tangible ways
- A Kingdom Family pursues cultural engagement in a way that reflects integrity, character, stewardship, and faithfulness
- A Kingdom Family is “in this world, but not of this world”
- A Kingdom Family understands that the path to hell is paved with good intentions, therefore, they vigilantly focus on their direction
- A Kingdom Family listens for Divine Direction (when to speed up or slow down, when to change lanes, when to change passengers)
- A Kingdom Family cultivates a legacy of Leadership
- A Kingdom Family understands that leadership is about influence
- A Kingdom Family recognizes that you can only lead where you are willing to go
- A Kingdom Family replaces their fears with courage to enter unchartered territories
- A Kingdom Family is transformational
- A Kingdom Family doesn’t accept the status quo
- A Kingdom Family is not satisfied with “good enough”
- A Kingdom Family looks for wise and creative ways to influence people
- Psalm 78:72
- Daniel 5:12
- Colossians 3:17
- Ecclesiastes 10:10
- God is worthy of our very best
- We should always do everything as if unto God
- Doing the best with what we’ve got
- Requires humbleness
- Develops over time
- Excellence is always on, always growing, and always learning
- Doing little things diligently every day, improves excellence
- Pursue only things worth pursuing, and function as a trusted resource in every matter of life
- Don’t waste time on d thoughts, actions, and ideas and focus completely on pursuits of excellence
- Is an attitude that touches every area of your life
- Does not compare itself to others
- 2 Timothy 2:2
- 1 Timothy 3:1
- Titus 1:5-9
- Psalm 78:6,7
- Jesus was the greatest servant of all
- Central theme of the Bible
- True leadership is servant-hood
- Service given in love
- Serving others
- Living is giving
- Work with a smile on your face
- Guard your heart
- Be aware that the enemy will do everything he can to render us ineffective in service to our Lord
- A heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26)
- Servant first, leader second
- Be strong and do the work
- We will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward
- Psalm 139
- The courage to be yourself causes you to not compete with anyone
- Requires vulnerability, transparency and integrity
- Reflecting Christ in everyday life
- Be who we say we are
- Proverbs 17:22
- We believe in fun
- We believe in keeping it real
- What we believe a sense of humor is not:
- Laughing at the expense of others
- If its aim is to hurt anyone
- Crude jokes
- Offensive remarks
- A sarcastic jab
WHERE WE BELONG
The Rock Church Knysna is part of Freedom Hill, which is a cluster of churches that belongs to the international apostolic family of Church of the Nations. We walk in accountable relationship with the leadership of this family of churches. Church of the Nations has influence in over 50 nations around the world. To find out more about our family go to www.cotn.org.
Pastors Louis and Edna Els are part of the Apostolic Council and therefore oversee the Freedom Hill Cluster. This Cluster consists of churches that are planted out of Victory Church both locally and internationally, as well as churches and clusters of churches who have been adopted into the Cluster.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Our service takes place every Sunday at 9am. The Rock is a comfy setting for our services, we make use of this great venue to explore the Christian faith together in a cozy and relaxed atmosphere. Our floor seating is very accessible for the physically disabled.
Every service includes modern and contemporary worship, a mix of English and Afrikaans, along with relevant and inspiring bilingual (Afrikaans/English) teaching from the Bible. Our services are practical, relevant & inspiring for all ages, all backgrounds and all walks of life.
Whether you come alone or are bringing friends, family or children with you, we aim to cater for you to ensure your time with us is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.