What We Believe

Zion United Reformed Church is:

a Christian church

We confess together that Jesus Christ is Lord. We publicly proclaim this in harmony with all Christians who have ever confessed and believed this life-changing truth from the creation of the world until our own day. Our confession is articulated in the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Our beliefs are centred upon God’s special revelation to us in His Holy Word.

a Reformed church

We are united in our conviction that the Word of God must be the centre and source of our beliefs and practices and therefore we join with the churches of the 16th century Protestant Reformation who were called upon, in God’s providence, to reform the Christian church by returning to its sources in Scripture. We are united in diligently seeking to reform the church even today and we recognize three key marks of a Christian church:

  • the pure preaching of the gospel, (Romans 10:14-17)
  • the faithful administration of the sacraments which Christ commanded, namely baptism and the Lord’s Supper, (Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 22:19)
  • and the proper exercise of church discipline. (Matthew 16:19)

a confessional church

We desire to understand the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) as we live lives of gratitude before Him for all that He has done. We meditate on Scripture and the sound doctrine which we have had passed down to us through generations of faithful study (Titus 2:1).

We are bound by the Word of God and have catechisms, confessions, and doctrinal standards that were written by our forefathers in the faith. We believe that the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, (or here or here) and the Canons of Dort are faithful summaries of the Word of God which guard us from heresy (misunderstanding or distorting Scriptural teachings, c.f. 2 Peter 2:1) and speculation (Jude 1:4).

an accountable church

We recognize the Biblical importance of joint fellowship with other churches and that is why we are a member church of the United Reformed Churches of North America (URCNA). We share a common confession of faith and common understanding of biblical doctrine with these churches. We hold each other accountable through regular regional gatherings of member churches (Classis Southwestern Ontario) and biannual meetings of all the churches in the URCNA (URC Synod). These broader assemblies offer opportunities for dialogue, refinement, and shared oversight. (Acts 15:6ff)