Woodstock Baptist Church is a gathering of Christians from Woodstock and the surrounding area, who meet regularly in the heart of Woodstock.
Our desire is to serve the community in the name of Jesus and we would love to welcome you to our services on a Sunday at 10.30am
What does it mean to be a Christian? The simple answer is it means you follow Jesus. But if you are asking that question I guess you want a little more information than that.
Jesus when he was alive called people to come and follow him. This meant leaving behind all other attachments and committing to his way of discipleship as the way they were going to live their lives from that point forward.
Today it is similar but different. Jesus still calls people to follow him. This following is about re-orientating your life around Jesus’ - how he lived, what he taught and what he did for us.
In the four gospels in the bible we have Jesus teaching us how to live by a different set of values, teaching us how to live a different way of life. Jesus though did not leave it with words on the pages of the bible; he backed up those words with action. He lived those words. His example was a life lived according to God’s way and no the default way of rebellion that defined the rest of humanity. He lived a life defined by love, sacrifice and faithfulness to God. But also Jesus showed the truth of his life and teaching though his death and his resurrection.
Jesus died on the cross so that humanity could be set free from the rebellion, the sin, that so easily dominates our living, rebellion from the way of life God desired for humanity. In his death Jesus takes the burden of sin off us and places it on himself, and it dies with him. This is what saves us – we are saved from a life defined by sin, and instead we can start again with a clean slate if we believe that this is what Jesus has done for us. God graciously through Jesus’ death says we can start again.
But we not only need to be saved, we also need a new way of life to replace the old, we need something to define us when we start again, and this new life is made available to us through Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection shows us that death is not the end of life anymore; that a new life defined by Jesus’ teaching can begin now. It means we can live differently; we can love God and love others first in our lives.
This is what it means to be a Christian believing that all that Jesus did for you – his teaching, his example, his death and his resurrection - can make a difference in your life now. It means committing to the way of Jesus – a way of love, sacrifice and faithfulness to God. Being a Christian is all about following Jesus by loving God and loving others
The following is taken from the Baptists Together website:
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.
For Baptists the concept of a family is important. The church is not so much a particular place or building, but rather a family of believers, committed to Christ, to one another and to the service of God in the world.
In this Baptist family everybody is equal, for everybody has a part to play in the service of God. There is no hierarchy of bishops or priests exercising authority over their members. Equality of status, however, does not mean that all have the same role.
Each local Baptist church appoints its own leaders - or ministers - to have particular responsibility for preaching, teaching and pastoral care. Working alongside these ministers are also deacons, who together with the minister(s) form the leadership team of the local Baptist church.
Baptists are grass-roots people, with a particular emphasis on the local church. These local churches are self-governing and self-supporting, ranging in size from twenty or so members to many hundreds. Although each Baptist church is an independent entity, Baptists nonetheless have always believed in associating with one another - and so the churches come together in regional, national and international spheres to promote and support the fellowship of Baptists everywhere.”
Woodstock Baptist Church is a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and is part of the Southern Counties Baptist Association.
