Vision:
West Hills Christian Church exists to be, “all things to all people” (1 Cor. 9:19-23). We do that in three ways:
Worship God: All aspects of our weekly gatherings we consider to be acts of worship. We desire to worship God with our whole life, giving thanks for all God has done, is doing, and will do. Our musical worship is a blend of contemporary songs and traditional hymns sometimes done in a contemporary style. (Psalm 150:6; Col 3:12-17)
Care for One Another: The early Christians joined their lives together in love, fellowship, and service. We want to be a close community of Christ-followers encouraging and supporting one another. Our weekly gatherings, small groups, and other times of fellowship are all ways in which we draw close to one another and likewise draw closer to Jesus. (Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:19-25)
Bless the World: We want to be good neighbors in our community and be the hands and feet of Jesus. We want to get to know people and their stories and to share the story of God and God’s love with them. We support various ministries and missionaries locally and around the world who are making disciples of all nations. (Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 4:16-21)
Beliefs:
God: God is the creator of all things and made us in God’s image. God desires to know us and have a relationship with us because of God’s love for us. (Gen. 1:1; Gen. 1:26)
Jesus: Jesus is God’s son sent to Earth to show God’s love, grace, and mercy to the world. Jesus proclaimed the message of God’s kingdom and showed by his life how we are to live in the world. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world but was resurrected back to life to bring hope for all. The Kingdom is here in part but is still future as we wait for Christ’s return. (1 Tim. 1:15; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Col 1:15-20)
Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity or Godhead and helps us become more like Christ. The Holy Spirit is an indwelling gift in all Christians and is an advocate and a comforter. The Holy Spirit empowers us through various gifts to serve and bless one another and our world. (John 14:26; Acts 2:38; Acts 5:32)
The Bible: The Bible is a collection of narratives, poetry, letters, and much more and is our source for faith & practice. It is a story of God’s love for us and God restoring us back to God through Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible to be God-breathed, reliable, and helpful for teaching and training as well as for contemplation, edification, and encouragement as the Holy Spirit guides us. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Heb. 4:12)
The Church: The authors of the Bible used many metaphors to describe the Church, including brothers and sisters, the body of Christ, and the bride of Christ. The Church shares Jesus’ message as his ambassadors to love God and love our neighbor and to go into all the world and make disciples of all people. The Church is tasked with joining in God’s mission of advancing the Kingdom on Earth. (Matt. 16:18; Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Cor. 5:11-21)
Baptism & Communion: Our tradition upholds two ordinances as essential for faith and practice: baptism & communion.
Baptism: Baptism is an immersion into the water of a believer who professes Jesus Christ as Lord and wishes to identify as Christ’s follower and wants to join the Church. Baptism symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The believer is immersed, marking their death and burial to sin, and is raised as a new creation in Christ. (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom 6:1-6; Col 2:9-12; Gal 3:26-27; 1 Peter 3:21)
Communion: We observe Communion (or the Lord’s Supper) weekly to reenact the moment Jesus instituted this meal with his disciples. The bread and juice are symbols of Christ’s body and blood. At communion, we partake together as a body to give thanks and remember that Christ is our Savior and the Savior of the World. (Matt 26:17-19; 1 Cor 11:23-25)
Our tradition: West Hills associates with the Independent Christian Church/churches of Christ. This is a non-denominational, independent group of churches whose roots go back to the Restoration/Stone-Campbell Movement which began in the United States in the 19th century. The original desire of this movement was to achieve unity of all Christians in essential things, to have liberty in non-essentials, but in all things to practice love. Our leadership at West Hills is overseen by a team of Elders who work in partnership with the ministry staff.