OUR MISSION
Our mission at Wellington Heights Community Church is to be a multi-ethnic community joining God in the reconciliation of all things through worship, reconciliation and neighborhood development.
OUR VALUES
WORSHIP
Worship is creating space to respond to the abundant love of God.
RECONCILIATION
Reconciliation is a journey and invitation from God for a community to embody shalom in holistic ways that disrupt, re-shape, and inform structures and everyday patterns of relating so that all people and creation may flourish.
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT
Neighborhood Development is co-creating holistic flourishing in the Wellington Heights neighborhood, the wider community, and beyond.
OUR BELIEFS
GUIDING BIBLICAL TRUTHS
There is one God. Three Persons.
John 1:1-5, 1 Jn 5:7-8, 2 Cor 13:14
Salvation is found through Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:9-10, John 1:12
The Bible is God’s Word and is true.
2 Tim 3:16-17
The greatest command is to love God and love others.
Matthew 22:36-40
The way of Jesus is lived in relationship with others.
Acts 2:44-47, Jn 17:23)
We are created to glorify God and share the good news of Christ.
Rom. 15:5-7, Eph. 2:10)
The Holy Spirit works both within individuals and among them.
Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4
CCDA PHILOSOPHY
Wellington Heights Community Church is part of Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), which is a network of Christians committed to seeing people and communities wholistically restored.
Living out the gospel means desiring for one’s neighbor and neighbor’s family that which one desires for one’s self and family. Living out the gospel means bettering the quality of other people’s lives spiritually, physically, socially, and emotionally as one betters one’s own. Living out the gospel means sharing in the suffering and pain of others.
THE APOSTLE’S CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
OUR APPROACH TO LIFE AND MINISTRY
PROXIMITY
Our ministry is rooted in living with and among the marginalized. Proximity changes our perspective, compels a deeper response and keeps us committed to the journey of pursuing justice for all. Proximity also allows us to build trusting mutual relationships as neighbors which reinforces the commitment needed for long-term, sustainable change.
RELATIONSHIPS
We are committed to mutual relationships rooted in the belief that everyone is created in the image of God with inherent worth and dignity. Development of mutual relationships is based on the long-term process of building trust, living proximate and embodying humility by learning from one another. We are committed to creating a community that builds up one another to be all that God has created us to be.
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT
We believe that acts of charity are only a beginning point, not the final strategy or solution. We value becoming one with our neighbors until there is no longer an “us” and “them”, but only a “we.” And, in the words of the Prophet Jeremiah, “we work and pray for the well-being of our city [or neighborhood],” listening to and strategizing with the community toward sustainable development and restoration based on felt needs of the community.
CHURCH BASED
The church has the unique ability to be a place of supportive and caring relationships for people from womb to tomb. We believe that the church has a critical role in creating a safe place for people to thrive, be inspired and reconcile a diverse group of people to God and one another across racial, social, cultural and economic barriers.
RACIAL JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION
We are committed to act, leading spaces for prayer and lament, moving beyond our walls to organize for sustainable change and creating spaces for a flourishing multi-cultural community. The church can no longer side step these conversations or involvement, but rather must be stewards of God's vision of justice, shalom and reconciliation each day.
WHOLISTIC CARE
Jesus came to make all things new—which means a wholistic approach to ministry involves the restoration of all parts of a person and community: physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and financial. Faith and deeds, worship and action, personal transformation and structural change are all integrated together in discipleship for prayerful action for the flourishing of all.