OUR VISION
To see lives transformed through Jesus for the glory of God.
1. Come as you are
We are a family where we don’t have to pretend but live in the beauty of God’s grace. We will step out of our comfort zones to welcome and include every person because Christ has done the same for us. [Romans 15:7]
2. We love Sundays!
We look forward to gathering together each week as God’s people in His presence. We gather to be nourished by His word, encourage others in the faith, and be empowered by the Spirit to worship God every day of the week. [Psalm 132:13]
3. Love in Action
We joyfully give our time, money and talents for God's good purposes in serving our church, the beaches and beyond because we have been loved in abundance by God. [John 13:35]
4. We are always disciples
We follow the way of Jesus through the slow, communal, daily habits of being His disciples. Whatever our stage of life, God is changing us to become like Him through His word, for God’s glory and our good. [Colossians 3:9b-10]
5. For those not here (yet)
We long for the people around us to meet Jesus and enter His Kingdom. We trust the Holy Spirit is already at work, as we share the greatest news ever with the Northern Beaches. We pray to have more people in church than at Freshwater Beach on a Sunday. [Acts 17:26-27]
What we believe
We believe that God reveals himself, and how we can join his family, through the Bible. Central to our belief is that Jesus Christ has died and risen to be living Lord and Saviour of all who repent and trust Him. Our teaching program seeks to faithfully present the Bible. We believe that God is at work through his Spirit transforming us as we gather to read His Word, in thankful prayer, bringing our requests, singing praise and working together in our serving ministries.
OUR HISTORY
St Marks Freshwater was officially opened on 23 September 1911. The cost of building was 93 pounds! A Sunday School had been run in a private residence since 1909.
The first wedding, on 24th October 1911 saw a Miss Weatherstone marry Mr W Owen, whose profession was given as Surf Lifesaver. The first child baptised in the 1911 building was Nell Davison. It is amazing that Nell’s funeral service was the last to leave the old building.
When the district was renamed ‘Harbord’ in 1923, the church was as well. In 1952 the church ceased to be a branch of St Matthews Manly.
In 1961 the present building was opened. The last service in the old building was held on Sunday morning 26th November 1961. The new church building alongside was opened by the Rt Rev Marcus Loane that same Sunday afternoon.
The church name returned to ‘Freshwater’ in September 2008. In 2017 significant internal renovations saw the 1961 furniture replaced with a more modern interior.