OUR MISSION                                          

The mission of Westwood Presbyterian Church is to open its doors as Christ opened His heart, to love people for who they are just as they come. We will care for our present and future members, recognizing their contributions, and, at the same time, providing opportunities for meaningful change. As the story of God’s relationship with His people changed slowly from the Old Testament to the New Testament, so shall we work to change in a slow and appropriate manner. Therefore, Westwood Presbyterian Church is a fellowship of believers that works to reach; teach; care and share in the good news of Jesus Christ in the historic and proud tradition of the Presbyterian heritage.

As the Session of Westwood Presbyterian Church, we will:

1.)  Focus all our activities to the service and worship of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is Lord of the Church.  This is our chief and highest goal.

2.)  Continue to encourage the growth of our congregation.  God has blessed us with new members over the past few years; we hope to continue this trend by encouraging friendship evangelism through the “Everyone Bring One” program and other such initiatives.

3.)  Seek to be faithful in our duties to the people God has already sent to Westwood.  We hope that by being faithful with the “talents” God has given to us, He will choose to add to those “talents” (See Matthew 25).  We recognize that this means that as God’s chosen elders, we are to provide for the spiritual growth and nurture of all age groups within the congregation – young, old and in-between! 

4.)  Be sensitive to the needs of our members, whether this be in completing the establishment of a nursery program or exploring the possibility of purchasing wireless hearing devices for those who need them in worship.  We don’t wish to exclude anyone from active participation in the life of our congregation. 

5.)  Explore ways to make our worship more inviting, whether through explaining why it is structured the way it is, or by seeking ways to streamline the flow of the service. 

6.)  Encourage grass-roots outreach and spiritual growth opportunities.  We recognize that God sometimes calls our members to use their gifts in new ways, that He sometimes places a passion for ministry in His people.  We commit to support those passions however we can.

7.)  Be good stewards of the property and grounds God has given us.  We encourage our members to take responsibility for Westwood’s property, hoping that they will treat it as well as they would their own home. 

8.)  Support the work of the 50th Anniversary Committee as their work draws to a close this year.  We are committed to seeing this project through to the end, so that we may bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ for the work He has done in this congregation for fifty years!. 

9.)  Seek ways to continually encourage the mission program of this congregation.  We are saddened by the need to adopt such a skeletal budget for 2008, and we recognize the call God has placed upon us to support His mission work.  We will seek creative ways to use all the resources God has given us, in the hopes of somehow achieving our goal of giving 10% of our budget to missions.

10.)  Hold true to sound Biblical teaching, even if it may not be politically correct or culturally chic.

11.)  Be elders who bathe their work in prayer.  We cannot be effective in our calling unless we "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17)..   

12.)  Continually refer to these goals and to the vows we took as ordained elders throughout the upcoming year, so as to not lose sight of what God is calling us to do for His Kingdom.  To Him be all glory and honor in His Church! 

Who Are We Presbyterians?