Multiethnicity

Awareness and intentionally to ensure people of all backgrounds/economics are welcome, serving, and leading.

  • RUM: Reconciliation and Unity Ministry

  • Elder Board: 4 women (2 of color), 2 men (1 of color)

  • Volunteers

  • Creative Arts

  • Midweek ministries

  • Linking arms with other diverse churches

Emotional Health

Our Thrive ministry exists to help everyone understand and learn how to be emotionally healthy.  A thread of emotional health teaching is present during our weekend services and in all mid-week environments. Without emotional health we believe spiritual maturity is impossible.

Authenticity

From the stage to small groups we share our doubts, pain, questions, and failures. We are all imperfect people. Honestly sharing our struggles and working to overcome them in community honors God, and each other. It also makes the journey a whole lot easier.

Removing Barriers

Our history was built on this value! We think deeply about things that could keep people from following Jesus. We believe some of those barriers include insider language, assumptions that everyone understands how or why things are done, and our own skewed views of God. We also believe the next generation needs to be invested in, listened to, and equipped to lead us. In this next season we desire to add younger leaders to our leadership team. Let us know if you have a heart for Jesus and a passion to help take His church into the future (or if you know of someone who does).

Active in our Community

Addressing Hunger: We currently coordinate a monthly mobile food pantry in cooperation with The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. We serve about 200 families each month. We also coordinate ‘The Dollar Club’ which raises money to fight hunger.

Addressing Poverty: We maintain a benevolence fund that is used to help folks both inside and outside the walls of our church. We assist with utility bills, car repairs, rental assistance, and other hardships. Other community partners are our Prison Ministry, LOVE Columbia, Safe Families, Fresh Start, In2action, City of Refuge, Source Summit Global, My Life Clinic, Coyote Hill, CPS, International Friends, Stonebridge House, and American Red Cross.

Addressing Loneliness: Our groups and ministries are open to the local community – not just those that attend Woodcrest. We believe loneliness is an epidemic and are looking for additional ways to address it. 

We are challenging our body to Invite 2 and Engage 2. This might look like inviting someone to life with Jesus through a spiritual conversation, sharing about the hope they have, or inviting them to a group or church. We also want to engage those we do not yet know inside the walls of our church instead of just connecting with those we already know.