Williamstown Baptist Church, Beth Tephillah Ministry Centre & Simple Church Network

Welcome to Williamstown Baptist Church, Beth Tephillah Ministry Centre, and the Beth Tephillah Simple Church Network.

The people who make up this church body are on a journey of discovery:

• Discovering what it means to be a true follower of Jesus in our time and culture, learning to love him, and love each other like he loves us.
• Discovering how we may be most effective, as a church and as individuals, in working with Jesus to expand the boundaries of his Kingdom in our society.
• Discovering how to be the church that Jesus is building, not one that just grows by default out of the pressures of history, tradition, and our own ideas and desires.

If these sound like some of the things you too are seeking to discover, then perhaps we can help you learn along with us through this website, or especially by meeting together face-to-face.

Along our journey we have discovered that not everything that the church has held as self evident for a very long time are not helpful. To be a follower of Jesus today includes examining everything to find what is of true value. Some of the things (but not all) that we now hold as important in this journey include:

• The church has a flat structure – everyone is equal with Jesus as the only head.
• Every believer is to be a disciple, and a disciple is someone who can make another disciple.
• Hierarchical leadership structures and offices, buildings and equipment, programs, and traditions which are binding on behaviour are more a liability than a help.
• Small, simple, organic churches  which are networked together, and meet periodically in larger gatherings are most likely to be the ones that can evangelise our society.
• Each church is led by elders, who are safe fatherly and motherly people that others are willing to trust.
• A network of simple churches in a region is served by an apostolic/prophetic band of people who between them exercise the gifts and functions of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher, but do not rule over the church.

If you are also on this journey, or wish to discuss it more, then please contact us either directly, via email, or through one of our blogs.