A Caring Community

Thornhill Church’s vision is ‘to be like Jesus – individually, in families, in community as a church, and in society’. A major part of ‘being like Jesus’ is to have the same heart of compassion towards others as He had. This is a high calling!

We recognise that we all fall short of this in our lives, as individuals, and as part of a variety of ‘communities’, including the church community. But our desire is, as individual church members, and as a church body, to demonstrate more and more the compassionate heart of Jesus in all our dealings with each other.

This has various aspects:

• Each individual showing care to others, and receiving care from others.
• Being part of a caring community, both as a whole church, and in smaller ‘family-sized’ communities, such as Alpha groups, Home Groups, or ministry teams.

Clearly, all of us need pastoral care at different times and to differing degrees, but the needs are often huge, and it soon becomes too much if left to a few individuals to do the caring. Our aim is for every member of the church to contribute to
the pastoral care of others – every member caring. We also believe that God has designed us to live in meaningful fellowship with others, in small enough ‘families’, for us to know and be known. This biblical idea of community is called ‘fellowship’ (Greek: koinõnia) in the New Testament, or the Hebrew word, ‘shalom’, in the Old Testament. We believe that becoming part of a shalom community has a ‘healing’ effect in our lives. As we develop meaningful relationships with others, as we care for each other and are cared for by others, it has a beneficial impact on our lives physically, mentally and spiritually. In this spiritual community, God begins to heal our brokenness and to pour in His love and grace, and He develops wholeness and fruitfulness, as He intended for us.

Becoming a Caring Community
Pastoral Care in Thornhill Church

Given this, Thornhill Church aims to offer care at two levels:

• Individually, to you personally
• In community, with others

Care for each one Individually
– the Pastoral Team
Thornhill Church has a small team of individuals with gifts and time available to minister in particular areas of pastoral care.

1. Pastoral Carer – Dinah Ball – providing care for personal, health and social care needs on a part-time basis
2. Church Pastors
   a) Paul Hocking – full-time teaching and leadership pastor, supporting church members and others in their spiritual journey, and in their growth in biblical knowledge, gifts and ministry.
   b) Carl Coupar – full-time youth and children’s pastor, leading and facilitating the wide range of ministries amongst children and young people, and caring for individual young people and their parents.

Care for each one in Community

Thornhill Church runs many small groups for a wide range of purposes, but one purpose for them all is to develop a deeper sense of community, and to build connectedness within our church and society. For example, we run:

1. Alpha groups – for those who want to explore the meaning of life or to learn more about Jesus and the Christian faith
2. Home Groups – a wide variety of small groups meeting weekly for fellowship, and for personal and spiritual development.
3. Church – Sunday Services at 11am – in which we can all receive spiritual and personal blessing in the context of worship and teaching and communion.

For more information

Contact the church centre as detailed below...