Who we are
Scott Drive Church was founded in 1966 by a group of Christians who saw there was a need for an unambiguous Biblical witness in the new residential areas which were being built in Exmouth at this time.
From the start, the church was independent - that is, we are not part of a denomination, and manage all our own affairs. We are linked to over 600 similar churches around the country through the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches - that is to say, we are also inter-dependent!
We are a very mixed assortment of people, from all sorts of unlikely backgrounds, who have been brought together by the captivating person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We call ourselves 'evangelical' simply because we believe in the 'evangel' (gospel) that Jesus preached to his disciples.
We find the record of this gospel in the Bible, which we believe was inspired by God so that generations after Christ could still receive His message. The Bible claims that this gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes - and this is something we have experienced for ourselves!
Jesus said, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink." (John 7: 37)
What we believe
A statement of our full doctrinal position can be found on the FIEC website (see above). In practice, this means that we are people with a vision that can be described as follows:
We believe God’s promises in the Bible are all genuine, and that when Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full", He is able to deliver! We have found that all God’s promises in the Bible in some way find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ, Who is the Person God has appointed as Head of the Church. He is the Person we worship, and the Head of our local church.
We believe that Christ's death on the cross has provided the means by which our sins can be forgiven by God, allowing each individual who comes to faith to find a new purpose in his or her life, freed from the guilt and stain of sin.
We also recognise the reality of the resurrection, and believe Jesus's promise that those who put their trust in Him will not be forsaken, even in death. Therefore we live lives that are free from the fear and anxiety that the shadow of death brings to human existence. Jesus is Lord of everything - including the grave!
Living the Christian life would not be possible without the help of God’s very special gift - His own Holy Spirit, poured into the lives of believers to bring a real experience of life, of joy, of hope and of faith to everyone who confesses his or her sin and turns in faith to Christ. Moreover, the Holy Spirit is at work within us, co-operating with us as we seek to become obedient disciples of Christ, transforming us from the inside to be more like our Master. The Holy Spirit makes the Christian life an exciting journey of faith in God’s service!
We are not just individuals – he has also placed us in a community of fellow-believers, so we grow together in our knowledge of God and our obedience to Him, as we learn from Him in the Holy Scriptures and put into practice what we learn. We want to become a community where God’s command to love each other is shown more and more clearly as we grow in faith!
This new community is also one that wants to reach out to others, to share the tremendous riches that God has given us. The Bible says that God wants everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth, so we want to do our utmost to help people in this part of beautiful East Devon to turn away from going their own way and to come to know the Author of Creation for themselves.
Wherever possible we want to work with other churches that share the same convictions about the truth of God that we find in the Bible; to this end, we are part of the Peninsula Gospel Partnership, which links up churches from many different denominations and backgrounds who all share this same gospel-message.
Taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34: 8)
Get in touch to find out more!
