To be God’s transforming presence for High Wycombe and beyond.
Reach out to others meeting needs and sharing the good news of Jesus
Equip those in St Andrew’s to grow deeper together and as disciples of Jesus
Resource the wider church and town by revitalising churches and encouraging mission
Deep Relationships. Building a family of people that is real, authentic and welcoming to anyone.
Compassionate Mission that makes disciples, is intentional in evangelism and concerned with justice and care for all those in need both globally and locally.
Community Transformation that is looking to see change in all spheres of society working in partnership with other agencies and churches where we can.
Emerging Generation. We are multi-generational with a passion for investing in the next generation to follow Jesus.
Spirit Empowered Ministry that releases God’s healing, freedom and transformation and doing the works of the Kingdom.
Persistent in Prayer. Believing in the power of prayer, creating space for regular corporate prayer and equipping people to grow deeper in their personal prayer lives.
Passionate Worship. We long to worship God in a way that facilitates encounter with God. More than songs, it is loving God with our heart, soul and mind.
The church building in Hatters Lane was built in 1961 to serve the new housing area 1 mile east of the town centre. Prior to this, there had been an original Mission Hall in Gordon Road, planted out from All Saints Parish Church in the centre of town at the end of the 19th Century. A small and faithful team began to reach out to the surrounding houses with a focus on reaching the new families.
Following significant growth in the late 70’s and early 80’s the old church building was too small. A large extension was added in 1986, allowing further growth of the worshipping church community.
We are about to embark on a major church building revitalisation at St Andrew’s called Nexus. Nexus will refurbish and reorder the existing space, providing new, fit-for-purpose, kitchen facilities, toilets, offices and a new welcome area.
In 2019 a team of 35 people were sent from St Andrew’s to revitalise a church on the other side of town. The church at St Mary and St George’s (SMG) is now growing and self-sustaining reaching out to their local community in Sands and Castlefield.
In 2020, St Andrew’s was designated a Resource Church by the Oxford Diocese to enable the church to have a wider remit for the town of High Wycombe and the surrounding area. This means we have a new strategic vision to help other churches to be renewed and revitalized:
With regard to racism, we believe that the Spirit is at work right now in our culture exposing racial injustice and inequality for the purpose of healing and renewal. As a church we have been on a journey to engage with racial injustice and seek to root it out. We pray that this will lead us forward as a church into greater life, greater freedom and therefore a greater foretaste of the rich diversity that will be present in heaven.
The Bible calls us to be good stewards of creation because it’s God’s good gift to humanity, created by and for Jesus. That’s why at St Andrew’s we take God’s call to care for creation seriously, recognising that it is one of the ‘five marks of mission’
One way we’re doing this is by working with A Rocha to become an eco-church, making climate conscious improvements across five strands of our church’s shared life – teaching & Worship, Lifestyle, Community & Global Engagement, Land and Buildings.
As a result in September 2021 we officially became an ‘eco church’ by achieving an A-Rocha Bronze Award.
At St Andrews our mission statement is ‘To be God’s transforming presence for High Wycombe and beyond’. What do we mean when we say ‘and beyond’?
The Great Commission
Before returning to heaven, Jesus commanded his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations”. He told them to begin in Jerusalem, then move out to Judea, Samaria, and ultimately to the ends of the earth. These instructions were not only for the first disciples, they are also for us as Jesus’ followers today.
Let’s assume our ‘Jerusalem’ is the area around St Andrews, our ‘Judea’ is the wider county and region. Our ‘Samaria’ includes reaching our neighbours from other cultures – migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. But Jesus also wants to send us to the ends of the earth to be his witnesses and make disciples.
St Andrews global reach
St Andrew’s has a rich heritage of involvement in global mission. Members of our church family have served as long-term church planters and Bible translators in countries ranging from Algeria to Indonesia and many places in between. Today, a number of people in our congregation work with mission organisations that mobilise, train and support missionaries. However, we currently do not have anyone serving overseas from our church family.
Our desire is to raise up and send the next generation of gospel workers, prioritising places where there is little access to the gospel. These include countries such as Morocco, Turkey, Pakistan, northern India and Indonesia, where few churches exist and many people will never meet a Christian during their lifetime.
We long to see men and women from St Andrew’s take the hope of Christ to those who have had little opportunity to hear the good news.
Our hope and prayer for the future
In recent years, we have organised short-term mission trips to Turkey, Uganda, Brazil and Albania, and we hope to offer more opportunities in the future. Our hope and prayer is that some who participate in these trips will begin to explore God’s call to long-term mission service. As a church, we are committed to helping people discern that calling, preparing them well for cross-cultural ministry, and supporting them well as they serve.
As an initial goal we would love to send 3 families, couples or individuals into long-term cross cultural mission within the next 4 years. Jesus told us to ‘pray for workers for the harvest’ so let’s pray that some from our community respond to Jesus’ call and go to the least reached places.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can be part of St Andrews’ global mission efforts, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Simon Dust, Mike Jones, Esme Scott or Jordan Chambers through the church office email at admin@standrewshw.co.uk
We have a big vision that God invites us to particate with him as the main partner. We all have a part to play in seeing God’s kingdom come on earth as in heaven.