Where we are heading

Our Mission and Vision

Here at Camberwell Baptist Church we have thought long and hard about who we are, why we exist, and where God is leading us. We’d love you to capture our mission and vision!

Find out more

The mission we live

Our mission statement is a reflection of God’s heart for the church, and captures the one simple purpose we believe God has called us together as a community of believers. We believe Camberwell Baptist Church exists of one simple purpose, which is to:

Love God, Live by the Spirit, Serve Jesus in the World

The vision we pursue

Our vision is about helping us recapture God’s heart for the future or our church. We are committed to faithfully pursuing this vision so we become the church he is calling us to be, and can accomplish our part in his mission.

At Camberwell Baptist our vision is to be…

“A growing community transformed by the gospel and empowered to change the world”

The values we hold

Values are the underlying convictions that consistently shape our everyday decisions and behaviours as a church; they are essential characteristics that we desire to be reflected in our lives and be the message we communicate through words and actions.

At Camberwell Baptist Church we seek to live out the following values:

Mission | We seek to live and share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Community | We care for and encourage one another to follow Jesus.

Bible | We teach and preach God’s word in order that we fully understand his purposes and live them out.

Prayer | We seek to communicate with God and live responsively to his Spirit’s leading.

Worship | We seek to bring glory to God with the whole of our lives.

Compassion | We seek to use all we have and are to love and serve people for God.

How we Partner together

Baptism and Membership

Baptism – Following after Jesus.

Here at Camberwell Baptist Church we practice and teach “believer’s baptism,” where as we choose to follow Jesus we respond in obedience to his command to be baptised. The decision to be baptised is both a public declaration of the decision we have made to become a follower of Jesus and signifies that we are dead to our former life of sin, be made clean, so we can the rest of our lives in relationship with Jesus Christ and serve his purposes in the world.

If you would like to be baptised or find out more about the biblical meaning and significance of baptism, please contact us on (03) 9813 0538, as we would love to answer any questions you have and explore this further with you.

Membership– Becoming a Gospel Partner

The heart of membership at Camberwell Baptist is about deepening our commitment to live as partners in the gospel. This commitment is to partners together is expressed through a covenant which affirms a two way relationship, where together we seek to provide support and encouragement that you need to grow in your walk with Jesus, and to call us more deeply into a life of service and sacrifice as we extend God’s love and care to others. By becoming a member you are committing to be an active, prayerful participant in the life and ministry of our church community, in our mission as we serve Jesus in the world.

We pray God would continue to lead you as you consider partnering with us as part of Camberwell Baptist Church. If you would like to find out more about what it means to partner together, please contact us on (03) 9813 0538, as we would love to answer any questions you have and explore this further with you.

Click here to view our Membership Covenant.

The beliefs we hold

Our church is part of the Baptist Union of Victoria, and shares a common statement of beliefs and truths with other Baptist churches.

Statement of Faith

Our church is part of the Baptist Union of Victoria, and shares a common statement of beliefs and truths with other Baptist churches. This statement is as follows:

The Doctrinal Basis from the Constitution of the Baptist Union of Victoria

The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

The existence of one God in three person: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The deity and incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.

The fallen, sinful and lost state of all people.

The salvation of men and women from the penal consequences and power of sin through the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, His atoning death, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His unchanging priesthood.

The immediate work of the Holy Spirit in the regeneration of men and women, in their sanctification, and in their preservation to the heavenly Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The necessity, in order to know salvation, of repentance towards God and of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment of all people by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The two ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ, namely Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which are of perpetual obligation: Baptism being the immersion of believers upon the profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a symbol of the fellowship of the regenerate in His death, burial and resurrection; the Lord’s Supper being a memorial, until He comes, of the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Story thus far

Our church has a wonderful story about how God has shaped us to become who we are today, so if you would like to hear our story here is more about the history of Camberwell Baptist.

Camberwell Baptist Church

The Story So Far…

The story of Camberwell Baptist Church is one we draw much encouragement from. Back in 1890 there wasn’t much in Camberwell! Hawthorn at the edge of the Yarra River was about as far as Melbourne extended. However with a booming city and infrastructure developments like the bridge over the Yarra and the new train line, Camberwell began to grow. So in 1890 a group of Christians gathered to pray in a house in Hawthorn and the vision of Camberwell Baptist Church was born.

Since 1891 when the vision became a reality and fourteen people became the founding members the church has been faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ locally and across the world. Some wonderful foundational elements of the church’s life have always been friendships, the Bible, mission, prayer, sharing of the message of Christ and preaching of the Word. They are still with us today.

Over the past 125 years the church has grown and naturally changed with the times. Our services are contemporary and there are now people born in over twenty different nations in our midst. We have sent dozens of people to many different corners of the world to serve the poor, develop communities, share the good news of Jesus Christ and work to for justice.

Despite this long and exciting journey our ‘DNA’ is still the same- commissioned and called by the firm foundation we have in Jesus Christ and shaped and committed to the Holy Scriptures. While many individuals come from many different countries and suburbs we know that collectively we are called and formed to be the Body of Christ in our local area. That is a privilege and serious responsibility as we strive to represent Christ to the world and in so doing to each other.

Camberwell is a natural centre. ‘The Junction’ which we are very near is an intersection of six main roads and three tram lines. It now has some 400 shops and cafes, cinemas, and a never ending flow of people. It is a wonderful place to live and witness to the greatness of Jesus Christ. We know that around us now there are 500,000+ people within 20 minutes.

But our best is yet to come. There are more people locally than ever and we continue to seek ways to serve and reach them with the life and message of Christ. And we continue to make people in distant places who have no knowledge of the gospel and reduced access to life’s essential provisions (food, shelter and clothing) a high priority.

It is an exciting story in which we have rooted ourselves and we continue to offer hospitality to others who want to join us in this adventure.