VISION AND VALUES
It all starts with a question, why?
Why are we here as a church? Together as a church family, we went through a vision casting journey, and it was through seeking and listening to the Lord, that we came to the point where we believe that we are called to be,
‘A Good News Church following an Extravagant God.’
That is why we believe Woodbridge Quay Church is here.
3 key parts to our vision:
SHARING | SHOWING | FOLLOWING
Sharing the Good News
We live in a news saturated world. Once upon a time we only had 4 television channels, now there are 24 hour news channels. But it’s not just on the telly, it’s on your phones, it’s on social media, you get alerts pinged to you about stuff. Non-stop news. And quite often it’s bad!
In the midst of that, we believe that we hold the greatest news story that the world has ever heard. That because of Jesus, death has lost its sting, and that through Jesus we can have life in all its fullness.
So, to share the Good News is to Announce publicly, indicate clearly. Quay Church is here to share the Good News of Jesus to all those around us. That’s when we’re together, because we need to encourage each other with the hope that we have, and to share Good News stories about Jesus with each other. But it’s also to share that Good News with those who don’t know him, that we believe Christ has conquered death, that we can have hope for the future, and that when we live in relationship with him now, our life can know fullness.
Showing the Good News
We want to be a church that also shows the Good News of Jesus to our community through our actions. A question that always gives us pause for thought, is would the community of Woodbridge miss our church if we weren’t here? Would Woodbridge miss us?
To be a Good News Church is not to just throw occasional words out there, telling people Jesus loves them, but it is as Christians to be Good News in our community and show them that Jesus loves them.
Jesus didn’t just preach Good News about the Kingdom of God, he was Good News. He didn’t just preach forgiveness of sin, but was willing to stand alongside someone who was about to be stoned to death. We as a Church want to be Good News in our community.
In an age where there is so much bad news, so much greed, pride, corruption and selfishness, we can serve our community, we can bless our neighbours, we can be Good News to our families and to our friendship groups.
Follow our Extravagant God
We want to be a church that follows our extravagant God. We believe God is Extravagant because of what he has done through Jesus. The word ‘Extravagant’ means exceeding reasonable bounds, or paying an unreasonably high cost. He is an Extravagant God who gave of himself in Jesus, to pay the cost, to pay the debt owed by everybody. All we have to do, having had the tab picked up for our sin, is to follow him. Follow him into life.
When the early church were first called Christians it was probably a derogatory nickname given to them, because before that they were being known as followers of the way. The way of… Jesus.
At the heart of what we should be doing as a church is Jesus instruction to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:20). That isn’t just converts, that is people who are growing in a walk in the ways of Jesus. When we follow Jesus and we are obedient to him, that leads to transformation in our own lives.
The next question is how?
We achieve that, we believe, through living out our shared Church values. When we begin to live out these values, the more we live them out, the more likely we are to see our vision being fulfilled. Which is why we want to embrace our identity as the church with the hands. Each of our values stem from this identity.
OUR VALUES
HANDS THAT:
PRAY
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We believe that everything that we do as a church needs to be undergirded in prayer. We encourage people in their prayer lives. We set aside days of prayer, and also every year have a whole week of prayer – we want to prioritise being hands that pray.
OPEN
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The Church without the Holy Spirit is dead. We want to be open to how the Spirit guides us collectively, and we would encourage people to be open to the Spirit’s moving throughout their day-to-day life.
LOVE
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We believe that love transforms. This is what it means to be Good News practically and to be a blessing to our community. We try and do all we can to show our community that God loves them. We want to love our community, because it has the power to transform situations when we do.
GIVE
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We would encourage people to be open handed in giving to the church in terms of their gifts and time, but also to be generous in what they give financially to the church. We can’t do what we do, without the faithful giving of God’s people. On a personal level it is acknowledging the blessings God has given us and asking that he would use them for His glory.
RAISE
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Part of our worship is giving our best to the Lord in all that we do. This is why gathering in worship is so important, because our Services of worship are formative in nature. Those of us who have been wounded need to find healing. Those of us who have been captured need to be freed. Those of us who have been defeated need new courage so that we can stand on truth. Those who have come feeling weak need our strength renewed. There is something about worship that is restorative. We want to be hands that raise.
CARE
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Our church has a reputation for being very welcoming, and it’s because we want to extend the welcome that Jesus gives to everybody and anybody. All of the church’s ministry is about connecting people to the welcome, love and care of Jesus. That’s whether they know him already, or even if they don’t know him yet, we want to be hands that care.
MOVE
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Discipleship and growing in your walk with the Lord is so important. It’s why we encourage people to become part of a Church small group. Not only is that a place where you can receive pastoral care, but it’s also a place where you can go deeper in your relationship with God. If we all root ourselves in Jesus, we will see growth, not just in our own lives, but we will see God’s kingdom grow.
Who are Baptists?
Baptist churches are found in almost every country in the world. As part of the world-wide Christian church, Baptists form one of the largest families of faith, alongside other trinitarian Christian traditions such as Anglicans, Methodists, Reformed, etc. Click on the link below to find out more about what it means to be a Baptist.
Growing healthy churches in relationship for God’s mission in the East of England.
There are over 170 churches in the east of England who are part of the association. We are one of the thirteen regional associations of Baptists Together in UK. The eastern region covers Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex.
Please explore this site to find out more about the EBA, our churches, and what we do.