Working Together to
Share Jesus & Share Life
Gather
Gather ministries’ goal is that every church member might enjoy genuine and heartfelt worship of the Lord in our church services.
When we gather together as a church, we seek to glorify God through the reading and preaching of the word, through prayer and the saying of creeds and through corporate praise and worship in song.
Our services participate in the ongoing sanctifying work of God through his word and by his Spirit in all we do as a community. It is also a high priority for our church that we do this in a way that is warm, welcoming and accessible to both the newcomer and to people of all ages and various backgrounds.
Belong
As a church, we believe that anyone should be able to belong in our church.
Our deep hope and desire is that people of any age, race, culture, gender, sexuality or history would be able to find a home here. Our aim is to share life together as an all age all stage multicultural family.
Belong seeks to facilitate this through extended time in fellowship and through the sharing of meals and other joyful experiences. Further, we share life together with a spirit of radical inclusivity, ensuring that as newcomers join St Matt’s, they are welcomed warmly and included quickly and genuinely in the life of our church.
Share
Jesus is our Saviour, our King, our light and our life.
Our community are full of people who have put their faith in Jesus, found forgiveness in him, and found tranformation and new life. We are eager to share the truth and love of Jesus with the community of Ashbury and beyond, in the hopes that others can find Jesus for themselves.
Care
As Christians we are called to love and serve one another, being there for each other in the easy times as well as the hard. We have a deep heart and concern to care for our church family with regards to their spiritual, emotional and physical needs.
Further, God calls us to care for people in our wider community who are needing support. Care at St Matt’s happens in all kinds of ways. Formally through pastoral care, growth groups, support groups, food assistance etc. Informally, we seek to always be growing in our capacity to care for one another and others with whatever challenges people may face
Grow
The Christian journey is a lifelong one in which we grow and mature, seeking to grow in our knowledge and love of God. We believe that in Jesus a person can find deep joy and meaning as they seek to follow him as their inspiration and example.
At St Matt’s we support each other in this, through large and small gatherings, around God's word, and in friendship. We believe each Christian participates, with the help of the Holy Spirit, in their own journey as well as in the journeys of others. This happens organically in all kinds of ways when we gather, and also through our various services, small groups and other ministries.
Kids & Youth
Our kids/youth are an essential part of our church today. They bless us with their energy, enthusiasm, curiosity, creativity and joy, bringing life and vibrance to our church family.
We are called as Christ's church to make a special effort with regards to our young people; to share life and the gospel of Jesus Christ with them, growing them up with a clear knowledge of God and everything he is for them.
We are a community that values people of all ages working together and benefitting from one another’s presence. St Matt’s also has an amazing kids team, who are committed to creating a great experience of church and Christian teaching and community on a weekly basis.
St Matt’s Ashbury currently shares a youth ministry with St Paul’s Canterbury. Contact us for more info.
