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Our vision

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20, NIVUK

It’s useful for a church to have a vision statement: it gives focus to all our endeavour.  This week our church council signed off a new one for our church.  Its shape will be no surprise to church members, and captures the imperatives in these words of our Lord Jesus Christ, carved into stone on our baptistry.

Our vision for the church at St Andrew the Great

God’s vision for a local church: the display of His glory 
God’s church displays His grace and wisdom in bringing people from death to life, into fellowship with Himself and one another, and to holy lives – obedient to His Word individually and as a church family. We seek to live to His glory, loving God and neighbour, under Jesus’ lordship.

In our particular context, we seek to be: 

A church committed to proclaiming “the gospel to Cambridge”
People’s greatest need is reconciliation to God. Together we seek to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Saviour in a way that is clear and fully true to Scripture.  Our church life is organised so that we can help each other grow as disciples and share the gospel in our area.

A church committed to supplying “gospel workers to the world” 
Our unique location gives us a special opportunity, and responsibility, to serve God’s mission, locally, nationally and internationally. So we work to train and equip everyone to serve in the work of the gospel, whether voluntary or paid.

To these ends, we are committed to:

  • The Bible as God’s inspired and sufficient instrument for proclaiming Jesus Christ and for building up His followers as mature disciples.
  • Every member ministering the gospel, but some being set apart as pastor-teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service.
  • Prayer, recognising that we are in a spiritual battle, in which we depend on our Sovereign God.
  • The glad use of our time, money and gifts, as God’s Spirit has distributed them to each of us, for the sake of His church, and our mission.
  • Investing in teaching, training and sending.
  • Sacrifice in the service of others, including suffering for Jesus Christ.
  • Supporting one another as a loving church family in all of this.

May the Lord keep us faithful to this vision!

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Our vision

Our vision

God’s vision for a local church: the display of His glory

God’s church displays His grace and wisdom in bringing people from death to life, into fellowship with Himself and one another, and to holy lives – obedient to His Word individually and as a church family. We seek to live to His glory, loving God and neighbour, under Jesus’ lordship.

In our particular context, we seek to be:

A church committed to proclaiming “the gospel to Cambridge”

People’s greatest need is reconciliation to God. Together we seek to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Saviour in a way that is clear and fully true to Scripture. Our church life is organised so that we can help each other grow as disciples and share the gospel in our area.

A church committed to supplying “gospel workers to the world”

Our unique location gives us a special opportunity, and responsibility, to serve God’s mission, locally, nationally and internationally. So we work to train and equip everyone to serve in the work of the gospel, whether voluntary or paid.

To these ends we are committed to:
  • The Bible as God's inspired and sufficient instrument for proclaiming Jesus Christ and for building up His followers as mature disciples.
  • Every member ministering the gospel, but some being set apart as pastor-teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service.
  • Prayer, recognising that we are in a spiritual battle, in which we depend on our Sovereign God.
  • The glad use of our time, money and gifts, as God’s Spirit has distributed them to each of us, for the sake of His church, and our mission.
  • Investing in teaching, training and sending.
  • Sacrifice in the service of others, including suffering for Jesus Christ.
  • Supporting one another as a loving church family in all of this.

Read our Statement of faith here.

Our history

For over 800 years our congregation met at the Round Church, half a mile north of St Andrew the Great.  From the middle years of the twentieth century onwards, God caused the church to grow, with a strong emphasis on Bible teaching ministry, both to students and year-round Cambridge residents.

By the early 1990s pressure of numbers was such that the congregation could no longer fit in the Round Church, and in 1994 we moved to St Andrew the Great (previously a derelict building), after a huge refurbishment programme.  Ever since then, we’ve called ourselves “The Round Church at St Andrew the Great” (though “StAG” is less of a mouthful!).  Since then, we have also been involved in various church growth and planting initiatives.  We have also grown as an international church, reflecting the diversity of our universities and city.

Click here to read more about the history of St Andrew the Great
Our present situation

In loyalty to God’s Word and our Anglican heritage, we stand together with fellow Christians in the Church of England and in the world-wide Anglican Communion in wanting to hold on to Christ’s counter-cultural, life-saving truth.

We enjoy links with many churches in our local area through the Cambridgeshire Gospel Partnership.  We also enjoy links with churches all over the world where former StAG members are serving.

We remain part of the Church of England, whose official teachings are rooted in the Bible.  However, along with many Church of England churches, we grieve that in recent years it has become respectable in the leadership of our denomination to think we know better than God’s written Word on Christ’s saving mission, His plans for sex and marriage, and more. Your can read more about our approach to the current situation in this letter from Alasdair from March 2023.

Since 2016 we have had oversight from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet as a resolution parish under the “House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests”, a commitment most recently reviewed by the PCC in 2024.  Our team participate in events run by Ely Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship and ReNew.

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