Community

a place for you to belong at westfield

We don’t always get it right.

And that’s the truth. But we try. Hard. Our pastor often calls us a “Purple Church.” He means politically, of course. We’ve got folks who are blue and folks who are red. And folks who are somewhere in between. And somehow, week in and week out–even through the last tumultuous years, we’ve found ourselves sitting beside each other singing and praying. We’ve fed people together and cared for people together because we know somewhere deep inside that those things are really the things that hold us together and they’re far more important than the things that we differ on.

We will fail you.

When people join, they’re asked two sets of questions: the Jesus-y Questions (Do you believe in Jesus? Will you support the church? Etc.) and the Essential Questions. The Essential Questions are threefold: Will you fight with us? Will you forgive us? Will you bring us casseroles when we’re sick? In short, are you in this with us?

We’ll drop the ball. We’ll blow it. And chances are, you will, too. It’s called being human, and we’re a church full of them.

But we’re not looking for a church full of saints. Just a community full of folks who know they’re better together than they are apart and see the hurt in the world and think that following the way of Jesus can do something about it.

We don’t bully people into joining.

Don’t take that the wrong way. We’d love to have you–and hope you do decide to become an official part of the fam. But we want it to be on your terms, not because some preacher told you your salvation depended on it. We want to walk with you as deepen your relationship with God and others–and we realize that we’re not the only place that can provide you that opportunity. Give us a chance and see what you think. Want to learn more? Chat with Rev. Jonathan. Ready to join? Start here.

THE WESTFIELD WAYS

HOW WE CHOOSE TO LIVE TOGETHER

TRUST GOD

WORK HARD

ASK OTHERS

BE PATIENT

HAVE FUN

DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY

LOVE FIRST

WESTFIELD CHURCH’S COMMUNITY COVENANT

In the spirit of Jesus, and with God’s help, we will show respect and love in all we do as we journey together. As followers of Jesus Christ we promise to respect each other at all times in the following ways:

HOW WE LIVE:

We will approach all things in prayer
We will strive to act with gentleness toward one another
We are committed to being inconvenienced for the Gospel
We seek to discover what is best for our church as a whole
We will speak as individuals from our own personal experience, from “I” not “we” or “they”

HOW WE DISAGREE:

We accept disagreement as normal & natural to community processes
We will express criticism and negative feelings first to the person, not to others
We will speak face-to-face, honestly and without rancor, avoiding triangulation and hearsay
If we are unable to effectively communicate with each other, we will ask a third party to be present to assist us
We will listen with an open and non-judgmental mind and try as hard to understand as to be understood

HOW WE MOVE FORWARD:

We will hold each other accountable when our actions are unkind or our behavior ungracious
We will strive to give and receive that accountability with grace, humility, and hope.
As forgiven people, we will choose to forgive one another, and move forward.
We will support the final outcome of the decision-making process, trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds with things that are true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best not the worst, the beautiful not the ugly, things to praise not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, Paul, what you saw, heard, realized. Do that and the God who makes everything work together will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
PHILIPPIANS 4:8-10

The Message: A Paraphrase of the New Testament   by Eugene Peterson

Click here to download as a pdf.