Our Vision | Oxford Community Church

FOLLOWING JESUS IN A BIG WAY

The people who saw and heard Jesus in the flesh did not start an ‘organised religion’. Rather, some of them made the radical choice to follow Him, who claimed to be the Way. They decided that they would no longer please themselves, but would seek to please Jesus instead.

Jesus is calling us today to make the same choice, and Oxford Community Church has always been about following Him. In all that we do as a church community, we constantly ask: “What does Jesus think about this?” The answers often require a radical re-ordering of our lives.

To help us all to know what Jesus is asking us to do in Oxford, our church leaders spent a year reflecting on what He has said, consulting with the church and prayerfully seeking a way of summing it up. The result is that our vision statement is ‘Following Jesus in a BIG way’, which means:

Building family across the city,
Igniting passion for God and His kingdom,
Going with the Good News to students, local communities and beyond!

This vision statement sets out our priorities and provides a plumb line against which we can evaluate all that we do.

BUILDING FAMILY ACROSS THE CITY

“Make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose” (Philippians 2:2)

We are called Oxford Community Church because we want to live out our faith as a real community of friends, a family.

Friends and family are people with whom you want to spend time, to eat meals, ato laugh and to cry. They tell us the truth, even sometimes when we don’t want to hear it! As a church family, we are there for each other through thick and thin, and we seek to resolve any issues that arise between us.

Jesus taught us to love all sorts of people, and we live in a diverse city with rich and poor, young and old and many different cultures. It is our vision to build friendships across all these natural divides, believing that each person has something to offer that enriches us all.

IGNITING PASSION FOR GOD AND HIS KINGDOM

“Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37)

We were made for a supernatural relationship with God, but in the hustle of life we easily forget that and settle for living merely naturally. To help us, God has given us the Bible and the Holy Spirit.

The purpose of our gathering together is not just to be with each other, but also to meet with Jesus by opening our Bibles and listening to the Spirit. As we do that, He ignites passionate praise and heartfelt prayer.

Jesus’ teaching was focused on ‘the kingdom of God’. This kingdom grows through the clear communication of truth, through social action and through miracles of healing and deliverance. Out of our relationship with God, it is our vision to become passionate ambassadors of this kingdom.

GOING WITH GOOD NEWS TO STUDENTS, LOCAL COMMUNITES AND BEYOND

“Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19)

We believe that many people in Oxford would love to follow Jesus, if only they knew how. We are constantly thinking and praying about how we can communicate the good news that Jesus now offers His friendship freely.

Early in our church’s life, God spoke to us about making special efforts to reach out to students, who make up 20% of the city’s population, but less than 10% of the church in the city. So, for both prophetic and strategic reasons, we invest in Christian students so that they can be effective in reaching out in their college or university.

But we are not just interested in students. As a city-wide church, it is our vision to bless and to communicate with people in many local communities across Oxford, as well as encouraging outreach in workplaces, sports clubs and other cultures.