OUR STORY

West Village Church began with a conviction that Jesus saves people, changes them, and then uses them.  No matter where they are from or what they know he has a desire to be known in the lives of people.

 

In 2011, 20 people gathered in Chris and Kellee’s living room and asked the question what would it look like for a group of people to be radically changed by Jesus and then used by Jesus in the city of Victoria.

 

Since then West Village has been a living experiment to see if Jesus still does what he says he does.  We have grown and multiplied all across our city.  In 2017, this led to the launching of a Second Church Gathering in Saanich under the leadership of Robin and Leanne Martens. And our desire is to continue to fill our city with Jesus’ people.

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MISSION:

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West Village Church exists to bring glory to God by transforming the city of Victoria and the people in it by introducing them to Jesus.

 

John 17:3, ‘Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’

 

Everything that West Village Church does is about introducing people to Jesus.  We believe that Jesus is not just a nice idea among the marketplace but that He was actually God incarnate (with skin on) and that he came to earth to rescue us and restore our relationship with God. This is what we call the Gospel.

Everyone needs to be introduced to Jesus.

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VISION:

Our vision as a church is to saturate the city of Victoria with God’s people, saved by God’s power, for God’s purposes, so that every day every person could have encounter with Jesus and his church.

 

We firmly believe that the story of the Bible is that Jesus is redeeming and reconciling a people unto himself and that through those people Jesus would make his glory and fame known to the rest of the world.  So the mission of the church is not to fill a building but rather to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and then sent out on mission, to fill the city with Jesus’ people.

 

We believe that God created all humanity as image bearers. Our job is to care for creation in the same loving manner that He would. However, each of us has rebelled against God. Rather than following his ways, we each think we know best and because of this we have become irreversibly corrupted and this is reflected in the corruption and brokenness we see in the world around us. However, God was not content to leave us in this state. Because of our rebellion we deserved death but Jesus not only lived a life of perfect obedience to God in a way we never could, but also took the penalty for our rebellion (death) upon himself at the cross. That was not the end, Jesus conquered death by rising on the third day and now all of us are invited to a new life in him, empowered by his Spirit to live in his power in the everyday stuff of life. We symbolize this transformation through the symbolic act of baptism. Baptizing people is about establishing them into their new Trinitarian Identity in Jesus Christ. We are baptized into the Name of God the Father, making us Family; God the Son, who is King Jesus meaning we are now his servants; and God the Holy Spirit, who has been sent to empower us to carry out God’s mission of restoration, making us missionaries.

 

We believe that God created all humanity as image bearers. Our job is to care for creation in the same loving manner that He would. However, each of us has rebelled against God. Rather than following his ways, we each think we know best and because of this we have become irreversibly corrupted and this is reflected in the corruption and brokenness we see in the world around us. However, God was not content to leave us in this state. Because of our rebellion we deserved death but Jesus not only lived a life of perfect obedience to God in a way we never could, but also took the penalty for our rebellion (death) upon himself at the cross. That was not the end, Jesus conquered death by rising on the third day and now all of us are invited to a new life in him, empowered by his Spirit to live in his power in the everyday stuff of life. We symbolize this transformation through the symbolic act of baptism. Baptizing people is about establishing them into their new Trinitarian Identity in Jesus Christ. We are baptized into the Name of God the Father, making us Family; God the Son, who is King Jesus meaning we are now his servants; and God the Holy Spirit, who has been sent to empower us to carry out God’s mission of restoration, making us missionaries.

 
FAMILY

God is our Father and we are His Family; We are children of God who care for each other as a family. We are God’s chosen people – His family – set apart to live in such a way that the world would know what he is like. Through faith in Jesus we believe we are Children of God and brothers and sisters with each other. As God’s family we see it as our obligation to personally care for the needs of one another – both physically and spiritually. We disciple, nurture and hold each other accountable to Gospel life together.

SERVANTS

Jesus is our Lord and we are His Servants; We are servants of Jesus who serve Him by serving others.

Fully God & fully human, Jesus took on the posture of a servant. He gave his life, even unto death, so that others could experience salvation, peace and restoration. Jesus said, “I am among you as one who serves…” All those who follow Jesus are called to serve in the same humility. For us this means joyfully submitting to Jesus as Lord, to the leaders he has placed over us and to each other as we also serve whomever God brings into our lives. We do whatever He leads us to do.

MISSIONARIES

The Holy Spirit is our Guide and Sender and we are His Missionaries. We are sent by the Spirit to restore all things to God through Jesus Christ.

God sent Jesus to Earth to take on human form and live within the culture. He lived in such a way that those around him could see and experience what God was truly like. Jesus came so all people, places and things could be restored to a right relationship with God. In the same way, we believe we are missionaries sent by God’s Spirit into our culture to restore all things to God through Jesus.  We live this out through involvement in a missional community.

OUR TEAM

Chris Synesael

 Elder

Matt Parker

Elder

Ken D'Sa

 Elder

Andrew Haws

Community Groups and DNA Groups

Nathan Braunberger

Music and Tech

Brianna Williams

Kids and Administration

Dave Gray

High School Ministry

Michelle Sparrow

DNA Groups and Women's Discipleship

 

OUR DISTINCTIVES

THEOLOGICALLY, WE ARE COMMITTED TO:

GOSPEL CENTRALITY

We believe the gospel is the good news of what God has graciously accomplished for sinners through the sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection of his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, namely our forgiveness from sin and complete justification before God; this gospel is also the foundation for our confidence in the ultimate triumph of God’s kingdom and the consummation of his purpose for all creation in the new heavens and new earth.This gospel is centered in Christ, is the foundation for the life of the Church, and is our only hope for eternal life; this gospel is not proclaimed if Christ’s penal substitutionary death and bodily resurrection are not central to our message.This Gospel is not only the means by which people are saved, but also the truth and power by which people are sanctified; it is the truth of the Gospel that enables us to genuinely and joyfully do what is pleasing to God and to grow in progressive conformity to the image of Christ.The salvation offered in this gospel message is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; no ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved. (Mark 1:1; Luke 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:2; 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 9:13; Galatians 1:6-9; Ephesians 1: 7-10; Colossians 1: 19-20;

2 Timothy 1:8-14; 2 Peter 3: 11-13; Jude 3-4; Revelation 21-22)