Who We Are
Elliot Springs Wesleyan is a church of families committed to being active in the community and to seeing lives transformed. This transformation takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the context of authentic relationships as we share life together. We believe in young people and equipping and releasing them to realise their God-given potential. Our relationship with God is at the centre of our church which is reflected through heart-felt worship and a strong focus on scripture and reliance on prayer.
Our Values
Connect – We meet together regularly because church isn’t the building we meet in on Sunday but rather the body that we are a part of. We are passionate about experiencing God in times of heartfelt worship together. We are creating a safe and accepting space to connect our friends and family and to engage the community.
Love – We want to love God and each other. We want authentic relationships, where masks come off, life gets real, and needs are being met. We are intentional about extending the love of God directly to our neighbours, work mates, family and friends.
Unify – We are devoted to the Word, the Body of Christ, the breaking of bread and to prayer. These unify us around Jesus. While we are diverse, we are one. Jesus Christ is the centre of it all, and we are unified around him alone.
Grow – We are actively extending the transforming presence of Jesus Christ into our community. We are disciples who are making disciples. We are excited and strategic about churches multiplying. We are playing our part in building the kingdom of God.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Wesleyans believe in one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Saviour of all who put their faith in Him alone for eternal life.
We believe that those who are made new in Christ are called to be holy in character and conduct, and can only live this way by being filled with the Lord’s Spirit.
We believe in the Bible and its sufficiency to establish our faith and conduct.
We believe God wills for people everywhere to know Him and be made new in Christ.
We believe that the purpose of the Church is to worship God in spirit and in truth, and to reach a lost and fallen world with the gospel of Jesus Christ through its worship, witness, and loving deeds.
The following are terms descriptive of who Wesleyans are and why they do what they do. They describe the “soul of the Church”:
BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: The Bible is God’s holy Word. It uniquely and infallibly reveals God’s plan for His people and how to live out that plan, individually and corporately. Beliefs, practices, priorities, and our mission are to be anchored in clear biblical teachings.
CHRISTLIKENESS: Jesus Christ is the defining feature of God’s will and relationship with all humankind. In Christ is found both newness of life and the highest and clearest example for godliness. People made new in Christ find Him to be the source of faith, hope, and love in both the inner life and in our outward actions engaging a world desperate for hope and life.
DISCIPLE-MAKING: Making disciples is a clear mandate from Christ. This requires a strong missional focus on evangelism and training in spiritual growth and holy living. Done effectively, this will produce and promote growth and health in and among the churches.
LOCAL CHURCH CENTRED: The denomination exists to help local congregations grow and multiply, be more healthy, and more authentically reflect God’s plan. Local churches are the most fundamental and strategic points of evangelism and discipleship. The challenge of the denomination is to keep finding the best ways to serve, strengthen, and multiply congregations.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP: Wesleyans respect leadership that is placed over them, while realising that the authority and effectiveness of spiritual leadership is not primarily bestowed, but earned, and is characterised by a loving and willing heart of obedience that serves God and mankind gladly. Wesleyans desire to be leaders in serving.
UNITY IN DIVERSITY: There is intrinsic value in every person. Biblical unity becomes all the more important and beautiful in the light of the wide-ranging differences in personalities, cultures, races, languages, talents, and perspectives. Finding unity and mutual love in Christ eliminates devaluation and deprivation of life to one another.
OUR TEAM
CHURCH LEADERSHIP
David Robertson
Senior Pastor
Stacey Robertson
Secretary
Janelle Kirsten
Treasurer
Kate Berry
Board Member
Kobus Kirsten
Board Member
Alisha Swinburne
Board Member
Daniel Swinburne
Board Member
WHAT IS A WESLEYAN?
We are a gathering of local churches and ministries from around Australia serving together under the umbrella of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia. We find our roots dating back to John Wesley who was a key component of 18th Century revivals in England. His desire was to spread the message of Scriptural Holiness around the world. This is our mandate today. From these beginnings came the ‘Holiness Movement’ and at its heart is the message of perfect love, which is to love God with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength and our neighbour as our self. (Mark 12:30-31 NIV)
We, the Wesleyan Methodists of Australia, are a part of a wider church that is connected together under the name, the Wesleyan Church. We are now found in over 80 nations. In 2011, worldwide Sunday morning worship attendance was 475,000 persons in more than 5,000 congregations. Worldwide total membership was 368,000.
In 1946, the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia was officially formed in Melbourne under the leadership of Kingsley Ridgway. While the initial beginnings were slow, we have now spread across the country with around 95 churches. Our people come from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and communities. While we do celebrate our diversity, we also acknowledge the values that hold us together – such as our love for the word of God, the bible, our commitment to Christlikeness, our passion for disciple-making, and our call to servant leadership.
The message we share is a message we are experiencing everyday.
It is a message of hope, it is the message of love, and it is the message of life.
It is the message of Christ and the Cross.