About Us

The Bible is inspired by the Lord God and is accurate, has authority and applies to our daily lives. God freely equips us with every good thing we require for our discipleship journey. His Holy Word, our Bible, is essential for our life walk with Jesus. It is much more than our ‘guide to life’; however, it feeds and nourishes our souls, offers sound advice and instruction, inspires and motivates us… No wonder we are encouraged to read it daily!

Inspired by the Holy Spirit and recorded by men, the living word of God enables us to live strong as Christians. The Bible contains a vast range of texts, from simple proverbs to family sagas, mind-blowing visions to parables, and stirring songs to profound mysteries. This precious treasure contains God’s knowledge to take us through this life and into the next

There is one God and Creator of all things. He exists in three persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was born of a virgin, Mary. Jesus as God and man is the only way back to the Father.

Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead on the 3rd day to take away the penalty for sin.

There are so many names for Jesus Christ – each one a reflection of his nature and purpose. Jesus is the eternal and ever-living Word who came in human flesh to save humanity. Perfect and sinless, Jesus is the exact manifestation of God, sharing the divine nature.

‘Emmanuel’, what Jesus was called when he came to earth, means ‘God with us’, demonstrating that God is not far off but chooses to be among his people. Jesus’ earthly ministry set the example of how we can live; he calls his followers to follow his teachings, his ways and love as he loves.

By living and dying sacrificially, Jesus opened the way for humanity to be reconciled to God. After his resurrection, Jesus returned to the Father, but promises he will come back to earth and complete God’s rescue plan.

We must ask God for forgiveness of our sins through Jesus and walk in God’s ways.

The Fall, heralding the entrance of sin and death into a once-perfect world, meant humanity needed a drastic rescue plan. Across cultures, people have relied on sacrifice in an attempt to make amends for their wrongdoings and to please the Divine.

These sacrifices, however, could never compare to the perfect and complete sacrifice of Christ, who died once and for all. The just punishment that we deserved for our misdeeds was taken on by Jesus as he hung on the cross. Rising from the grave in victory, Jesus defeated death itself and offered salvation as a gift to all who would come to him.

This precious gift, where sins are forgiven and eternal life with Christ confirmed, cannot be earned. It can only be received in faith, with gratitude and accompanied by repentance.

The act of repentance is our sincere response to receiving the gift of salvation. Freed from our sin and shame, with great joy we turn away from those harmful deeds and attitudes that hurt us, others, and our God.

We rely on God’s Holy Spirit to help us continue walking in freedom, filling up the gaps left by bad habits and failings with His precious gifts.

In and teach the commandment of Christ to repent and be baptized and the importance of being baptised in the spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues.

The act of baptism, to be fully immersed in water, is the public acknowledgement of a believer’s decision to follow Christ. It marks the leaving behind (‘burial’) of the sins of the past, turning away from a life moving away from God, to embracing a life walking in Christ’s ways.

This act of obedience to Jesus’ command and faithful following of his example has tremendous significance and transformational power for the disciple. The sinful nature and rebellious acts are left behind in the waters as the believer rises up, cleansed and free to live a new and overcoming life in the Spirit.

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He promised He would send the Holy Spirit to be with every believer. The Holy Spirit of God lives inside every disciple of Christ, guiding, empowering, comforting and counselling through His divine presence.

The Holy Spirit is not a ‘thing’ but a person; He forms part of the triune nature of God. We pray through the Spirit, to the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit generously bestows gifts beyond measure and fills us to overflow (as seen in the gift of tongues).

There is a deeply relational aspect to the Holy Spirit’s work, connecting us not only with our Father God but also uniting believers as one.

Prayer is vital for the disciple to grow and mature in their walk with Christ. As believers, the Holy Spirit is always with us; therefore, we are always with God. Prayer, however, is dedicated time the disciple devotes to spend with the Lord. This devoted time is spent in a multitude of ways. The disciple may offer requests, seek God’s will for a certain situation, wrestle with concerns or troubles or offer joyful thanks. Prayer can range from simple rest and reflection through to anguished cries for divine help; it reflects where we are in any given season and helps align us with where God wants us to be.

As every person is unique, prayer follows no fixed formula (although these can be used as a good aid to our devotions!). Jesus gives his disciples an example (when they asked him how to pray) which gives us a good place to start…

Not only does the Genesis account of creation reveal the nature of Creator God, it also offers a view of life, the universe and everything through His eyes. There is a beauty and power that flows through these words; it is more than a ‘story’ or a ‘textbook account’ – these words of creation resonate with deep truths that predate time and space itself.

At God’s word, all the elements of nature spring into being as each day passes, culminating in His most complex and intricate creation – Man.

Humanity is thus created in the image of God himself and blessed – God sees the pinnacle of His creation as ‘very good’.

The goodness of the Creator God is revealed through His creation – in Him there is no evil, no darkness, no bad thing. He made all things ‘good’ and humanity to reflect His own image, and yet we look around us today and wonder ‘what happened?’

The Creation is a long way from Paradise; death and destruction, pain and suffering, confront us from all sides. Humanity has fallen away from its state of right standing and relationship with God. The cause of this fall is sin – this small word was enough to condemn the whole of humanity to a life outside of God’s divine love. For God’s perfect and pure nature is incompatible with evil and wrongdoing; these two opposing natures cannot co-exist.

The perfect beauty of the creation narrative is followed by the horror of the account of the Fall of man. Through wilful disobedience, the first humans condemned every child to be born into sinful nature. Death became the consequence of sin; pain and misery would follow as men and women sought their own will rather than the will of their Creator.

The nature of God plans the best for His children – the sinful nature of humanity plots destruction. With selfish greed in control, strife follows.

God created people to be in community, connecting not only with Him, but with each other. The Church forms part of this divine design; a living and vibrant ‘body’ or ‘family’ where each member is supported by their brothers and sisters in Christ.

The purposes of God for His church are not only profoundly eternal, but are also anchored firmly in the practicalities of the here and now. Believers have their needs met – physical, emotional and spiritual – whilst being prepared to spend eternity with Christ.

From humble beginnings in a small room with one hundred and twenty Holy Spirit-inspired believers, to the millions serving Christ today, the Church has had a fascinating history spanning over 2000 years.

The Apostolic Tradition connects the teachings of the early church with biblical principles still central to churches today. God’s purposes for the church have remained through fraught times: the proclamation of the gospel and the strengthening and equipping of Christ’s disciples for eternity with Him.

Goulburn Valley Christian Fellowship was planted in the mid-1970’s when a family, based in Melbourne, was called to minister to the Shepparton area. Initially small in number, folks met in homes and halls until the opportunity arose for GVCF to develop a building on Pine Road.

Under no formal ‘denomination’ banner, GVCF is affiliated with MFI (Ministers’ Fellowship International). With a passion for working with other local churches, GVCF maintains a focus on growing disciples and taking the gospel into the world. Worship is underpinned by a conviction that God’s spiritual gifts are for today; all are welcome to come and participate.

The Gospel, the truth of the saving work of Christ, is very good news indeed! For those living a new life in Christ – in right relationship with God – it would seem unfair and unloving to keep this ’good news’ from those desperate for the truth.

Jesus instructs his followers to share, in love, this message of hope. Embracing the gospel not only ensures an overcoming and abundant life here on earth but also an eternity with Christ forever. Not only do believers seek to share Christ’s message of salvation, but they also have their own story to tell. Each disciple can tell others of their own journey of faith, the testimony of a life set-free and transformed day-by-day. The richness of Christ’s work in the life of an individual, a whole family, or even across an entire community, bears strong witness to the power of the Gospel, for here and eternity.