All churches are part of the worldwide church with which they have beliefs and practices in common. But each local church also has a particular character or ethos. This is ours.
1. Mill Hill East Church massages the heart for the community, like CPR. The church strives to love others in a practical way (Matthew22:39). It provides a place to meet, a place for education of adults and children, such as a dance studio and a coffee bar. The church members welcome people into their homes. The church together with the wider community put on community building events like film nights, a youth cafe and a lunch club. And the church involves people in prayer and praise of God making worship services accessible and by church members taking every opportunity to pray with others in the wider community. This is summarised as CPR, not Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation but: doing Church together, Relaxing together and Praying together.
2. However people need more, they need to be part of the church which means being in the family of God. The countless benefits this provides include having a spiritual awakening, having their human spirits brought to life by God's Spirit. (John 3:6,7). This gives them access to God's power in their lives as well as awakening them to a new way of life. In other words they need to come to faith (be born again) and be baptised in the Spirit. To symbolise coming to faith they are baptised in water and invited to join the church. (Matthew 28:19) We pray for them and continue to encourage them to be filled, baptised, soaked in the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)
3. Now they are part of the church itself, part of the worldwide church and specifically they are members of Mill Hill East Church, MHEC. MHEC can also serve as an acronym to show our particular ethos.
M stands for Magnify God with others - worshipping God our Father through Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit. Having our minds transformed and offering our lives to him including our time and money. Worship comes first. (Matthew22:37) Preaching the Gospel in a clear relevant way, and vibrant singing in a style that speaks to peoples hearts are part of this commitment. (Ephesians 5:19)
H stands for Help others with others. (Matthew 22:39) Serving others in the wider community as a church and as individuals. Providing a community centre with our church buildings, getting stuck in in community projects. We are an active church who actively seek to serve others. This includes collaborative work with people and agencies in the wider community like the police, schools, etc.
E stands for Equip each other. Teaching and preaching from the Bible, using music and prayer to build people up give them the tools to live a good life. (Matthew 28:20) Helping with CV's, speaking English, getting over addictions by on target training and education. We meet in small groups to encourage and equip each other for effective, joy-filled Christian living.
C stands for Connect. We connect with each other and connect others with God. (Matthew 28:19). We do this by being sociable and creating spaces to interact and to introduce people to God. Church members set aside an a time each week to meet other church members in a Connect group. They also set aside an evening or another time each week to involve people from the wider community in an enjoyable activity, like seeing a film, eating a meal or doing a quiz. The church also puts on social events to enable people to connect more widely with others. We massage the heart of the community.
The last sentence above echoes the first sentence, indeed it is a circular process. This is not just the ethos of the church it is the way people are brought into the presence of God, God brings them to faith and they join the church. And then they are part of welcoming people in, massaging the heart of the community. All this is summarised on what we call the "Christian Card" (see above, the front and back are shown) available for anyone to see, but especially useful for those joining the church to know what we are about.
1. Mill Hill East Church massages the heart for the community, like CPR. The church strives to love others in a practical way (Matthew22:39). It provides a place to meet, a place for education of adults and children, such as a dance studio and a coffee bar. The church members welcome people into their homes. The church together with the wider community put on community building events like film nights, a youth cafe and a lunch club. And the church involves people in prayer and praise of God making worship services accessible and by church members taking every opportunity to pray with others in the wider community. This is summarised as CPR, not Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation but: doing Church together, Relaxing together and Praying together.
2. However people need more, they need to be part of the church which means being in the family of God. The countless benefits this provides include having a spiritual awakening, having their human spirits brought to life by God's Spirit. (John 3:6,7). This gives them access to God's power in their lives as well as awakening them to a new way of life. In other words they need to come to faith (be born again) and be baptised in the Spirit. To symbolise coming to faith they are baptised in water and invited to join the church. (Matthew 28:19) We pray for them and continue to encourage them to be filled, baptised, soaked in the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)
3. Now they are part of the church itself, part of the worldwide church and specifically they are members of Mill Hill East Church, MHEC. MHEC can also serve as an acronym to show our particular ethos.
M stands for Magnify God with others - worshipping God our Father through Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit. Having our minds transformed and offering our lives to him including our time and money. Worship comes first. (Matthew22:37) Preaching the Gospel in a clear relevant way, and vibrant singing in a style that speaks to peoples hearts are part of this commitment. (Ephesians 5:19)
H stands for Help others with others. (Matthew 22:39) Serving others in the wider community as a church and as individuals. Providing a community centre with our church buildings, getting stuck in in community projects. We are an active church who actively seek to serve others. This includes collaborative work with people and agencies in the wider community like the police, schools, etc.
E stands for Equip each other. Teaching and preaching from the Bible, using music and prayer to build people up give them the tools to live a good life. (Matthew 28:20) Helping with CV's, speaking English, getting over addictions by on target training and education. We meet in small groups to encourage and equip each other for effective, joy-filled Christian living.
C stands for Connect. We connect with each other and connect others with God. (Matthew 28:19). We do this by being sociable and creating spaces to interact and to introduce people to God. Church members set aside an a time each week to meet other church members in a Connect group. They also set aside an evening or another time each week to involve people from the wider community in an enjoyable activity, like seeing a film, eating a meal or doing a quiz. The church also puts on social events to enable people to connect more widely with others. We massage the heart of the community.
