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Helping People Find & Follow Jesus

We want to keep the main thing the main thing. At Wilshire Ave the main thing has been and will always be Jesus!

Helping: Jesus had the heart of a servant. Our goal is to help others even when the cost is great.

Find: Jesus said that all of heaven throws a party when one person turns back to Jesus. Our goal is to introduce more and more people to Jesus.

Follow: We want to grow as followers of Jesus and are committed to helping each other do exactly that

What do Followers of Jesus Do?

At Wilshire, we’ve boiled it down to 3 things each follower should do to grow in their relationship with Jesus.  We want each person to:

#1  Flourish & Find Freedom in Circles & Rows

For many people, coming to Church is the starting point on the journey to spiritual maturity. We are convinced that we are created to Flourish as a community and find Freedom in Jesus. This is done in both “Circles” and “Rows”. The early Christian Church described in Acts 2 gathered both in Circles (homes) & Rows (the temple courts).

Circles – We flourish spiritually when we meet in groups where we are able to be known and loved. “Circles” at Wilshire are our small groups. Here we are able to create depth in our relationships with others and with God. Here are some ways to flourish and find freedom in circles:

  • Get Rooted – Rooted a is 10 week guided curriculum small group for people in every life stage. It is 1) a great starting point to learn more about our faith and grow in your walk with God and 2) A way to learn how to better articulate the hope that you have in Jesus (1 peter 3:15).
  • Join a Life Group –  Life groups are the backbone of our church. It is a great place to grow in your faith and have others help you along in your journey.  As a church, we want to continue to grow in size, reaching more and more for Jesus, yet we want to grow smaller in the way it feels.
  • Join a Care or Recovery Group – Depending on certain life circumstances, sometimes you may need extra support and part of your flourishing may involve joining a care or recovery group. We have both groups that we put on and groups that we can refer you to if you believe this will help you to follow Jesus in a deeper way.

Rows – The early Christians gathered by the thousands in the temple courts. We believe that God does something special as we gather, hear a fresh word from the Lord and encourage each other on Sunday mornings. One psalmist writes that followers of God who are, “planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.” (Psalm 92:13)

  • Be a part of Sunday Mornings: Acts 2:42 says that the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” On Sunday mornings we have the opportunity to hear the Word of God declared to us and this is good for our souls.
  • Get Baptized  – What a powerful way to demonstrate the new creation we are in Jesus. As Paul writes, “we were buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4, that we are buried with Christ in Jesus got baptized, (Mark 1:9) and Jesus commanded it (Matthew 28:19-20).
  • Go Deeper: We continue to grow by spending time with God by praying, reading & studying God’s word. Join us in our various continuing education classes on Sundays and throughout the year. One class is currently making their way through the entire story of the Bible and learning about how God has orchestrated history as a unified narrative. Our other class is about Christian Discipleship based on some of the works of C.S. Lewis. We believe that learning in a classroom is one of many ways to honor God and draw closer to Him.

#2 – Be a Difference Maker

As we continue on in our journey with God, the growth we experience is not only for our own sake. We want to continue to reach more for Jesus so that the family of God grows and becomes more influential in reaching a lost generation with the Good News. We believe that as we discover how God wired us, we can lead others in both our strengths and weaknesses.

We want to empower and unleash leaders throughout Fullerton, North Orange County and the Globe. Everyone at Wilshire Ave has the opportunity to be a Difference Maker. There are opportunities to “go” and be a Difference Maker both within our church and outside in the community. We invite you to grow as you go by having a:

❤ for Our House

Our Sunday mornings are only made possible because of the hard work of our Difference Makers who make a difference in the lives of others each Sunday at Wilshire. We believe that there are many gifts that make up the church but one body (1 Cor 12:20). We want Wilshire to be a place where you can use your God given gifts to serve and uplift the body of Christ which is the Church.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms…If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 4:10-11

Some ways to make a difference within our own “house” are:

  • Serve on Sunday – We were created to serve others. In fact,  Jesus’s mission while on earth was not to be served but to serve. (Mark 10:45) Serving on a team is another way for the church to seem “smaller” as you grow closer to the team you serve alongside. We have many teams that are always looking to expand and include more people in the work of Jesus here on Sunday. Being a Difference Maker on Sundays is a tangible way for you to regularly help people find and follow Jesus.
  • Serve During the Week – If you think that the gifts you have are not necessarily applicable for Sunday mornings, we also have opportunities during the week for you to help with the behind-the-scenes work that it takes to make Sunday mornings happen.

❤ for Our Cities

Jesus was often moved to compassion by the needs of those he encountered in the cities and villages that he visited (Matt. 9:35-36). We believe that God has placed our church in Downtown Fullerton so that we too can show God’s love and compassion to those in need in our city. Wilshire Ave partners with many organizations in Orange County. You can grow your heart for this city by making a difference in one of these areas:

  • Heart of Downtown Food Co-Op: Help serve groceries to the hungry and homeless in Fullerton every other week at 1 pm. We also need food donations year-round.
  • Food Delivery to City Lights: Deliver grocery bags on the 3rd Thursday of the month to families in a low-income apartment complex in Fullerton.
  • Access Ministries: Giving respite care to families & children with special needs.
  • OC United: Variety of service opportunities for children, the homeless, & victims of domestic abus
  • Visiting: Shut-ins and people in the hospital.
  • Prayer Nights: Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm. The group prays for each other, Wilshire Ave, the Church, the community, & the nation.
  • ❤ Our Global Cities: Regular/Annual mission trips to Mexico, Guatemala, and Haiti.

#3 – Leave A Legacy

  • Live a life of fearless influence –   Everybody leads in one way or another. We are leaders in our homes, communities, workplaces, schools and in our families.  How will you influence others (Your 8-15) for the greater good and ultimately share the greatest hope that we have which is in Jesus? At Wilshire we want to make disciples who will continue to make more disciples (2 Tim. 2:2). For all those who find and follow Jesus are children of God (John 1:12). “Come Follow me and I will make you fishers of all people” (Matthew 4:19)
  • Be Generous like our Father –  We have an incredibly generous father! He gave his most prized possession, his son, to bring back his children. It often seems counter-intuitive, but we find more joy in life when we give (Acts 20:35). We respond to God’s great love for us, offering our lives, our gifts and our talents,  not trying to earn his love, but out of gratitude. This means offering everything we have as a gift back to God. Our Time, Talent, and Treasure.
  • Tithe – Everything is God’s and comes from him. God calls us to give a tenth of what we receive back to him. The rest is a gift from him and empowers us to be good stewards and use it wisely.
  • Legacy Campaign – An opportunity to go above and beyond so many more can come to meet Jesus! (See Legacy Campaign for more info)