City Community Church, Exeter - About
The CCC Leadership Team
City Community Church is led by a team of seven people within a framework of a belief that every member of the church is equal before God. We believe the Bible teaches that leadership in the New Testament church was always plural.
The team is a very friendly and open bunch of people who have a genuine desire to serve God and to love people within and outside of CCC. Many people at CCC are involved in leadership both within and outside of the church and we encourage every member playing their part together as a body and a family. As a church, we believe that both men and women should be equally involved in leadership. We also have a group within the church called 'guardians'. No, they're not angelic winged beings, but a wise group of men and women who can help advise and input into certain decisions when needed.
Church Involvement at CCC
On Sunday mornings and through the week, there are a variety of opportunities to be involved in the church - with children, young people, the 20s/30s, refreshments, welcoming, on the technical side, in worship and in small groups - or as part of our Early Bird team (pictured), setting up the chairs!
CCC is an extremely active church with individuals working in prisons, schools, with homeless people and more. Many people from the church family travel to other countries to preach, teach and encourage and we want to be a church with a global persepctive.
CCC Values
Our values can be summarised in 5 ways:
- All invited
- All included
- All involved
- All integrated
- All for Jesus
Want to know more?
The headings below will give you more information. To see the info for each heading, click on the heading (eg 'Why Is Pastoral Care Important..') To close the text, click again on the heading
When we become followers of Jesus Christ it is important that we also become part of a local church. In fact, everywhere in the Bible, God has made them inseparable. Perhaps you have recently become a Christian, or are considering becoming a part of City Community Church. Being a member of CCC is more than having your name in the Church address book! The apostle Paul said that believers are like the hands, feet and arms of the same body - we are joined to others, and we all have a part to play that contributes to the whole. We hold regular 'Joiners Evenings' - a chance to meet the Leaders as well as others who have joined recently. Simply put, being a part of CCC involves three things - Belong, to Function, and to Give...
Being a part of the Church community. We encourage everyone who is part of us to commit to being part of a small group. If you are not sure whether you are a Christian and want to find out more, please contact us. We run The Alpha Course which many have found to be tremendously helpful in discovering what it means to be a Christian! If you have sure Christian foundations, we encourage you to become part of one of the other mid-week small groups. These help us mature and grow as followers of Jesus Christ - helping us all to reach our full potential.
As we each make our contribution to the whole, we discover our unique calling and giftedness - and God uses us together to extend his Kingdom! The Church is 'us' - all of us! We are not Lone Rangers, we are part of a body. Whether on our own in the office, at home or in college, we are Church - all the time. And the mission and ministry of the Church happen through us - wherever we live our lives. We offer our own excellent course, 'Matrix', to help us discover our unique gifts and calling.
A healthy family is one where everyone contributes of themselves. Jesus said that it is in our giving that we will receive. (Luke 6:38). We believe that the local church family (that's us, together!) is the hope of the world, and that we have an important job to do. So we encourage those who are a part of us to give - of their time, energy and money to the mission and ministry of the Church. As these valuable resources are given, so this releases the means by which the Kingdom can grow and increase through us. Giving reflects the very nature of our generous God, who gave even what was most precious to him - his own Son, for us. We encourage people who belong to CCC to give money to the church and to other Christian organisations, recommending that all money is GiftAided to maximise giving!
God's plan for his Church is that each of us should express care to one another. Jesus said that people would recognise his disciples because of their love for one another. The Church should be a caring environment where everyone has a sense of belonging and acceptance. Sometimes we go through difficult times when we need extra care and more specialised help. God has placed among us those with gifts and skills to help in such times. This reflects the nature of God himself. He cares about each one of us -Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10). David also described God as his Shepherd (Psalm 23). But God's love does not leave us unchanged; his care produces growth in us (Ezekiel 34). It's that kind of care we should have in the Church, so that we grow in character, in using our gifts, and also in responsibility.
In CCC we have a pastoral team. In addition there are others with particular gifts and skills who are a valuable resource. It is important to realise that this care does not replace the need for each of us to build relationships within the Church. We all need to belong and to feel that we mean something to others. The various small groups within CCC are vital in facilitating this. Sharing our lives and praying for each other is an essential part of giving and receiving. Everyone is therefore encouraged to belong to a small group and 'get connected' with others.
A Church that is true community... where we taste heaven on earth in our relationships... A Church that has every member in ministry... A place where kingdom dreams are born and live... A Church that has a lifestyle of prayer... where we increasingly affect the world through our praying... A Church that is given to the wider body of Christ and to the city... we recognise and live our interdependence with others for the blessing of the city where God has placed us... A Church that is both salt and light... Salt - effecting change, a potent agent preventing disintegration... And light - pointing the way to the path of salvation, the only hope for mankind.. A Church with strong praise and worship... where heaven touches earth and things happen as a result... A Church that has mission to nations and peoples at its heart... expressing the heart of God to reach all peoples and cultures in every place with the Gospel.
These are things we feel have become to us as we have journeyed with God. Holding on to our values help us understand that thumbprint -our unique identity as City Community Church. They prevent us from being blown off course. Several years ago, a prophetic word given us said that we were like a French pavement café. As Christians we are to be real and natural, welcoming strangers and making God accessible to others.
We recognise him through the Holy Spirit's presence: his gifts, character and ministry. Jesus is our director of operations -at work in us and through us (John 16:13-15). City Community Church is just part of the wider church in Exeter, Britain and the world. We recognise our incompleteness without our brothers and sisters in other groups of God's people; we endeavour to maintain good supportive relationships and seek to cooperate and build with others where we can (1Corinthians 12:20-21 & 25).
Jesus is our example in leadership and ministry. Our Servant Leader despised the worldly pecking order and showed us a wholly different way. He spoke of serving and of laying down our lives for others (Matthew 23:10-12, 20:25-28)
God has gifted each of us uniquely. Ministry, including leadership, is on the basis of his grace and gifting, rather than gender, social status or age. All have value and place in God's house. We seek to support one another wherever he has placed us in his Kingdom. The boundaries of the Church include where we live and work. (Acts 2:17-18, Romans 12:6-8)
Young people have a vital part in the life of the Church. On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted the words of Joel, saying that something new was happening which would include our sons and daughters. Our children can know God for themselves, and that is our desire for each of them. We want to invest in them the best that we can offer, and include them in our life together. The future of God's kingdom is with them (Acts 2:17, 16:31-34, Mark 10:13-16).
Our mission is to know Jesus and to make him known. We want to reach lost people with the good news of God's love and help them become wholehearted followers of Christ. This means reaching others wherever our lives connect and also sending teams abroad for mission, and to strengthen and support other parts of God's Church. Mission has a high priority among us in terms of our giving (Matthew 28:18-20, Jude 1:3, 1Thessalonians 3:2).
Church is a community not merely a collection of individuals. Through smaller groups community finds its expression. Good relationships are essential. We share our lives, caring for one another, sharing our hopes, joys and concerns -and the challenges we face as we follow Jesus. Loving others and being loved happens best in smaller groups (Acts 2:42-47, Philippians 2:4). In the world people are often only valued on the basis of what they do; but in this community we seek to value one another according to how God does as his children. In Christ, we know unconditional love, value and acceptance (Romans 8:39, 5:8, 15:7).
The Church is built and held together by relationships. How we handle relationships therefore will determine whether or not we maintain or destroy community. Showing love to one another, kindness, mercy, encouragement and forgiveness, builds community. Criticism, resentment, unforgiveness and self-seeking undermine and eventually destroy community. If community is destroyed, our mission is lost (Galatians 5:13-23, John 13:34, Philippians 2:4).
...corporate and individual- is central to our experience of God. Worship is not an optional extra, but an appropriate response to our immortal, infinite Creator. Worship is the highest form of love for God deserves nothing less. As we worship we meet with God, and he reveals himself to us (John 4:23-24, Matthew 28:9).
He communicates through tremendous variety and creativity. The Holy Spirit has placed gifted communicators within his body to build us, and to communicate through us to the world around. We strive to improve the quality and creativity of all our communication (Psalm 19:1-6, Romans 10:14-15, 2Tim 4:1-4).
The Bible is the authentic Word of God -the authority, standard and test of our experience. As we seek to communicate Biblical truth, our aim is to be faithful to scripture while being culturally relevant as Jesus himself was (Hebrews 4:12, John 10:35, 2 Timothy 3:16).
While we each make our own choices, a growing commitment to Christ and his cause is normal for all of his followers. The Christian life is about growing in love, faith and usefulness to God (Philippians 2:12-13, Matthew 10:38, Hebrews 5:14, Ephesians 4:15). Jesus is our model for prayer. Prayer with his heavenly Father was an integral part of his life. It needs to be the same for us. Prayer should under-gird all that God is asking us to do and be woven into the very fabric of our lives as individuals, families and when we are together (Luke 6:12, Philippians 4:6, Acts 2:42, 4:24-31).
City Community Church believes the Bible teaches that the church has not replaced Israel, but that God still has his chosen people, Israel (with whom he has made an everlasting covenant) - and the church, the 'bride of Christ.' (See Romans 11.17-18 among many other passages of Scripture). The restoration of Israel to (part of) their land in 1948 is one proof of God's outworking of his covenant with Israel. We believe that so-called 'replacement theology' is not Biblical and has done great harm to Jewish people through the centuries. As a church we want to be a blessing to Israel. The Bible says about Israel, ‘I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse’ (Genesis 12:3).
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A place to belong, to function and to give