This blog depicts the journey of a collaborative effort of individuals, churches, and organizations committed to the planting of a Christ-centered church in the Boston area (Charles River Church). Charles River Church, will become a church planting church in Boston and other influential cities throughout New England while serving with partner ministries to plant internationally.
Led by Pastor Josh Wyatt, the Collaborative includes a core team of people who are committed to relocating to Boston and living to serve their communities. The team will include several people from various locations and several from the sending church, Heritage Bible Chapelin Princeton, MA. A successful church plant itself (2000), the leadership’s vision for planting churches in New England sparked this effort. Josh Wyatt has served this church as a pastor/elder for seven years. Heritage and several other organizations have assessed and confirmed his and Becky’s call to church planting. Josh and Becky have two sons, Isaiah and Luca, and another on the way. They live in the Boston neighborhood of West Roxbury.
Charles River Church meets at the Boston School of Modern Languages @ 814 South St. Roslindale, MA 02131 @ 6pm. This is an old grey stone church building next to the Roslindale Commuter Rail upper parking lot. You’ll find clear signs, plenty of parking, and friendly faces ready to answer any questions that you may have. Bus #14, 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 51, or 192 out of Forest Hills Station will take you to Roslindale Sq, a short walk to church.
Parents: During the Worship Gathering, children from Birth-5th Grade can learn about God from loving volunteers at CRC’s ex
citing children’s program, River Kids. We recommend that you arrive about 10 minutes before the worship gathering to check-in your children.
INITIAL STRATEGY
- Welcome all, but target young families and young professionals in the southwest neighborhoods of Boston.
- Develop and grow our core team to be prepared to serve their communities well.
- Utilize our Connection Groups and ministry teams from around the country to help us serve the city.
- Create an warm but challenging worship gathering on Sundays to bring new friends to and to grow the Body.
- Move people into small groups (“Connection Groups”) where authentic Christian community is formed and nutured.
- Maintain a strong focus on serving and sharing the truths of the Gospel with our community.
The following statements describe the core beliefs of The Boston Collaborative:
- The Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God (II Timothy 3:16, II Peter 1:21)
- One Creator God who is sovereign over all (Genesis 1:1, Exodus 20:11, Deuteronomy 4:39)
- The Holy Trinity (Matthew 28:19, II Corinthians 13:14)
- Man’s voluntary fall into sin from his perfect created state (Genesis 3:1-7, I Corinthians 15:21-22)
- The Virgin Birth of Christ (Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:14)
- The Atonement of Christ for our sins (I Peter 1:18-19, Isaiah 53:5)
- The bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead (Luke 24:36-44)
- Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9)
- The believer’s separation from worldliness and apostasy (John 2:15-16, Galatians 1:9, II Corinthians 6:14-18)
- The ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 28:19, I Corinthians 11:23-30)
- Evangelizing the lost (Acts 5:42, Romans 10:11, 15)
- Eternal with the Lord for those who have repented to God and place faith in Jesus Christ alone (John 14:2-3)
- Eternal separation from the Lord for those who have rejected Christ’s offer of life (Revelation 20:14-15)
- The literal second coming of Christ to earth (Acts 1:11, I Thessalonians 5:23, Revelation 22:20)
