Welcome Hall
Evangelical Church

History

In the early 1930s a travelling evangelist, Joseph Lewis from the Cardiff Brethren Assemblies, began an itinerant ministry in the villages of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. The Lord blessed his preaching and souls were saved. When the war began in 1939 travel became difficult, and Joseph Lewis was providentially led to settle in the village of Catshill. So it was that in 1939 a group of believers was formed into a church and Joe Lewis became their first pastor. Paul Lewis, his son, succeeded him in 1973, retiring in February 2010.

Constitution

As currently constituted the Welcome Hall Evangelical Church acts as a fully Independent Evangelical Church holding to reformed Calvinistic doctrines found in the Bible. It is governed by a body of elders, including the pastor. Deacons also serve the church in practical and spiritual matters.

Membership of the church is open to those whose lives give evidence that they have been converted through personal faith in Jesus Christ, and who have then been baptised by immersion. Members are also expected to give their wholehearted consent to the church's Statement of Faith (see below).

Beliefs

Historically our doctrinal convictions are substantially reflected in such documents as The Westminster Confession and The Baptist Confession of 1689 though any doctrinal controversies are to be settled by Scripture alone. Our beliefs are described briefly below. A more detailed statement of faith is available here (please note that you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view this file).

1. We believe that the Holy Scriptures are fully inspired so that they are authoritative and totally sufficient. They do not merely contain but are in themselves the Word of God. The Bible's witness to itself as the only, complete and infallible Word of God is completely trustworthy.
2. We believe that there is only one living and true God who exists in three Persons. The divine Persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are co-equal in nature, power and eternity. We believe that this God is sovereign in creation, providence and redemption.
3. We believe that the heavens and the earth and everything in it were created by God at the beginning in six literal twenty four hour days.
4. We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is truly God yet He also has a real and perfect manhood which He took to Himself when He was born of a virgin. We believe in the authority of His teaching and the infallibility of all His words. We believe that He died as a substitute on the cross, bearing the righteous wrath of God against sin and that this one offering was the full and sufficient and only atonement for sins. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His present priestly intercession for His people and His personal return in glory.
5. We believe that the sinner is justified solely by faith, through the atoning merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
6. We believe that human nature is totally depraved because of the Fall of Adam from his original state of perfection in which he was created. We believe that by this Fall all mankind is in a state of condemnation and separation from a holy God, and can only be delivered by God's work of regeneration and redemption.
7. We believe in the sovereign grace of God, by which we mean His free and unmerited favour. We believe that by His sole choice the elect have been predestinated to salvation.
8. We believe that the work of regeneration, conversion, sanctification and faith are not an act of man's free will and power, but the result of the mighty, efficacious, and irresistible grace of God through the Holy Spirit.
9. We believe that the Ten Commandments are the eternal moral law of God, especially useful to believers in telling them of their continuing duty towards God and man. We believe that the Sabbath commandment remains in force, the day having been changed after Christ's resurrection to the first day of the week, the Lord's own day.
10. We believe that all those who are chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sanctified by the Spirit, shall certainly and finally persevere, so that not one of them shall ever perish but all shall have everlasting life.
11. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the judgement of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, with the eternal blessedness of the redeemed, and the eternal punishment of those who finally reject Christ as Saviour.
12. We believe in the observance of the divine institution of the baptism of believers by immersion in water as an act of witness to their previous conversion, but not as conveying any regenerating grace. We believe in the observance of the Lord's Supper as a remembrance of our Lord's death, but that it is not a sacrifice for sin nor does it involve any change in the substance of the bread and wine.
13. We believe in the sole authority and prerogative of Christ, through the Holy Spirit, speaking in His Word, for the government of the church.

Practices

We use traditional hymns in our services. The majority of hymns are taken from 'Grace Hymns' and 'Christian Hymns'. We do not follow the modern trend for worship leaders and worship bands, believing that Biblical worship should be reverent and God-centred rather than man-centred.

Systematic Bible teaching is a crucial element in the building up of the Church on its most holy faith. This is carried out after the communion service on Sunday and one evening during the week.

Prayers are also an essential part of worship and the whole church is led in thanksgiving, supplication and intercession to Almighty God. Not only is prayer a part of the Church members' Sunday morning communion service, we also set aside one hour every Friday evening where all church members are encouraged to come to pray for matters relating to the needs of the church the village and our nation.

We believe in the importance of preaching the glorious gospel of Christ to young and old in the neighbourhood. We therefore set aside time for evangelistic preaching every Sunday evening and we also hold an afternoon Sunday school and teenage Bible class with a specifically evangelistic purpose.

To encourage the young people in the neighbourhood and to gain a door for the gospel we also encourage the church to get involved with the children during the week in games activities on the church premises and children's evangelistic meetings.

In line with our desire for reverent worship we believe that men and women should be soberly attired in the presence of God in His church. In this connection we believe that Christian women should cover their heads at worship in the gathered church. This indicates their agreement to submit to the redemption order where Christ voluntarily submits to His Father, the man to Christ and the woman to man. Nevertheless, we respect the differing views of occasional visiting believers from other churches where this practice may not be common.

We welcome visiting believers from other churches who may be admitted to the Communion Table provided they have been interviewed by one or more of the elders.