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EEC is an apostolic, cell-based church, committed to obeying the Great Commandment and to fulfiling the Great Commission by motivating, equipping and empowering every member to be an effective minister of Jesus Christ.
Commitment to our vision statement means that our members passionately love the LORD and demonstrate practical care and love for people, both in and out of the church. They will joyfully serve God and others.
Every church has its unique identity, ethos and distinctives. How can we best describe and introduce EEC to others?
- We are an International Church
Each week, people from over 40 nations worship together. This international mix reflects the cosmopolitan character of our city. It is also a foretaste and preview of heaven itself, where “a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, people, tribe and language will stand before the throne” worshipping the LORD (Rev 7: 9)
- We are a trans-denominational church
Some would describe us as inter-denominational, and that would be partially correct, but the prefix ‘inter’, could give the impression that we were a church founded and endorsed by different denominations, which is not the case. We are trans-denominational in that our structure and governance are not based or controlled by any particular denomination. What matters most is that Jesus is head of His Church, and EEC is part of that great body. We do however, stand firm on essentials (see the doctrines expressed in our ‘Doctrinal Basis’, but we will not quibble on lesser matters like the mode of baptism or frequency in observing the Lord’s Supper, Our aim is to unite Christians who love the Lord and seek to please him.
- We are a Word and Spirit church
When we first began, we were a strong, conservative, evangelical church. We were primarily word-based. Soon after our inception, the Holy Spirit visited and renewed our church. We joyfully exercised the different gifts of the Spirit. We never abandoned our biblical roots and today we describe ourselves as a Word and Spirit church. We even call this the ‘Winning Combination’. We subscribe to the adage:
When we have the Word without the Spirit, we dry up
When we have the Spirit without the Word, we blow up
When we have the Word and the Spirit, we grow up
- We are a Missionary Church
We are committed to obey the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. We tithe our income for missions which include: cross-cultural evangelism and church planting,development aid, supporting missionaries from our own church, short-term missions and Christian agencies involved in specialist ministries.
We believe that God has also called us to plant churches in and beyond Westminster. Our first plant is the Cantonese congregation. Our second is Emmanuel North West, which was launched in Edgware in November this year.
A Council of elders and deacons is responsible for the governance of EEC. They in turn appoint the Senior Pastor and entrust him and his staff team to execute the aims and implement the vision and mission of the church. The Council is primarily responsible for policy decisions which affect both the church and centre.
Two public meetings are held annually. At these meetings, the leaders cast vision and report on key developments relating to the church and centre.
Our church has adopted the following Core Values:
Spirit & Word church; Godly leadership; authentic relationship; vibrant worship; life transforming messages; radical discipleship; growing together in cell groups.
Apostolic simply means being sent out on a mission. Jesus said, “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Believers are sent into the world with His authority to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16) to bring people into God’s kingdom.
A Cell-based church is not simply a church with cells or small groups. The cells are the vital and active building blocks of our church. Cell groups meet regularly to encourage and build up one another. They are relational in nature and they link people to God and to one another. Cells also have a specific thrust to penetrate their networks of friends with the good news of salvation. As people come to faith, they are carefully nurtured. Healthy cells therefore, multiply, and in so doing, members grow and new leaders emerge.
The Great Commandment
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind'. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbour as yourself". (Matt. 22:37-39)
We stress intimacy with God by loving Him totally and passionately. In so doing, we discover that He cares very much for the lost. Because they matter to Him, they also matter to us, and through loving acts of service, we seek to lead them to the LORD.
The Great Commission
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age". (Matt. 28:19-20)
This mandate is for all believers to fulfil. As a church, we will encourage, equip and empower all our members to pray and win their non-Christian friends to Christ. Together we will nurture the new converts in their faith and help them to follow the LORD Jesus.
An Effective Minister of Jesus Christ
Our calling is to serve others like Christ our Servant King (Mark 10: 45). The primary task of EEC leaders is to equip God’s people for works of service (lit.ministry”]– Ephesians 4: 11-13] and to use their God-given gifts in building up the body of Christ (1 Cor 12: 7-11) |
