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Church Vision & Mission Profile
The Mission – “Glorify God. Proclaim Christ. Make Disciples.”
This is based on a study of the Great Commission passages of the New Testament (Matt 28:16-20, Mark 13:10; 14:9, Luke 24:44-49, and Acts 1:4-8). We do not believe we have been given a unique mission; rather, this is the same mission every church has. This is just our way of summarizing the biblical teaching on this subject.
There are five specific ways we are working to equip every member of West Side Church to engage and fulfill that mission.
Glorify God
1. Corporate Worship: We glorify God through weekly corporate worship. We seek to bring glory and honor to God by worshiping Him as His people in one place on Sunday mornings.
2. Individual Worship: We glorify God by worshiping Him in our private lives through personal devotions, prayer, living sacrificially, and living a life fully submitted to His will.
Proclaim Christ
3. Personal Evangelism: We proclaim Christ wherever we go. Above all, this should be done in our personal lives as God leads us to the lost in the places He has called us to live. Beyond this, we engage in church-wide evangelistic events, support local ministries, and support global missionaries.
Make Disciples
4. Small Group Discipleship: We build disciples as we pursue Christ in Christian community. The primary way we engage in this at West Side Church is through life group participation. Beyond this, Bible study groups and dedicated discipleship groups exist as well.
5. Serving: Discipleship also takes place when we serve others within and outside of the church. Every believer has been given a gift, and using that gift is a key aspect of following Christ. In every area of service at West Side, we are equipping older and more mature believers to disciple the younger and less mature believers beside them.
Our Worship Services
We gather every Sunday at 8:30 and 10:15 am for indoor services. Children’s and mid-high ministries are also available at the 10:15 am service.
If you are unable to attend in person, please join us online for a livestream of the 10:15 am service on YouTube or Facebook.
West Side Kids
Our purpose is to encourage children to know, love, and trust God and teach children to magnify His name in all of life. We partner with parents to lead children into a relationship with Jesus Christ and to nurture a deeper relationship through the bible-based teaching and discipleship through the model of small groups.
We are committed to nurturing the spiritual, emotional, physical, social and cognitive growth of children. It is our goal to minister to the needs of children in a safe and loving atmosphere where age-appropriate Bible teaching and supportive activities are provided.
Click here to visit our Children’s Ministry page for more information on meeting times, curriculums, and events.
High School and Mid-High
At West Side Youth we are reaching our world for Christ by building mature disciples who know and follow Jesus through the teaching of God’s Word, student led worship, small groups, service and fellowship for the glory of God.
We teach God’s word though exegetical and topical formats that apply directly to the lives of High School and Middle School students. We prioritize giving glory to God by letting students use their gifts and talents to lead us in worship. We utilize small groups to go deeper into the Word and practice encouragement and accountability. We serve the lost and least of these through service projects and mission trips. We enjoy the fellowship of the saints by building strong friendships and relationships that bring us closer to God. We welcome any student who wants to check out what God is doing through others of their age.
Visit our Mid-High and High School pages for more information on meeting times and events.
Pastoral Leadership Team (PLT) FAQ
In June of 2016, West Side Church (WSC) voted to restructure the Pastoral Staff to implement a Pastoral Leadership Team (PLT). This came to us as a result of a consultation combining efforts of Sling Shot Group and our Elder Council. The work of this consultation revealed WSC needed to be more collaborative and have a team who can share the responsibility for the leadership of the church. The PLT is constituted of the three pastors. In order to help WSC understand the PLT, we have written this list of questions and answers.
WSC PLT consists of our three pastors. Together, the PLT shares the overall responsibilities for leadership of the church. This includes but is not limited to responsibilities such as: vision, leadership, teaching, worship, discipleship of all ages, missions/outreach, administration and staff oversight. Each member of the PLT hold certain unique responsibilities and fulfills these roles oversight of the directors, ministry teams and volunteers.
In a Senior Pastor leadership model, all day-to-day decisions are final with the Sr. Pastor. In WSC’s PLT model, each of the PLT members are equals. We believe this model has the advantages of a built-in check and balance system and it prevents any one PLT member from being overwhelmed with administrative responsibilities. The PLT holds its members accountable for their area of ministry oversight according to our bylaws, mission and strategy and is under the authority of the Elder Council.
While the New Testament shows evidence that a plurality of leaders is healthy for church leadership and it does teach principles for church government such as, the pursuit of unity, humility, a commitment to work through conflict, personal standards and the spiritual accountability of those who lead and teach, it does not prescribe only one particular model of leadership. The New Testament gives freedom to local churches to develop a specific leadership model within these guidelines.
All decisions regarding ministry direction and strategy must be unanimous within the PLT. In the case of a disagreement among PLT members, the PLT will pray and seek wise counsel and wait for a consensus before a final decision is made.
The PLT is accountable first of all to God, to each other, to the Elder Council and to the members of WSC.
No. Each member of the PLT shares an equal amount of responsibility and authority for leading WSC.
The PLT is able to shift the roles and responsibility assigned to each member of the PLT with approval of the Elder Council and we will inform the congregation of these changes. At this point, in addition to serving on the PLT, each PLT member leads in the following areas:
Joseph Lehmkuhl – Teaching Ministries
Elias Garcia – Operations & Missions Ministries
Dean Ellis – Discipleship Ministries
NOTE: All members of the PLT will be able to provide pastoral counseling, officiate funerals and weddings, and provide pastoral care.
Even though the PLT shares the teaching at WSC, one PLT member will hold the primary teaching responsibility. Currently, Pastor Joseph Lehmkuhl has this responsibility. The PLT may reassign the teaching responsibility with the approval of the Elder Council and at least a 90% affirmative vote of the congregation.
For team efficiency, a first among equals pastor will be selected by the PLT and affirmed by the Elder Council. This pastor will have responsibility to hold the PLT accountable to the vision and mission of the church as determined by the Elder Council. The PLT Leader may or may not hold the teaching responsibility. The PLT leader is not the Senior/Lead Pastor of the congregation or supervisor of the other PLT members.
If you have questions about the Pastoral Leadership Team model please contact the church office and we will get you in contact with one of the pastors.
Ministry Partners
Our participation in the work of the Great Commission is not something we pretend to do alone. On the contrary, partnerships are a strategic part of the ministry to reach our community and the world. For that reason, we partner with dedicated and key local ministries to serve our surrounding communities and partner families worldwide under the support of great mission organizations.
We concentrate our efforts on evangeslism and church planting with emphasis in Central Washington, Central Mexico, and Central Asia. Currently, we participate in medical services efforts to support local churches and church plants, church planters training programs, and other missionary support ministries to empower our partners to accomplish their calling.
We partner with six local organizations and over twenty-five missionary individuals or couples. So please join us in praying and supporting these beautiful people in our joint effort to obey the Great Commission!
Following Jesus
We want to follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior through our daily devotions. Practices such as Bible reading, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines.
But, the only way we can follow Jesus is through a personal relationship with Him. He is the only way to receive forgiveness of sin, eternal life, and a restored relationship with God. This relationship begins when we understand the following truths:
1. God is Holy: Holy means set apart, or simply stated, God is different than we are. He is the definition of good, loving, merciful, gracious, and right. Therefore, we must live up to His standard, which He has set in His character.
2. Humans are Sinful: As descendants of Adam, we have inherited a sinful nature. We also sin by choice. To sin is to violate the standard God had established. Our sin has separated us from God and leaves us deserving of God’s punishment.
3. Christ’s Sacrifice: Fully God and fully human, God the Son came as a man named Jesus. He was born of a virgin. He met the standard God had established. Because he was without sin, he could offer his life in the place of ours as our substitute.
4. Faith and Repentance: We are adopted into the family of God by trusting Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to take punishment. This relationship by faith causes us to live repentant lives in obedience to God.
If you have questions or have decided to trust in Jesus, please contact us.
