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ABOUT US..

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The Agricultural Christian Fellowship (ACF) is open to all Christians in all branches of Agriculture, Horticulture and related activities. It exists to help them to make a Christian response to the many blessings, challenges and problems they face.

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Farming has always had a special appeal for many of us. Contact with the land and with livestock, the direct concern with producing food, and close contact with God’s creation make up a unique and satisfying calling.

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The whirlwind of technological change has brought in its wake much ‘green’ anxiety. We seek to root our response in the realisation that what is generally called ‘the environment’ is God’s creation to be lived in carefully, responsibly and thankfully. More recently there has come a severe economic squeeze which threatens many families, whether farmers, farm employees or those in related industries, with an end to the pattern and meaning of their lives.

 

The ACF, with other partners, tries to be alert to all these issues and to think them through from a biblical perspective. This understanding can then be the basis for trying to influence the context within which are made the decisions that affect us all.

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FELLOWSHIP

In Derbyshire there is an ACF local group. This draws together agriculturally minded people for stimulation, support, fellowship and fun! A variety of activities take place such as bible study, suppers, country & western singing, farm walks and barbeques. We wish to establish other groups.

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From time to time a conference is held at a central or regional location. A topical theme is chosen and God’s thoughts and ideas are gleaned throughout the day. This provides a valuable opportunity to widen your relationships and gives a sense of belonging to a broader network of like-minded people.

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CARING

A biblical understanding also heightens our concern to help and encourage each other; to try to dispel the demons of fear and failure that can thrive in hard times, especially when people are locked into their problems in isolation. ACF seeks to help its members to help each other, and to help them together to reach out to other people. ACF and the Arthur Rank Centre together formed Farming Community Network (FCN) which is a national charity helping farming families who are facing difficulties.

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EVANGELISM

A potent barrier to the growth of Christian belief is a widespread feeling that Christianity is irrelevant to the world of work. The ACF believes that discipleship involves all of life and that the gospel can, for example, illuminate economic relationships as much as family relationships. The more all-embracing the gospel we live by, the more points of contact we provide for any who are searching for the meaning of their lives.

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YOUNG PEOPLE

In all these areas the ACF has a special concern for young people: that their Christian understanding may grow with their professional expertise. We are particularly keen to relate to Christian students in agriculture. 

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DOCTRINAL BASIS
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 The basis of the Fellowship shall be the fundamental truths of Christianity, as revealed in Holy Scripture, including:

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  • There is one God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.​

  • God is sovereign in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgement.

  • The Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour.

  • Since the fall, the whole of humankind is sinful and guilty, so that everyone is subject to God's wrath and condemnation.

  • The Lord Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, is fully God; he was born of a virgin; his humanity is real and sinless; he died on the cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.

  • Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.

  • Those who believe in Christ are pardoned all their sins and accepted in God's sight only because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them; this justification is God's act of undeserved mercy, received solely by trust in him and not by their own efforts.

  • The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ.

  • The Holy Spirit lives in all those he has regenerated. He makes them increasingly Christlike in character and behaviour and gives them power for their witness in the world.

  • The one holy universal church is the Body of Christ, to which all true believers belong.

  • The Lord Jesus Christ will return in person, to judge everyone, to execute God's just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.​

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