Westchurch began in February 1981.
Westchurch
... hard to describe but let's start by saying ...
Westchurch is an evangelical church that meets on Sunday mornings at 10 am in the Avonhead School Hall, 55 Avonhead Road, Christchurch ( map ).

Our members are from a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. We are blessed to have a thriving youth group who regularly lead lively Sunday services.

Having affiliation to the Open Brethren , we have a vital Bible teaching program, weekly Lord's Supper and some quieter worship services.

However, we tend to be pretty adventurous with our services. So be prepared for something challenging should you decide to pop-in ... you are, of course, welcome to check us out.


The following vision statement will give you some idea of what makes us tick ...

The Elders' Vision for Westchurch
We long to see a community of people who love God and are increasingly becoming like Christ. These people meet in a variety of places and times - over coffee or for lunch, at work or in the neighbourhood, in small and large groups, and as a gathered community - as friends getting together. They look for ways to encourage and care for one another, as they share their lives honestly together. They want their daily lives and relationship with God to mesh together. As they meet, both in these groups and as a gathered community, they talk about what God has done and is doing, and look for ways to respond to God, to learn together and to spur one another on in their faith. The Bible and prayer are seen as very important to fostering these things.

As a community they want to be known as a group that loves - a group that loves God, loves life, loves each other and loves people - and so in some small way reflect the character of God and exhibit His transforming life and power to all around.

They recognise that God wants to use their lives, wherever they are, in fulfilling His purposes and giving expression to the beauty, power and healing of His good news. They feel very dependent on God to help them in living for Him in a world that is busy, complex and in many ways opposed to Him. They desire to live amongst people who don't know God, forming genuine relationships and sharing all aspects of life including the spiritual dimension. As carriers of the message of the good news they look to team up with other followers of Christ and endeavour to communicate their faith in real and relevant ways by life, action and word.

Governance
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 elders 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.

We have affiliated ourselves with other Open Brethren churches. This does not hold any particular control over Westchurch but offers some great connections and indeed Global Connections. Interestingly, perhaps, some members would not know what denomination we are if you asked them.

For more info call Steve, 322 5678.