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About Woodland Church of ChristHome Page |
Purpose: The
purpose of Woodland Church of Christ, in light of the great commission
(Matthew 28:18-20), is to lead people to a saving faith in Jesus Christ
and to equip them to serve as members of His body, the church. These people will be found among
our families, friends, and work associates in
What We Believe: Woodland Church of Christ believes that the Bible is the inspired word of God, that “all scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). Thus, the Bible is our only guide. Where the Bible speaks, we will speak; and where the Bible is silent, we are silent. Jesus Christ is the one and only begotten Son of God (John 1:14). He died as a sacrifice for our sins and is the only mediator between us and God the Father (John 14:6, I Timothy 2:5) He also rose from the grave, defeating death, and now lives with the Father until the day He will return for His bride, the church (Romans 8:34). The early Christians met on the first day of the week to observe the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7). By observing this, we proclaim the Lord’s death and resurrection until He comes again (I Corinthians 11:26). The steps in order to obtain God’s salvation are clearly spelled out within the Scriptures. They are:
What Does It Mean to Be A Christian? What's the Problem? Picture a huge valley in your mind. We are on one side of that valley and God is on the other. The valley is our selfishness and sin and that sin has separated us from God. The Bible says, "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear." Isaiah 59:2 (NAS) When our relationship with God is not right, it causes problems in every area of our lives: Marriage, career, relationships, finances, etc. What's the Solution? The solution to our sin problem is Jesus. God Himself came to earth as a human being to bring us back to Himself. He paid the price of crossing that valley of sin for us. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me!" John 14:6 (NIV) God has already done His part to restore our relationship to Him. He took the initiative. Now He waits for each of us to individually accept what He has done for us. What Does God Want Me To Do? 1. Believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins and that He rose again after three days, and is alive today. “If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 (NIV) 2. Repent of your sins by turning from a life that is outside of Christ. “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30 (NIV
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9 (NIV)
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Galatians 3:36-27 (NIV)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
Our History Our history actually began in Northwestern Ohio where Paul Rosebrock developed a heart for evangelism in his early twenties and decided to become a student at Great Lakes Christian College in Lansing, Michigan. Upon graduation in 1965 Paul, his wife Madeline, along with their children, began planning a move to New England to start new church works in the state of Connecticut. That's where the WCC story begins … In February 1966, Paul and Madeline were invited to consider working with a new church plant in Ansonia, which had just started the previous month. They spent the remaining part of the year raising support and then moved to Connecticut in January 1967 where he assumed the role as an associate minister with the church. In 1968 he accepted the role of lead minister when the former minister moved on to start another church in upstate Connecticut. In the Fall of 1974 Paul resigned his ministry with the Ansonia church with the intentions of moving to Arizona where he was invited to help in the establishment of a new church work there. However, a small group of faithful Christians, seeing the need for another church in the immediate area, came together to discuss the possibility for such a venture. The result of the meeting was to issue a call to the Rosebrock's to lead in this effort. Informal meetings began on the first Sunday of January 1975 in the Rosebrock’s Seymour home, but soon moved to a local elementary school to allow for the growth that was taking place. In 1977 property was purchased in the neighboring town of Oxford. By the end of 1986 we had finished construction on our first building and in the Fall of 2003 we completed our educational / fellowship building. That's when our growth began in earnest. Now, nearly 35 years since its inception, we continue to keep our purpose clear; to win people to Christ, train believers to become disciples, and send disciples to impact the world. It is a ministry grounded in the Word of God, communicated through relevant Bible teaching and a real worship experience. Messages challenge and help people to change, becoming all that God intends them to be. We encourage you to become a part of our future. Christians as the "Third Race" As heirs of the Restoration Movement who look to the early church as a model, we can learn from the ways they approached their civilization. As a minority group, the early church faced various cultures, religions, and ethnic groups. Yet, it prevailed against those majority views. It did not succeed against those seemingly insurmountable odds through political power or social programs or military might – and certainly not by exalting one secular or religious culture above another. The early church existed amidst many cultures but identified solely with none of them. Rather, these early Christian were called “a third race,” first by the pagan writers, and the proudly taken up by Christian apologists in the second century. They were “in the world, but not of the world” (John 17:15,17; Romans 12:2), presenting an alternative to the other political, social, and religious ideologies of that day. How, then, did
the early church live out their existence as a “third race”? The eminent New Testatment
scholar, James D. G. Dunn, in a fascinating and massive work of over 1,300
pages (Beginning From Following is a letter sent to a person by the name of Diognetus in the second century explaining why Christians were considered to be a “third race.” “Christians are
indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or
customs. They do not inhabit
separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some
outlandish way of life. Their
teaching is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. Unlike some people, they champion
no purely human doctrine.
With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they
follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether
it is Greek or foreign. And yet there is
something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries
as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as
citizens, but labor under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland,
but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign
country. Like other they
marry and have children, but thry do not expose them. They share their meals, but not
their wives. They live in the
flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth,
but they are citizens of heaven.
Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the
law. Christians love all men,
but all men persecute them….To speak in general terms, we may say that the
Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body” Gary E. Weedman, President
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