Sola 5

Central Baptist Church is a member of Sola 5: an association of God-centred evangelical churches in Southern Africa.

Sola 5 is focused upon bringing together biblically-minded, God-centred churches and believers to encourage one another to meet this need throughout the whole southern African region. True churches and believers who have been disillusioned and disheartened by the definite weakening of the church need not feel isolated and frustrated. As he had in Elijah’s day, we are persuaded that God still has his people today who are willing to speak up and confront our man-centred culture. Likeminded local churches can be linked together in productive and supportive association without the development of cumbersome ecclesiastical structures and without the cultivation of personalities that engage in destructive power-plays and pragmatic politics. It is clear that local churches and individual Christians are searching for identity, and direction and an escape from man-centred administrative structures and mindless tradition. Practically, isolated local congregations and individual believers are yearning for answers to questions such as:

• What is the local church really here for?
• How ought we as a church family to relate to other church families?
• If we are not meant to lead an isolated and independent existence as local churches, on what basis can we cooperate and associate with other groups of believers?
• Where can I find a genuine New Testament church?

Sola 5 is an Association of likeminded congregations that straddles country borders to embrace churches in the whole southern African region, including Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa. It enables committed local churches to benefit from an unambiguous shared identity, fellowship, prayer, and mutual accountability.

Churches in the association affirm their commitment to historic confessional Christianity by reasserting the vital notions of the authority of Scripture, Christ-centred faith, gospel grace, justifying faith, and God-centred living. The fivefold Reformation creed of sola scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola gratia (by grace alone), sola fide(by faith alone) and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone) summarises the urgent need of the hour. These convictions must drive the church again as they once did.

Learn more about Sola 5 by visiting its website.