Every Church of England Church is established

on the truth of the Bible,

the power of the Spirit and a life of

loving service in the community.

To fulfil this calling we have summarised our priorities as follows:

St Wilfrid's Church seeks to build mature disciples of Christ,

through the direction of the Word of God,

the encouragement of the people of God,

the goal of the true worship of God

and thereby reach out into our community

and world with the love of God.

To fulfil this vision in accordance with the priorities for every church

set out in Acts 2:42-47, we recognise the following 5 priorities:

Worship; Learning; Fellowship; 

Pastoral Care; Evangelism 

Worship - responding to God

Worship should give the opportunity for all people to praise God.

It should be Joyful, Enlivening, Uplifting and Reverent. It should provide teaching, nurture and growth in the knowledge and love of Jesus. It should make us experience the presence of the risen Christ in the power of his Holy Spirit. It should result in fellowship, friendship and a sense of belonging. It then reaches out into daily life to communicate to everyone we meet, the love of Christ who loves us so much that he came and died for us.

Learning - listening to God

Our learning should give the opportunity for all people to grow in their knowledge of God through his word. It should be relevant, accessible and challenging. It should open our minds to the truth of God, inform our lives by its application, and impact our world in the power of the Spirit. It should be engaging, encouraging, and enabling for each member of Christ's church, so that they are able to fulfil their callings to build up the body of Christ.

Fellowship - loving one another

Fellowship should give the opportunity for all people to belong in the body of Christ. It is a commitment to welcome all who have connection with the church through relationships with its members, or attendance at its various services. It should visibly express the unity we have in Christ across every age, stage and background. It should express our commitment to do all things with excellence and integrity. It should enable those outside the church to see in our living concern for one another the reflected love of Christ for us.

Pastoral Care - sharing our lives

Pastoral care in the body of Christ means that every person should be valued and appreciated, their various gifts and talents used and developed, their needs noticed and supported, and their faith nurtured and encouraged.

Evangelism - sharing our faith

Evangelism means our commitment that every person in our church should be able to articulate and share their faith, to be prayerfully and practically concerned for all those they know who are outside of the body of Christ, to be committed to show and share the love of Christ not only among friends, family and neighbours but into our community, and ultimately in our world.

 Setting ourselves this vision and priorities is not a claim to perfection. It is a recognition both of our weaknesses and of God's strength to fulfil His purposes in His midst.

Top of Page