About Us
Mission Statement:
Woodlawn Christian Church is a Christ-centered, biblically grounded church family called to personal discipleship in and for Jesus Christ.
Our Beliefs:
As a people of prayer, purpose, and passion, we strive to create a community of faith where all people gather as one in worship, fellowship, and service.
The heart of the gospel is God’s redemptive love. In our life together, the world will see the power of forgiveness to overcome alienation, the strength of love to transform hate, the power of grace to break the bonds of guilt, the triumph of hope over despair, and the victory of faith over doubt.
Foremost among beliefs firmly held by Woodlawn Christian Church is the acknowledgment that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, the Savior of this world, our Lord and God, and that through belief in Him we are assured of eternal fellowship with a loving God. For us, the foundation of Christian belief–and the greatest event in all history–is the drama of the first Easter week: the death of Christ, in which He took upon Himself all the sins of the world, and the Resurrection, which offers glorious proof of His teaching and His triumph over sin and death.
Furthermore, we are keenly aware of the reality of Judgement Day. All people believer or not will one day stand before the Lord Our God in judgment. Our calling is to bring this world one soul at a time to receive Christ as their Savior, so that they might hear “well done my good and faithful servant”.
Holy Scripture always has been for us the most authoritative guide to knowing and serving the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer). As the divinely-inspired word of God, the Bible for us reveals our faith and its mandated practice.
Our affirmation of the priesthood of all believers arises from a conviction that all who truly seek God are competent to approach God directly. We cherish the freedom Christ has granted us as individual believers and as a distinct congregation. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Galatia and in other writings, emphasizes that freedom.
Woodlawn Christian Church partakes of two ordinances exemplifying obedience to our Lord’s commands: a believers’ baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We insist that baptism be administered only to those who have the maturity to understand its profound significance: resurrection to new life in Christ. And we follow the biblical example set by Christ when we fully immerse in water, a beautiful symbolic statement of that new life. The Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, commemorates the sacrifice of our Lord. The bread and cup that symbolize the broken body and shed blood offered by Christ remind us today of God’s great love for us–just as they did for the disciples 2,000 years ago on the eve of the crucifixion. Here at Woodlawn, we practice Holy Communion each Sunday and during many of our special worship celebrations.
We have taken to heart the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19–the call to evangelism: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you”. We are committed to this mission, to see the glory of God revealed in all the earth; to see Jesus Christ proclaimed as Savior and Lord to all people and nations; to see the renewal of God’s creation; and to see God’s justice and peace reign in all the world.
We take seriously all that Christ did during His brief but momentous years of teaching and nurturing disciples and followers. We accept the ministries Christ modeled as our ministries. Understanding God’s word as revealed in Scripture is of great importance to us, and our church stresses learning and teaching as vital responsibilities. We accept the wisdom of the New Testament writer James (the brother of Christ), who maintained that those who truly have faith in Christ necessarily live out that faith, they share that faith.
We celebrate the special gifts of all believers, testifying that God can use each of us in the overall outreach of ministry. Paul states that “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers” all work for “building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11,12).
All of us are a part of the “Body of Christ”, each has a special role and purpose. We invite you to join with us in fellowship, worship, praise, and service to our Lord... that you might together with us discover your gifts... your purpose... your life in Christ. God bless you and thank you for visiting Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA.
