About us
Westchurch began in February 1981. (Photo)
We are a relatively independent church that meets on Sunday mornings at Avonhead School Hall, 55 Avonhead Road, Christchurch.
We have a vital Bible teaching program and a monthly cycle of Sunday services of various styles as you will see from the calendar. We get together during the week in various small groups, prayer groups and social occasions.
We do tend to be pretty adventurous with our services so be prepared for something challenging. We are always welcoming and would love for you to come and check us out.
The following vision and mission statement will give you some idea of what makes us tick:
Westchurch's Mission
Know, share and celebrate christ
Organisational values
Our Intent
preferred culture
Prayerful
Hospitable
Informal
Participatory
Decision-making by consensus
Bible based
All ages represented
Respecting differences
Missional locally and globally
Authentic
Enthusiastic
Truthful
Seeking
Learning
Dependant on God
Generous
Loving
Open minded
Accepting
To become better engaged with God’s mission
by developing:
— A deeper individual commitment to God
— A closer engagement with each other
Leading to practical expressions of serving our community in areas of:
— Recognisable programmes of service
— Intentional evangelism
— Community involvement
Stimulated by en emphases on personal and corporate discipleship through:
— Prayer
— Teaching relevant to life and heart issues
— Other practical initiatives
Resulting in and enhanced by:
— An uplifting Sunday morning worship experience
— A broad cross-section of people
— A strong welcoming and relational atmosphere
— A sense of purpose and engagement in
‘our’ mission
Our Church
What to expect
What should you expect from a Westchurch service?
Expect a relaxed and informal atmosphere - We want you to feel “at home”, even if this is your first time in a church service.
Expect sincerity rather than professional polish - We are a volunteer church run by ordinary people just like you.
Expect variety - We don’t have a strict order of service. A different person leads us each week, and each leader is free to lead us in their own way.
We enjoy a wide variety of music. Musicians also vary from week to week, and each brings us their own style.
Expect choice of expression - We come from a wide variety of religious traditions, and we work at including everyone. For communion especially we offer some choices – We pass round a communal goblet of wine, individual wine glasses and individual juice glasses. If you love Jesus, join in as they pass by.
Expect the freedom to be yourself - Make yourself known, we’d love to get to know you a little.
If you decide to become a regular, then welcome aboard. We want to free you up to serve God as He leads you, not bog you down in church programmes. To help you we have a wide variety of relationship-based support networks. Please ask if you are interested in finding out more.
GOVErN—ANCE
Governance is through an eldership elected, we say 'recognised', by the church in church meetings and accountable to the church in church meetings. The significant decisions for the church are also taken by the church at these meetings lead by the elders. There are at least two of these church meetings each year. An elder must stand down after serving for up to four years.
Westchurch's eldership is, along with its membership, teaching and worship leading, open to any Christian who considers themselves part of Westchurch, i.e. gender, age, race or politics is no barrier.
Elders are accountable for the church and to the church meetings. They are responsible for the significant work that is delegated and done through the many coordinators and teams, e.g. mission, pastoral, teaching, youth, children, social and internships.
As a legal entity, we operate under a Trust Deed and are registered as a Charitable Trust.
Interestingly, perhaps, some members would not know what denomination we are if you asked them.
ON A MISSION
As a church we support each other to be 'Good News' to all; wherever we are and in whatever we are doing.
Many members are involved with other Christian organisations and organisations that we Christians are drawn to, e.g. Christians Against Poverty (CAP), Pillars and Anglican City Mission.
We support some mission partners in New Zealand & overseas. Our Mission team helps us with these special relationships.
Christians Against Poverty
Since March 2015 Westchurch has partnered in new joint venture with Hope Presbyterian to develop a "WestHope CAP Debt Management Centre" to serve West Christchurch. This joint centre is be managed by Te Whare Awhero (Hope House), in nearby Hornby, and affiliated with Christians Against Poverty (CAP).
If you live in West Christchurch and want help managing your own debt situation, or know someone in that area who does, we encourage you to consider the free professional debt management service offered by CAP. Read more
SMALL GROUPS
There are a number of small groups that gather at various times during the week. These give greater opportunity for us to develop friendships and encourage each other in our faith.
If you want to join a smaller group, our Pastoral team will be happy to help.
Prayer is so important that we have regular gatherings specifically for this purpose.