About Us

We’re an ordinary group of Jesus-followers, representing a variety of backgrounds, who are learning and growing in our faith together. We consider ourselves a spiritual family and value relationships over brand and structure.

When we gather, we bring our ‘whole selves’, acknowledging that authenticity is far more important to God than perfection. We strive to create an environment that is safe, accessible, inclusive and centered on the hospitality of Jesus.

The table remains an important picture for us. Both as a representation of our roots in the Brethren tradition (we share communion almost every time we gather), and as a vision for our future (a bigger table, where there’s always room for more.) We love the way this visual points to spiritual hunger, God’s provision, and shared experience - a place for everyone to belong.

No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, you’re welcome here.

At Forest Brook, we come to our faith from various traditions, backgrounds and theological perspectives. Of course, this has the potential to create conflict and division where we diverge on doctrinal issues. Jesus' own prayer was that His followers "be one" (John 17:20-21) so we highly value unity among our spiritual family. We hold to the tenets of the Christian faith as outlined in the historical creeds (see more below.) On all other secondary matters we choose to follow the admonition of Romans 14 - allowing each to believe and conduct themselves according to their convictions, and withholding judgment on one another as we differ in opinion.

St. Augustine put it this way, "In essentials, unity; in non-esentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

So what happens when we disagree? Our leadership is guided by three principles: precepts, preferences and practices. If a matter is determined to be a precept (something we are given clear direction on in the Scriptures) then we hold to that together. If something is determined to be a preference, then the Romans 14 injunction applies. If something is determined to be a practice - something that we have to "do" together, then leadership discerns and decides together.

At Forest Brook, we believe:

In One God, who is the creator and ruler of the entire universe. We believe God exists as a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe God is holy, loving, perfect and all-powerful. And we believe that although God is all of this – He loves you and me and wants to be known personally by each one of us. We believe that God makes Himself known to us in general through the creation, and in particular through the Bible.
In Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We believe that Jesus exists eternally as the second member of the Godhead, and that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a perfectly sinless life and gave himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all humanity by dying on the cross. We believe that after three days he rose from the dead, demonstrating his power over sin and death, and that he then ascended into heaven where he is now positioned in a place of ultimate authority at the Father’s side. We believe that Jesus is the only one who can bridge the divide between sinful people like us and a holy God who is without sin at all. We believe that he will return someday to consummate the Kingdom of God on earth, which He rules as our rightful Judge and King.
In the Holy Spirit, who is God In Us. He is the agent through whom God created the world and brings salvation to humanity. He comes to us from the Father and the Son, and through Him we become aware of our need for God and forgiveness. When a person becomes “born again” he enters that person and places that person into the Church (which is the Body of Christ). He brings us security, help, comfort and guidance. He gives us gifts which enable us serve in the Kingdom and to produce good fruit in our lives. Though we are able to resist him, it is God’s desire that each of us be filled and led by Him.
In the Bible, as God’s particular revelation to us. We believe that the Holy Spirit used human agents throughout time to record and to preserve the integrity of the 66 books which we call the Holy Bible. We believe that these books are therefore inspired by God in a manner unique to all other human literature – that they are in essence the Word of God. The main purpose of the Bible is to reveal who God is to us, and what His purpose is for human history. We believe that the Bible is complete, trustworthy and without error in all that it affirms. We believe that God still speaks to us through these books today, and that it is the final authority of matters concerning what we believe and how we are to live.
In the salvation of humanity. We believe that God made human beings in His image and that it is our purpose to know and worship Him, to love Him and to reflect His character in the world. We believe that humanity has fallen from this original intention by following our own selfish desires and disobeying God’s will for us. As a result, humanity is separated from God and rests under the condemnation of sin. We believe that the good news of God is that He has not been content to leave humanity in its fallen state, but has instead set in motion a plan of redemption in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We believe that through Jesus we are set free from the control of sin and that we become able to live a life of grace and truth, in restored relationships with both God and our fellow human beings. We believe that every person who has ever lived will, after their death, be judged by God for how they lived their life.
In the church, which is the living organism of the Body of Christ in the world today. The church is made up of all of those who have been called out of their life of sin and who
now live in community with one another as the people of God. We believe that God adds those He chooses to the church via their individual salvation. We believe that there is only one church in the world and that it is made up of all of those, irrespective of their individual denomination, who have accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Head of this one church, the Great Shepherd of God’s people. We believe that this universal church has been commissioned by Jesus to proclaim the presence of the Kingdom of God in this world and to baptise and teach all of those who are called to enter that Kingdom, until the end of the age. We believe that the church was given two sacraments, baptism and communion, through which it visibly demonstrates the grace of God on earth. We believe that the local church assembly is essentially a microcosm of this great universal church.
In the Kingdom of God, which is the dominion, or rule, of God, which was lost on this earth by humanity’s fall into sin. We believe that God’s redemptive purpose is to ultimately restore His Kingdom on earth, to every living creature He has made. We believe that this restored Kingdom was inaugurated on earth in the person and saving work of Jesus, and that since His death it has since been growing to include people from every generation and ethnicity. We believe that a person must be “born again” to become part of this Kingdom, and that it is practically imperceptible to those who are not yet in the Spirit. A person enters this Kingdom by faith in Jesus Christ, and that this is something to be sought above all things. We believe that this Kingdom will one day be fully realized on earth

We have some leaders in our context who have been specifically called, appointed or commissioned to senior leadership of our faith community. Our staff team, elders and board directors have all been called by God and responded to the invitation of our collective leadership to serve in leadership roles within our structure. These leaders are trusted and empowered to ‘read the winds’ and sense the movement of God in our midst. As we seek to be Spirit-powered and Spirit-led, we tune ourselves to what is going on around us.

The Elders Leadership Group (ELG) consists of spiritually mature men and women who meet regularly to pray and discern. Elders are selected by the current ELG from a pool of nominees put forward by our spiritual family. They serve 4 year terms which can be renewed.

Currently serving on our ELG: Anne Aurelius, Garry Cameron, Previn Francis, Beverly Henry, Andrew Kay, Rachel Kay, Carl Nash, Elizabeth Pierce and Kathy Ribble (who serves as Chair.)

The Board of Directors (BOD) is the group responsible for the church's fiduciary responsibilities. It consists of all members of the ELG, plus others who offer financial, legal, and organizational expertise. Currenlty joining the ELG are: Brenda Diedrick, Pam Ronson and Eric Suderman. Natalie Kay serves as Treasurer.e

Our roots are in the Brethren Movement.
About 200 years ago groups of Christians living in the British Isles became unhappy with their faith experience in the state churches there. They wanted a Christian experience similar to what they saw recorded in the Bible about the early church (see Acts 2:42-47). So they began meeting together in one another’s homes to study the Bible and share in the Lord’s Supper (communion). They took to calling one another “The Brethren”. Their numbers quickly grew and the movement spread to other parts of the world.

The values of family-style community and gathering around the table together remain front and center in our gatherings.