Who We Are
WE ARE A COMMUNITY of people passionately serving God, growing in our love for Him and for others
Our Vision
12-Month Vision
By 2025, there will be a growing sense of unity, a genuine commitment to discipleship and a tangible desire for deeper fellowship with at least 60% of the church actively and regularly engaged in organised ministry, coordinated events, service opportunities and small groups.
We will develop a welcome and connection strategy that includes a series of regular events.
We will develop and communicate an annual calendar and corresponding newsletter.
We will map and review all ministries against the vision.
We will develop a communication strategy for the church.
10-Year Vision
By 2034, LifeChurch will be a large, diverse and strong Kingdom community where people are seen, valued and heard.
We will be a contagious body of believers who have a passion for God with a deep desire for spiritual growth, a heart for the lost and needy, and who are dedicated and equipped to use our unique gifts to serve.
We will be led by God with wisdom and clarity and known for our love for Him and love for one another.
We will be a beacon of hope to our local community with a strong sense of purpose and commitment to showing the love of Jesus through meeting peoples’ needs, sharing the gospel and living radically transformed lives that bear witness to Him.
We will be a ministry HUB in the centre of Maryborough that serves the community and the church will facilitate opportunities for worship, prayer and fellowship every day.
We will have purposeful lifegroups that nurture, disciple, equip and commission for ministry.
We will have a program and process for identifying, developing and deploying the gifts of the church for the works of ministry.
We will have a board approved plan for the development of the ministry HUB with a number of established ministries in operation offering clear pathways for service and impact between the church and the ministries.
We will have multiple and intentional opportunities for deeper fellowship that foster unity and ensure people are seen, valued and heard.
LifeGroups
LifeGroups exist because we believe It is important to encourage and grow each other in our Christian walk. We have a number of different LifeGroups, which help strengthen relationships, provide support in life’s challenges and encourage growing together in the knowledge and love of God. We meet together weekly to discuss what we’re learning in the Sunday services and to share together. Amongst others, our LifeGroups include: Couples, Ladies, Men, Seniors and Youth. For more information or to get connected with a LifeGroup, please contact Pastor Merryl
Ministry Training
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Wesleyans believe in one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Saviour of all who put their faith in Him alone for eternal life.
We believe that those who are made new in Christ are called to be holy in character and conduct, and can only live this way by being filled with the Lord’s Spirit.
We believe in the Bible and its sufficiency to establish our faith and conduct.
We believe God wills for people everywhere to know Him and be made new in Christ.
We believe that the purpose of the Church is to worship God in spirit and in truth, and to reach a lost and fallen world with the gospel of Jesus Christ through its worship, witness, and loving deeds.
The following are terms descriptive of who Wesleyans are and why they do what they do. They describe the “soul of the Church”:
BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: The Bible is God’s holy Word. It uniquely and infallibly reveals God’s plan for His people and how to live out that plan, individually and corporately. Beliefs, practices, priorities, and our mission are to be anchored in clear biblical teachings.
CHRISTLIKENESS: Jesus Christ is the defining feature of God’s will and relationship with all humankind. In Christ is found both newness of life and the highest and clearest example for godliness. People made new in Christ find Him to be the source of faith, hope, and love in both the inner life and in our outward actions engaging a world desperate for hope and life.
DISCIPLE-MAKING: Making disciples is a clear mandate from Christ. This requires a strong missional focus on evangelism and training in spiritual growth and holy living. Done effectively, this will produce and promote growth and health in and among the churches.
LOCAL CHURCH CENTERED: The denomination exists to help local congregations grow and multiply, be more healthy, and more authentically reflect God’s plan. Local churches are the most fundamental and strategic points of evangelism and discipleship. The challenge of the denomination is to keep finding the best ways to serve, strengthen, and multiply congregations.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP: Wesleyans respect leadership that is placed over them, while realising that the authority and effectiveness of spiritual leadership is not primarily bestowed, but earned, and is characterised by a loving and willing heart of obedience that serves God and mankind gladly. Wesleyans desire to be leaders in serving.
UNITY IN DIVERSITY: There is intrinsic value in every person. Biblical unity becomes all the more important and beautiful in the light of the wide-ranging differences in personalities, cultures, races, languages, talents, and perspectives. Finding unity and mutual love in Christ eliminates devaluation and deprivation of life to one another.
WHAT IS A WESLEYAN?
We are a gathering of local churches and ministries from around Australia serving together under the umbrella of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia. We find our roots dating back to John Wesley who was a key component of 18th Century revivals in England. His desire was to spread the message of Scriptural Holiness around the world. This is our mandate today. From these beginnings came the ‘Holiness Movement’ and at its heart is the message of perfect love, which is to love God with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength and our neighbour as our self. (Mark 12:30-31 NIV)
We, the Wesleyan Methodists of Australia, are a part of a wider church that is connected together under the name, the Wesleyan Church. We are now found in over 80 nations. In 2011, worldwide Sunday morning worship attendance was 475,000 persons in more than 5,000 congregations. Worldwide total membership was 368,000.
In 1946, the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia was officially formed in Melbourne under the leadership of Kingsley Ridgway. While the initial beginnings were slow, we have now spread across the country with around 95 churches. Our people come from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and communities. While we do celebrate our diversity, we also acknowledge the values that hold us together – such as our love for the word of God, the bible, our commitment to Christlikeness, our passion for disciple-making, and our call to servant leadership.
The message we share is a message we are experiencing everyday.
It is a message of hope, it is the message of love, and it is the message of life.
It is the message of Christ and the Cross.
