Who We Are
We are a church of the great commandment, the great commision, and the Great Tradition.
The Great
Commandment
Love for God and neighbor is the defining characteristic of Christian community. Each Sunday we hear the words of Jesus repeated in our liturgy: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
Christ Church Waco prioritizes worship, including the hearing, reading, and preaching of Scripture and receiving the Sacraments as signs of God’s love. We desire for the liturgy to be welcoming to people of all ages. We encourage families and children to worship with the entire congregation. We also have a growing emphasis on spiritual direction and spiritual practices—cultivating personal relationships with God, together.
The Great
Commission
Second, Christ Church is about the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) As followers of Jesus, we are sent forth in the power of the Holy Spirit. To a sinful and dying world, we proclaim the good news of hope, salvation, and abundant life.
From its beginning, Christ Church Waco made the decision to give a substantial portion of its congregational tithes and offerings to local and international missions, and to send its own missionaries out into the field. Two missionary couples are currently members of our congregation, and we support a variety of ministries in Waco and around the world, including ministries to new mothers and their children, outreach to the poor and homeless, disaster relief, and prison ministry. Members of our parish are personally involved in many of these local ministries as well!
The Great
Commission
Second, Christ Church is about the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) As followers of Jesus, we are sent forth in the power of the Holy Spirit. To a sinful and dying world, we proclaim the good news of hope, salvation, and abundant life.
From its beginning, Christ Church Waco made the decision to give a substantial portion of its congregational tithes and offerings to local and international missions, and to send its own missionaries out into the field. Two missionary couples are currently members of our congregation, and we support a variety of ministries in Waco and around the world, including ministries to new mothers and their children, outreach to the poor and homeless, disaster relief, and prison ministry. Members of our parish are personally involved in many of these local ministries as well!
The Great
Tradition
Third, Christ Church holds fast to “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). We joyfully receive the Christian faith as revealed in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. And we live that biblical and apostolic faith in community, following the pattern set by the early fathers and ancient councils of the Church.
Although Christ Church Waco is a relatively recent church plant, in another sense we are not a new church but an old one, faithful to the tradition we have received (2 Thessalonians 2:15). In our liturgy, in our preaching and teaching, in our sacramental life, and in our spiritual practices, we are careful not to depart from the pattern of faith and practice as it has been lived by the Church for nearly 2000 years.