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As with any congregation, the beliefs of individual members may vary somewhat widely. ACC is generally Protestant in orientation (though with a fairly large number of Roman Catholics in attendance and in leadership positions). Its worship style tends to be non-liturgical (though often including elements such as confession of sin and absolution, confession of faith, words of institution, Lord’s Prayer). Perhaps most representative of the congregation’s beliefs would be the Apostles’ Creed, which is used each Sunday as a confession of faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Because of the interdenominational character of the congregation, worship services will vary from Sunday to Sunday. “Family services,” which are held once each month, are less formal and are aimed at the children. The Lord’s Supper is celebrated twice each month. A fairly typical service would be the following:

– Opening hymn
– Psalm
– Confession of sin and absolution
– Hymn
– Scripture lessons (Old Testament, Epistle, Gospel)
– Hymn
– Sermon
– Confession of faith (Apostles’ Creed)
– Hymn and offering
– Congregational prayer
– Closing hymn

Worship leadership, as well as the preaching of the sermon, is handled by different people each week. Most often, it is members of the congregation who lead and preach, but guest preachers are fairly common as well.

ACC is a “member-led” congregation, with leadership based in a church council. The council is assisted in its leadership role by a group of committees, and the membership of both council and committees is made up of both lay (primarily) and ordained men and women of the congregation.

ACC has so far chosen not to have a single pastor as leader of its worship and ministries. In part, this decision has been a practical one: with the wide diversity in denominational make-up, it would be difficult to decide upon a pastor from one denominational tradition or another. But there is another equally strong concern: the congregation values its tradition of lay leadership and involvement. While indeed some of the leaders are themselves ordained — serving in various ministries in the Arusha area — none of those who are ordained function in a way any different from those who are laypeople.

The desire is to maintain what has been the strength of the congregation for more than 20 years: a strong and active core of lay leadership and involvement.

A major ministry is that of word and sacrament, of course, found in the worship services of the congregation. A Worship Committee assures that each service a preacher, a leader, musicians, and other necessary leadership.

But ACC is also involved in other forms of internal and external ministry represented by its several committees:

– Education
– Evangelism and Outreach
– Projects and Benevolence

The Projects and Benevolence Committee (PBC) perhaps needs the most explaining. The congregation is committed to making a difference in the surrounding Tanzanian community, and is able to do so because of not supporting a pastor or other major staff. A large percentage of money given in offerings to the congregation is used to assist in meeting the health, housing and educational needs of a large number of people each year. It is expected that this will not change greatly with the addition of the coordinator of ministries mentioned above.