Pray each day
Each month, you’re invited to pray for church and all that is happening with our monthly Prayer Calendar. You can view and download the calendar below as a PDF.
Immanuel Series
Immanuel Series
God with us
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
- Isaiah 7:14
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name
Immanuel, which means, God with us.
- Matthew 1:23
People often go home for Christmas. No matter how many messages, virtual meetings, or posted cards and gifts - there is nothing like someone’s actual physical presence in the room. When someone you love comes home, tears often flow. Human beings are wired for this — we are reassured and filled with joy by touching, hearing and seeing someone in our time and space. When Jesus entered into human history he entered our reality, our circumstances, our families, our work lives, our most secret and public lives. And it changed everything.
Perhaps still reeling from the experience he had just been through John started his letter with these words about Jesus: We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.
- 1 John 1:1 NLT
C. S Lewis called earth ‘the visited planet’. This Christmas amongst the busyness and festivities we are taking time to ponder again the profound mystery of Jesus entry into our world. He is “Immanuel” which means “God is with us”.
Here’s what we’re hearing about each week in our messages on Sundays:
1st December: God With Us
8th December: Peace Bringer
16th December: Life Giver
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week. This also includes recommended reading and a video to watch as well:
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Coming soon!
Monthly Men's Breakfast
Vacancy for Worship Pastor
Woodlands Central is a large and vibrant, city centre church that serves the city of Bristol as part of one of seven church sites in the Woodlands Church Family. Our vision is to see our city transformed by the love and power of Jesus.
We have a heart to worship Jesus and to make him known in our city. Our worship life is central to everything we do as church. We have a range of Sunday services that have different worship expressions as well as many mid-week communities.
About the Role
We are looking for someone who is experienced in leading worship and in pastoring and overseeing a team of worship leaders and musicians. We are dependent on a large team of over 100 volunteers who sustain our worship ministry, and we want someone with experience in training and equipping worship teams.
Key areas of work include:
Modelling inspiring and fruitful worship leading as an active practitioner.
Ensure that our worship services are resourced by worship leaders and musicians.
Invest in the worship team, being involved in discipling and training and develop worship leaders.
Be sensitive to the diverse needs of congregation.
Guard and grow a worship culture in the Woodlands Church Family and support wider Woodlands events.
Find out more about the Worship Pastor role:
Requirements
There is a requirement that the post holder be a follower of Jesus and a worshipping member of Woodlands Church Family, or another local Church.
Terms
This is a part time, fixed term contract to cover maternity leave at 2.5 days per week.
The annual salary for this role is £13,000 (FTE £26,000) pro rata, depending on experience. We give a generous leave allowance of 33 days including bank holidays.
The role will be primarily based at Woodlands Church in Clifton, Bristol with flexible and home working available by arrangement. The working pattern can be negotiated.
The post is subject to satisfactory references and DBS check.
We have a legal responsibility to ensure that all our employees have the legal right to live and work in the UK. Therefore, please only apply if you are eligible to work in the UK as we will have to verify this before you can start work.
How to apply
For an application form please email our HR Administrator Jenny Hanley, at hr@woodlandschurch.net.
If you have any questions about the role and would like an informal chat please contact Nigel Savage, our Woodlands Central Senior Leader at nigel.savage@woodlandschurch.net.
Please send completed applications to our Woodlands Central Senior Leader Nigel Savage at nigel.savage@woodlandschurch.net and copy them to our HR Lead hr@woodlandschurch.net.
The closing date for applications is midnight on Friday 20th December 2024. This vacancy will close once we have sufficient applications.
If shortlisted, interviews will take place at Woodlands Church on the afternoon of Monday 6th January 2025.
Vacancy for Production Technician
Woodlands Central is a large and vibrant, city centre church that serves the city of Bristol as part of one of six church sites in the Woodlands Church Family. Our vision is to see our city transformed by the love and power of Jesus.
The Production role is to oversee all the production elements of Sunday services. This will include managing the large team of volunteers who help make this happen, training our volunteers and ongoing maintenance and development of our tech infrastructure.
About the Role
We are looking for someone who has excellent production knowledge of live sound as a front of house engineer as well as competence around audio visual systems and software. The key role is to oversee the large production team of volunteers, giving feedback, training and developing how we deliver high quality production values across our services and events.
Key areas of work include:
To help recruit, train and develop our production volunteers.
To oversee the Sound Team, Camera Team and Pro Presenter Team ministries, ensuring roles are filled on Sundays.
Lead the Production Team mtg and work closely with Sunday service teams.
Regular maintenance and development of tech infrastructure, including software upgrades, repairs and improvements.
To have full oversight of all the systems of live sound, broadcast sound, lighting and AV.
Find out more about the Production Technician role:
Requirements
There is a requirement that the post holder be a follower of Jesus and a worshipping member of Woodlands Church Family, or another local Church.
Terms
This is a part time, permanent contract for 1.5days / 11 hours 15 mins per week. The working pattern can be negotiated.
The annual salary for this role is £7,363 (FTE £24,544) depending on experience. We give a generous leave allowance of 33 days including bank holidays.
The role will be primarily based at Woodlands Church in Clifton, Bristol with flexible and home working available by arrangement.
The post is subject to satisfactory right to work check, references and DBS check.
We have a legal responsibility to ensure that all our employees have the legal right to live and work in the UK. Therefore, please only apply if you are eligible to work in the UK as we will have to verify this before you can start work.
How to apply
For an application form please email our HR Administrator Jenny Hanley, at hr@woodlandschurch.net.
If you have any questions about the role and would like an informal chat please contact Nigel Savage, our Woodlands Central Senior Leader at nigel.savage@woodlandschurch.net.
Please send completed applications to our Woodlands Central Senior Leader Nigel Savage at nigel.savage@woodlandschurch.net and copy them to our HR Lead hr@woodlandschurch.net.
The closing date for applications is midnight on Monday 9th December 2024. This vacancy will close once we have sufficient applications.
If shortlisted, interviews will take place at Woodlands Church on the afternoon of Friday 13th December 2024.
We are aiming for a start date of early January for the successful candidate.
Volunteer Opportunity: Newcomers Admin
The Woodlands Church Family (WCF) is a vibrant, growing family of churches with seven sites located across the city of Bristol and a vision to plant more.
We are recruiting for volunteers to join our Newcomers Team to support the assimilation of new people to Woodlands Central. We’d love to hear from you if you’re interesting being part of the team.
ABOUT THIS VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITY
We are looking for administrative support for the Newcomers team. Ideally we would like someone who could commit to helping us 3 to 4 hours on a Monday and/or Tuesday, after our newcomers events. These happen once or twice each month on Sundays.
Key areas of work include:
Administer the newcomers process by submitting new contact cards, inviting people to newcomer’s events and managing the process flow.
Process newcomers after events, including uploading forms and photos to our database.
Personal attributes and key skills
Strong administration skills with an eye for detail
Good written communication skills
Administering confidential information in line with our Data Protection Policy
Team player
Our volunteer roles require a commitment to be a follower of Jesus and a worshipping member of the Woodlands Church Family.
Support for this voluntary role
In-house training on Data Protection and use of ChurchSuite database
Open invitation to join in with our wider team meetings on Monday mornings where we gather together, worship, share good news stories and pray for one another.
Interested? Get in touch!
Please contact our Newcomers Team by emailing newcomers@woodlandschurch.net for an opportunity to meet and discuss the role further.
Vacancy for Senior Children & Families Lead
The Woodlands Church Family (WCF) is a vibrant, growing family of churches with six sites located across the city of Bristol and a vision to plant more. As we’ve grown, so too has our team, and we have an exciting opportunity for someone to join our team as Senior Children and Families Lead at Woodlands Central.
As a Woodlands Church Family we aim to disciple children and families to be connected, confident and equipped.
1. Connected
We aim to help children and families to connect with Jesus, with one another in friendships, in relationships with the church community and with a sense of belonging.
2. Confident
We aim to help disciple children to be confident in their knowledge of who God is, to have a sense of their own identity in Christ and therefore confident enough to ask questions, explore faith and be curious.
3. Equipped
We aim to equip and support parents as they disciple their children with the help of the Holy Spirit. We aim to equip children with tools to help them to pray, read the bible and experience the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. We want to equip them to own their own faith in Jesus, to obey Jesus and to be empowered ministers to the world around them.
About the Role
This position is a strategic leadership role to oversee and grow the Children’s and Families ministries at Woodlands Central. This involves leading, shaping and building an expanding children's ministry for children aged 0-11. This includes planning ministry programmes, events and outreach initiatives throughout the year. You will be responsible for communicating vision to the church. You will lead and line manage the staffed Children’s Team and through them recruit, train and support a large team of volunteers. You will oversee the families ministry including daytime groups and events, equipping parents to disciple their children in the home.
Candidates should be highly motivated, enthusiastic, able to take initiative, work well in a team and be passionate to see children grow in their faith.
Requirements: This role requires a commitment to be a follower of Jesus and either a member of the Woodlands Church Family or another local church.
To find out more about this role, download the following documents:
Terms
This is a permanent position contracted at a minimum of 3 days per week (22 hours 30 mins) with the possibility of more hours being added and the role potentially becoming a full-time position.
The salary band for this role is £30,000 pro rata, depending on experience. The annual holiday entitlement is 25 days pro rata plus 8 days bank holiday pro rata.
The role will be based at Woodlands Church in Clifton, Bristol.
The post is subject to satisfactory references.
We have a legal responsibility to ensure that all our employees have the legal right to live and work in the UK. Therefore, please only apply if you are eligible to work in the UK as we will have to verify this before you can start work.
How to apply
The closing date for applications is midnight on Thursday, 2nd January 2025. However, this vacancy will close once we have sufficient applications.
Please contact Nigel Savage, one of our Senior Leaders at Woodlands Central (nigel.savage@woodlandschurch.net) if you have any questions about the role.
If shortlisted, interviews will take place at Woodlands Church on the morning of Friday, 17th January 2025.
For an application form please contact our HR Administrator Jenny Hanley at hr@woodlandschurch.net
Please send your completed application to Nigel Savage (nigel.savage@woodlandschurch.net) and out HR Lead Julia Shrimpton hr@woodlandschurch.net.
November Prayer Calendar
Pray each day
Each month, you’re invited to pray for church and all that is happening with our monthly Prayer Calendar. You can view and download the calendar below as a PDF.
Calling all Christmas Choir & Brass Player
We’re getting ready for Christmas at Woodies and are looking for people to join our choir and brass band for the Carols by Candlelight services happening on:
14th December (7pm)
15th December (5pm & 7pm)
Choir rehearsals will be on Monday nights in the Upper Hall from 7.30pm - 9pm on the following dates:
11th November
18th November
25th November
(No rehearsal 2nd December due to the 'Big Singalong' rehearsal)
9th December
Would you like to get involved? Find out how below…
WANT TO JOIN THE CHRISTMAS CHOIR?
For the Christmas choir, ideally you’d have the ability to read music and some experience of singing in a choir. This is helpful, but not essential. You do have to be able to sing in tune and hold a part.
Email our Worship Pastor Jo Demcolli for more information.
ARE YOU A BRASS BRAND PLAYER?
If you are a a brass player at a grade 7 standard or higher, please get in touch with Nigel Savage for more information.
What's So Amazing About Grace? Series
What’s So Amazing About Grace? Series
What does living in God’s grace look like?
Grace is the foundation for so much of the Christian life.
In John’s gospel, we read:
’From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.’
We live in a time where ideas around grace and truth are hotly debated. This series explores how the bible’s ancient wisdom is still relevant, powerful and essential, as we navigate following Jesus in our complex world.
Here’s what we’re hearing about each week in our messages on Sundays:
3rd November: My Truth Your Truth
10th November: Amazing Grace
17th November: The Grace Givers
24th November: 21st Century Grace
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week. This also includes recommended reading and a video to watch as well:
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Coming soon!
Tiny Treasures Toddlers
At Woodlands Church, our very popular Tiny Treasures Toddlers group meets weekly on Wednesdays, from 10am to 11.30am during term time.
Note: Tiny Treasures is at full capacity - please email the toddler team to join our waiting list!
Our friendly and relaxed church-run toddler group is a great place for parents / primary carers to meet one another and enjoy time with their babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
We are looking forward to getting to know you and your little one/s better. Our hope is that we can support and encourage you during your mornings with us.
Many of our Tiny Treasures team are volunteers from Woodlands Church and anyone on the team will always be ready to listen and pray for you if you would like that.
At Tiny Treasures toddlers we will:
Provide a safe and happy environment for children to play, learn and interact.
Be a welcoming place for all parents and carers to make friends and feel supported.
Show the love of God in our community.
Care for the whole child and parent/carer – physically, emotionally and spiritually.
What to expect
Arrival:
On arrival, you will be greeted by a member of our welcome team. If you’re new, they will ask you to fill out a registration form.
A donation of £2.50 per family with up to two children, then 50p for each additional child. If cost is prohibitive for you, please speak to a member of the team.
Buggies:
Please park your buggies on the far side in the Main Hall towards the rear.
Tea and Coffee:
Hot drinks are available throughout the morning - any time you would like! Please bring a keep cup with a lid to keep all the little ones safe, and make sure to have a chat with our friendly refreshments team!
Snack time:
Snacks will be served at 10.45am in the foyer. Please keep snacks out of the main hall and do let us know if your child has any allergies or intolerances. It would help our refreshments team if you could clear your cups and plates after snack time.
Nappies:
Nappy changing facilities can be found in the Disabled toilet at the rear of the main hall.
In case of fire:
In the event of a continuous fire alarm sounding, please leave the building by your nearest exit with your children and assemble at the assembly point across the road.
Eyes Peeled!:
Our team will always keep a watchful eye on children as they play, however children will always remain the full responsibility of their parent/carer at all times.
Tidy Up Time:
It would really help us if you could help tidy the toys when the bell sounds for tidy up time.
Singing Time:
We love singing and dancing! We finish each session with a time of singing and story telling. Once a term we will a focus this around a specific holiday or event and one of our church team will join us.
Join our Parent Team:
We would love some parent volunteers on our team. This may mean that you help with setting out the toys, bake for snack time, facilitate craft, sweep the hall or even help lead the singing. Please speak to a member of the team if you are able to help in any way.
The Last Word:
Wondering why our logo is a pearl, or why we are called Tiny Treasures Toddlers? We believe that your children are treasures, loved and valued by God.
In the Bible, in the book of Matthew, we read about a merchant looking for beautiful pearls, but he found just one single pearl of such value that he sold everything he had just to have it. We believe that there is treasure far greater than we can see here on earth. To find out more, please speak to a member of the team.
Get in touch:
If you have any questions/feedback or prayer requests, please email the toddler team at Woodlands Church.
October Prayer Calendar
Pray each day
Each month, you’re invited to pray for church and all that is happening with our monthly Prayer Calendar. You can view and download the calendar below as a PDF.
Jesus Stories: Seeds of Faith | Nigel Savage | 1st September 2024 at 6.30pm
Jesus was a master storyteller. Twenty-one centuries on, his stories are still timeless and provocative, but they were also deeply relevant and challenging in the surrounding culture of his day.
This September, our series Jesus Stories highlights five well known parables told by Jesus to explain the unique dynamics of the kingdom of God. It's teaching that is designed to both reassure us and get under our skin!
The purpose of this series is to explore the teaching of Jesus on what it means to be a disciple and a citizen of His Kingdom. Come on the journey with us either in person or on the weekly livestream.
Jesus Stories: Seeds of Faith | Rachel Riddall | 1st September 2024 at 11am
Jesus was a master storyteller. Twenty-one centuries on, his stories are still timeless and provocative, but they were also deeply relevant and challenging in the surrounding culture of his day.
This September, our series Jesus Stories highlights five well known parables told by Jesus to explain the unique dynamics of the kingdom of God. It's teaching that is designed to both reassure us and get under our skin!
The purpose of this series is to explore the teaching of Jesus on what it means to be a disciple and a citizen of His Kingdom. Come on the journey with us either in person or on the weekly livestream.
The Way Series
The Way Series
Thoughts on being a disciple and follower of Jesus
How did Jesus make disciples?
Jesus’ priority was to make disciples who made disciples. The challenge to make disciples of ‘all nations’ was one given to the Church - and it is still our mission 2,000 years later. So we’re exploring what is a disciple, how do we become one and help others along The Way?
We’ll be looking at how Jesus made disciples so we can learn from his ancient ways in how we live our life today. Here’s what we’re hearing about each week in our messages on Sundays:
6th October: Follow
13th October: Close
20th October: Act
27th October: Gather
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week. This also includes recommended reading and videos to watch as well:
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Host a Student Sunday Lunch
Every September, thousands of students come to study at university in Bristol. What better way to welcome these lovely Freshers than with free food? We gave away 3,000 hot dogs during Freshers Week and had an amazing time getting to meet lots of new people.
One of the most impactful things we can do as a church family to support students is to help them feel at home. Student lunches are a great opportunity for you and your family/friends to invite a student(s) into your home, provide them with a hot lunch and help them to feel connected with the wider church family.
The feedback and impact from previous years has been phenomenal - we’d love to have another great impact this Autumn. If you are able to invite a student for lunch one Sunday in September or October - sign up below!
Vacancy for Assistant Children's Minister
The Woodlands Church Family (WCF) is a vibrant, growing family of churches with six sites located across the city of Bristol and a vision to plant more. As we’ve grown, so too has our team, and we have an exciting opportunity for within our Children’s Team.
The position of Assistant Children’s Minister at Woodlands Central and Children’s and Community Worker at Branch Community Church can be delivered as a 4.5 day a week role, working across both sites. Alternatively, the individual roles could be filled separately at 2.5 days for the Woodlands Central position and 2 days for the Branch position.
Candidates should be highly motivated, enthusiastic, able to take initiative, work well in a team and be passionate to see children grow in their faith.
The Role
The Assistant Children’s Church Minister at Central role will include the following duties, for example:
Planning and leading groups working with children aged 0-11.
Helping to support a strong team of volunteers, and resource the different Sunday morning groups.
Working with the children's team to review and develop processes to ensure the ministry continues to grow.
The Children’s and Community Worker at Branch role will include the following duties, for example:
You will be responsible for working with the Branch Leadership team to coordinate and oversee our children’s provision, both on a Sunday and during the week.
When undertaking this role there may be times when you come across confidential information, therefore it is imperative that you are highly discreet and maintain confidentiality.
Terms
This is a permanent position contracted with the option of:
4.5 days / 33hrs 45mins per week (both roles)
2.5days / 18hours 45mins per week (role at Central)
2 days / 15hours per week (role at Branch)
The salary band for this role is £23,550 - £24,500 pro rata, depending on experience.
The annual holiday entitlement is 25 days pro rata plus 8 days bank holiday pro rata.
The role will be based at Woodlands Church in Clifton and Branch Community Church in Henbury, Bristol. Travel between the two sites will be required.
The post is subject to satisfactory references and DBS check.
We have a legal responsibility to ensure that all our employees have the legal right to live and work in the UK. Therefore, please only apply if you are eligible to work in the UK as we will have to verify this before you can start work.
For full details, please see the Role Summary & Terms.
Occupational Requirement
As a group of churches our vision is to continually reproduce the life of Jesus. We therefore seek to create a culture and environment in our churches where every team member and volunteer is able to encourage and challenge one another and the many people who pass through the doors each day, to pursue that vision.
As a member of the staff team, you will be joining a faith community that meets to worship and pray together every week and we share prayer and worship moments throughout the day. Around the building, you’ll often come across teams or individuals praying over their work and really speaking the language of faith.
Therefore, the role has an occupational requirement that the post holder be a follower of Jesus and a worshipping member of either Woodlands Church Family or another local church to ensure protection of our strong Christian ethos and values, and our charitable objective of advancing the Christian faith. We also want to ensure all team members thrive and flourish in this environment.
How to Apply
JOB DESCRIPTIONS
Read through the two documents below to find out more:
QUESTIONS?
Please contact our lead recruiters Nigel Savage (nigel.savage@woodlandschurch.net) at Central and Matt Smith (matt.smith@branchcommunity.church) at Branch if you have any questions about the role.APPLICATION FORM
For an application form, please email our HR team at hr@woodlandschurch.netCLOSING DATE
The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday, 22nd September 2024. However, this vacancy will close once we have sufficient applications.EMAIL YOUR APPLICATION
Please send your completed application to our HR lead julia.shrimpton@woodlandschurch.net copying the lead recruiters nigel.savage@woodlandschurch.net and matt.smith@branchcommunity.church.INTERVIEW DATES
If shortlisted, interviews will take place at Woodlands Church from week commencing Monday, 30th September 2024.
Commissioning Sunday
This month, Dave Mitchell will be passing on the baton of leadership of Woodlands Central to Rachel Riddall and Nigel Savage. We'll be marking this on a special Commissioning Sunday on the 8th September at all of our services. We’d love everyone to come along to support and pray for them.
Nigel and Rachel have been part of the Core Leadership Team at Central working closely with Dave Mitchell for many years. Practically speaking, Dave Mitchell has been handing over the operational leadership of the Woodlands Central congregations to Rachel & Nigel and their team over the summer. In addition, his Executive Assistant Abby Harvey has also transitioned over to supporting Nigel and Rachel at Central and we’ve recruited Catherine Penn as Dave’s new Executive Assistant.
Here’s what Dave Mitchell, Senior Lead of the Woodlands Church Family, recently wrote in his email to the church:
”My own role as leader of the Woodlands Church Family means I will still maintain a presence and involvement with Woodlands Central but will be released to have time for congregations on the other seven sites that represent the Woodlands Church Family, as well as for our wider connections in the City.
It might be worth reminding you of exactly who Woodlands Church Family is, and some of the nomenclature involved.
Woodlands Central covers the congregations that meet in the Woodlands Christian Centre on Belgrave Road itself. This includes the 8am, 9.15am, 11 am services, the 6.30pm service and monthly Quiet Service also at 6.30pm.
Highgrove is our Sea Mills congregation meeting at 10 High Grove with services at 9.30am and 11am.
The Community Church meets at the Greenaway Centre on Doncaster Road, Southmead at 10.30am.
Branch Community Church meets at Emmanuel Church Satchfield Crescent in Henbury at 4pm.
Southside meets at Victoria Park Baptist Church on St John’s Lane at 3pm.
Woodlands Metro meets at the Cathedral School (Cresswell Centre) at 11am on Sundays.
Hillside will be the name for the congregation meeting in Backwell meeting in Fairfield Primary School at 11 am on 3rd Sundays.
From the end of September Woodlands Church Family will be stewarding Chelsea Christian Centre in Easton, name tbc.
Thanks (I think) to everyone who has congratulated me on retirement, but that is still a little way off though I do become eligible for my state pension at the end of September!”
September Prayer Calendar
Pray each day
Each month, you’re invited to pray for church and all that is happening with our monthly Prayer Calendar. You can view and download the calendar below as a PDF.
Jesus Stories Series
Jesus Stories Series
Unpacking Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom
Jesus was a master storyteller. Twenty-one centuries on, his stories are still timeless and provocative, but they were also deeply relevant and challenging in the surrounding culture of his day.
Our series Jesus Stories highlights five well known parables told by Jesus to explain the unique dynamics of the kingdom of God. It's teaching that is designed to both reassure us and get under our skin!
The purpose of this series is to explore the teaching of Jesus on what it means to be a disciple and a citizen of His Kingdom. Here’s what we’ll be talking about each week on Sunday…
1st September: Seeds of Faith
8th September: On This Rock
15th September: Lost Sheep & Little Ones
22nd September: Unmerciful Servant
29th September: The Kingdom of God is a Party
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week. This also includes recommended reading and videos to watch as well:
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Featured
