Branches in a Vine

In John 15 Jesus says we’re joined to Him like branches in a vine. Drawing on this passage we conclude: 1) We’re to be absolutely dependent on Jesus, especially in prayer. 2) We’re to seek to remain in Jesus by obeying Him. 3) We’re to be producing spiritual fruit such as love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).

A Temple

Joining in Christ also makes us a temple (Ephesians 2:21-22). Knowing this, we believe we’re to be a worshipping community (1 Peter 2:4-5). Every day we’re to present our lives to God as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) and every Sunday we gather together in God’s presence to magnify Him, serve Him, devote ourselves to Him, and praise Him (Acts 20:7).

A Family

The Christian church is not a team, a corporation, or a club. Joining in Christ means we’re a family (Galatian 3:26). Therefore, as should be the case with families, we believe we’re to be committed to each other, to care for each other’s needs, and to be intimately involved in each other’s lives.

A Body

Finally, the Bible tells us that we’re joined in Christ to be a body of which He is the head (Ephesians 4:15-16). This means we all have different gifts and abilities which we’re to use to build up our church – just as the different parts of the body do for the body as a whole. So, joining in Christ makes us people who serve each other playing our part so the body grows.

Word Ministry

Preaching, teaching and sharing God’s Word (the Bible) is an essential activity of the church (2 Timothy 4:2) and the most important means by which it carries out its mission to proclaim Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). Recognising this, we want our church to be shaped by the Word. Further, we want to see it shared with those who aren’t yet Christians - locally and globally.

The Sacraments

The Bible tells us there are two sacraments: The Lord’s Supper and baptism (Matthew 26:26; 28:19). These have been given to us by Jesus Himself to proclaim His work to ourselves, each other, and the world in order to build up and sustain our faith. Therefore, we want to regularly share in the Lord’s Supper and take every opportunity to baptise those who have become part of Christ’s church.

Mercy Ministry

As Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom had come in Him, He not only preached, but also practically showed that it had come by caring for people’s physical, mental, and emotional needs (Mark 6:31-44; Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:34; John 11:17-37). At Wavell we too want to proclaim Christ’s Kingdom through caring for people as He did.

Shining Our Light

Finally, proclaiming Christ also involves living consistent Christian lives among those who aren’t Christians. We’re called to be ‘salt and light’ (Matthew 5:13-16) and to ‘shine among them like stars’ as we ‘hold firmly to the word of life’ (Philippians 2:15-16). This means we always want to strive to be honest, holy, self-controlled, loving, humble, hard-working and wise to show Christ’s goodness to our world.