Christ Church, Station Road, Teddington
What we do on Sunday, and why...
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The reason we worship as we do is because...
 
We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and so we hold to it as our sole rule of faith and practice. Therefore the reading and preaching of Scripture is at the heart of our Church Services - it would be extremely unusual for there to be a service at Christ Church without any preaching.

Even though we are autonomous we believe that the Bible teaches that churches should be led by ministers (senior elders) - we also believe that bishops can be a helpful tool for running Christ's Church. However, the authority of all those involved in church eldership does not rest in themselves, but comes through their selection by God's people, under God's Providence, and rests on their adherence to Biblical teaching. True Apostolic Succession comes from holding and passing on the faith given to us by the Apostles - the faith which we have revealed to us in the Bible.

We are a 'Liturgical' congregation - This means that we have a clear pattern to our services. We do so because we believe that we must be careful how we worship Almighty God. So we use 'liturgies' that are based on Scripture, which are relevant to the Godly needs of the worshipper, and which are free of any "high church" adornments. Our services are designed to focus our minds and souls on God, and not on the worship leader. We cannot see where the Bible teaches us that we should attempt to "entertain" people, but we do seek to ensure that those who come feel part of what happens.

AND

...to this end our congregation uses the "English Prayer Book" which is a modern language version of the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. We also use two different Hymn Books - trying to avoid songs and hymns that are unbiblical, but we do use songs and hymns which have a variety of different styles.

As a congregation we are 'Protestant' & 'Reformed' - that is to say, we hold fast to what are called the 'Doctrines of Grace' as being God's only way of redeeming lost sinners (these are sometimes known as the "Five points of Calvinism"). As such we maintain an evangelical, low church witness to the great truths of the Bible, one that is rooted in the English Reformation.
 
We rarely use outward show such as minister's robes, although on the odd occasion we might. We do not seek to present a 'beautiful experience', but rather desire that people who come would be challenged by the truth of the 'full-orbed Gospel of God'.

CHRIST CHURCH was founded in 1864 as an Evangelical, Protestant & Reformed congregation. It came into being because of the move of the local Church of England congregation away from the historic 'low-church' & Protestant position of the CofE. As a result a number of Christians in Teddington who were unhappy with the move away from what God's Word teaches founded an independent congregation where they could remain Anglican in their style of worship, and would still be able to be a Bible Believing congregation - worshipping without the unbiblical ritual brought in by the Anglo-Catholic movement in the CofE.

The CofE congregations in Teddington are far from Protestant or Reformed in either practice or theology. Christ Church remains unique in the area by continuing as a truly Protestant and Biblical congregation.

When it was founded the congregation were clear about the need to adhere to the Doctrines of Grace, the need to oppose false and unbiblical teaching & the need for true Christians to regard Scripture as the 'sole source of faith and practice'.

Under the foundation stone of the current building (the 2nd) is a statement written on vellum saying the following:
"...it was erected ...chiefly for the use of those, who whilst attached to the Protestant Church of England, strongly disapproved of the Romanistic doctrines and practices resuscitated by some of her members. Anxiously desiring to retain the pure ministry of the Gospel and the simplicity of the Protestant faith and worship, and also earnestly wishing to promote the intercommunion of all Evangelical churches, they raised this sanctuary ... in prayer and hope that God would accept and bless their work.
To Him alone be all the glory, in Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit."

Whilst worship in Christ Church has changed over time, it still remains faithful to following the liturgy of the Prayer Book. Indeed, although the services are now in modern English, which is used so that those attending can understand clearly what they are taking part in, the structure of the services are still the structures of the Prayer Book.

The doctrine and the order of the Prayer Book are retained, while  at the same time having a service which is contemporary. The 'English Prayer Book' is used for the majority of the services, being a direct translation of the 1662 PB into modern English. And we recognise that while set liturgy is not essential, neither is it wrong. Therefore we set store by our structured and doctrinally accurate Common Prayer, and although it may not be to everyone's taste we retain it because of its Biblical accuracy.

The music that we use takes from the best of both modern and ancient hymn writing. We base our choice of hymns not on 'a good tune' but on whether or not the author has made a passable attempt to demonstrate correct Biblical teaching. Therefore, in any given service the music used can range from the 'greats' of yesteryear such as Wesley & Cowper through to those writing today, such as Dudley-Smith, Kendrick & Townend.


However, at the heart of all our services is a Scriptural sermon. This may given in different styles (at the Family Worship Service for instance) but always seeks to open up the truths of Scripture so that those present may not only learn more of what the Bible really teaches, but also how to live their lives in a way that they give greater Glory to God. We use the ESV Bible in order to balance accuracy of translation with approachability of language.


 
 
 
1. The Doctrine of Christ Church, Teddington is best expressed as that which is set forth in the Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England and the Fifteen Articles of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion.

2. Christ Church, Teddington holds to belief in; the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inerrant Word of God, and the sole rule of Faith and Practice; the Doctrines of Grace substantially as they are set forth in the Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England and the Fifteen Articles of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion; Reformed and Protestant church practice which rejects the erroneous and strange doctrines of sacerdotal practices, transubstantiation, baptismal regeneration & ministerial priesthood.

3. The liturgy used for Lord's Day Worship is the Liturgy of the Church of England as contained in the Book of Common Prayer (1662) with such modifications as may appear expedient to the Senior Pastor of the Congregation (making use of modern English - bearing in mind Article 24 of the Church of England which states that: It is plainly repugnant to the Word of God and to the custom of the early church for public prayer or the administration of the sacraments to be conducted in a language not understood by the people).

4. No picture, crucifix, incense, candles, molten painted or graven image or images, shall be introduced by any Pastor, or other person or persons into the church, or be used in any service connected therewith.