Vision & Beliefs

Emmanuel is on an adventure, learning to follow Jesus wherever He leads and whatever the cost.

This is our goal as a church family.  We are committed to following Jesus wherever He leads us.  We recognize that the ‘fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ (Psalm 111) and we support and encourage each other to lifestyles of deeper discipleship, learning to put God first every day.  We achieve this by taking the Bible seriously, by being open to the empowering work of the Holy Spirit, being passionate in our worship, through relationships in our Connect Groups and through prayer. 

We love being a part of our wider Newfrontiers family of churches and particularly our sphere within it, called Catalyst.  Our primary relationships in world mission, and our serving of the global poor, come most often through this network.

We believe the Church is the hope of the world, that it declares the truth about Jesus Christ, models the new community of the Spirit and builds secure families connected to the Father.

Our Values

Four words that we find helpful in describing the culture and values that we are looking to live out together are:

Humble

towards God and one another in speech, conduct and attitudes 

Honouring

of one another, recognising that we are wonderfully different but beautifully reconciled through the gospel

Devoted

seeking to grow in passion for God, taking time to enjoy him and welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit

Courageous

taking steps of faith and obedience that stretch us - we really believe that so often ‘the awesome is in the awkward’

At Emmanuel you can expect:

WORD: Bible-based preaching which shapes our culture and practice

SPIRIT: Openness to the Holy Spirit, inviting Him to lead and transform us

DISCIPLESHIP: A discipleship culture – expecting that all at Emmanuel have an appetite to go deeper with God and to grow

PRAYER: Planning times to pray regularly and often 

MISSION: We passionately tell others about Jesus, both locally and globally

FAMILY: A deep sense of family offering love and support to one another

SERVICE: A heart to serve Oxford’s wider community, particularly the poor

PARTNERSHIP: An evident partnership with Catalyst / Newfrontiers, sharing mission around the world

GENEROSITY: We love to give away.  We regularly have the joy of sending teams, individuals and finance to mission and church planting projects