Bible

The Christian message is simply explained on our 'what is Christianity' page. 

We are governed by 4 documents: Our Doctrinal Statement and our Purpose, Values and Ethical statements. Our Doctrinal Statement can be found under the 'What we believe' tab. The others can be read below:


Our Purpose Statement: Why we exist

  1. Our GOAL in all we do is to glorify God and enjoy him together.

 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) 

  1. Our MISSION is to make disciples who understand our culture and know, sow and show Jesus in Warndon Villages, Worcestershire and the World. 

Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’(Matthew 28:18-20) 

  1. Our VISION is to see God’s Kingdom grow as families, friends and communities are transformed by the gospel. 

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labour. For we are God's fellow-workers; you are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:6-9)
 

Values Statement: What we aspire to be


Woodgreen is a community of people who have been called together by God’s grace to glorify Him. We are therefore committed to growing disciples of Christ by pursuing the following core values.
 
LISTENING to God by engaging with his Word 
We believe that God governs and transforms his people through his Word and by his Spirit. We therefore place a high value on faithful preaching that is applied in culturally relevant ways and magnifies Jesus Christ. We seek to glorify God and enjoy him when we meet together for praise, and are committed to embedding his Word in all areas of church life. In particular, we have a strong commitment to Bible-centred children and youth work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 1:20-21)
 
PRAYING with dependent faith in God  
We recognise that unless God blesses all we do as a church, our labour is in vain. We therefore seek to be a church that expresses our reliance on God through prayerful dependence. We know that we need the help of the Holy Spirit to be the Christ-centred, faith-driven community we are called to be. (Ephesians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Philippians 4:6-7)  
 
ENGAGING with our local community 
We believe that we have been called to be Christ's community within our local community. We understand we need to be a contemporary church to do this effectively, and so we respond positively to change. We seek to connect with our community through expressions of love and strategic opportunities and programmes, always with the express aim of forging meaningful relationships that can act as bridges to share Christ. (Matthew 5:16, Philippians 2:14-16, 1 Peter 2:12)
 
RELATING to each other in loving community 
We are committed to being an inclusive, welcoming Christ-centred community. We therefore unite on gospel-truths and seek to handle secondary issues with respect for the convictions of each other. We believe that God has called us together to be a people who love and care for each other, and we therefore value opportunities to strengthen our bonds of friendship and fellowship in Christ. (John 13:34-35, James 2:1-5, 1 John 4:11-12)
 
SERVING God in the way he has gifted us 
We believe that every Christian has been given gifts by God for the building up of his community and the fulfilment of Christ's commission. Every member therefore has an important role to play and is called to be an active participant in the life of the church. We believe that a key role of church leaders is to empower every Christian to discover, develop and deploy their gifts. Our desire is to be a community that values creativity and innovation in service and ministry and where every gift is recognised and appreciated. (Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Ephesians 4: 11-12)
 
LEADING God’s people 
We value godly leadership that is faith-driven, Spirit-led and Bible-centred. We therefore believe that one of the priorities of a healthy church will be to develop courageous, servant-hearted, Christ-centred leaders across all areas of church life. In particular, we believe that we have a responsibility and commitment to train up future pastors and Christian workers. Church members take their privileges and responsibilities seriously and respect and trust their leaders, and each relates to the other in a bond of mutual support and love. (2 Timothy 2:2, Hebrews 13:17, 1Thessolonians 5:12-13)
 
SHARING the good news about Jesus Christ 
Whether in Warndon Villages, Worcester or the World, we believe that we have been called to be Christ's ambassadors, proclaiming the gospel to a needy world. We therefore seek to be an outward-looking and big-hearted community, equipped for evangelism and with a strategic interest in world mission. (Matthew 28:18, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:20)

 

Ethical Statement: Where we differ from our culture


The ministry, life, witness and constitution of Woodgreen Evangelical Church is founded upon the teachings of the Bible. As set out in our Doctrinal Statement, we believe the Bible is God’s Word and as such ‘speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice’.
 
The following ethical statements flow from this historic understanding of biblical authority as outlined in our Doctrinal Statement and Doctrinal Distinctives.
 
Marriage
 
This Church upholds that the teaching of the Bible is that marriage is between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 5:31-33) and that all sexual practices outside of marriage between a man and a woman are sinful and wrong. This includes homosexual practices (Romans 1:24-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) regardless of whether or not homosexual marriage is permitted by the laws of England and Wales.
 
As a member of the FIEC, this Church holds to the Doctrinal Distinctives on Same-Sex Marriage adopted by the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) on this issue.  This is available on the FIEC website (https://fiec.org.uk/who-we-are/beliefs/same-sex-marriage). 
 
It is therefore important that the Church and Church Members in no way condone, engage in, promote, assist or encourage adulterous or extra-marital sexual practices, whether heterosexual or homosexual.
 
Gender
 
In accordance with our Doctrinal Distinctives and the FIEC Statement on Women in Ministry, we recognise that God created us male and female and calls us to live according to our gender identity, which is inseparable from our biological sex determined at conception. Our gender may not be changed or reassigned.