Here are the audio recordings of the Preaching workshop run as part of the Woodlands Church Academy.
November Prayer Calendar
Pray each day
Each month, you’re invited to pray for church and all that is happening with our monthly Prayer Calendar. You can view and download the calendar below as a PDF.
Disciplines of the Disciple
Disciplines of the Disciple
It is a truism to say that the discipleship life involves discipline. What differentiates it from legalism is about desire. The person with a desire to play a musical instrument or excel at sport chooses to make time to practice and develop skills and disciplines ‘because of the joy set before them’. It is not compulsion but choice.
Of course, sometimes the coach/tutor sets exercises that are demanding and not at first inherently pleasant, but even these become a joy once mastered. This series looks at Spiritual disciplines and picks up some areas of ‘discipline’ that we don’t talk as much about.
Our Evening talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:
The Disciplined Life - 2nd November
The Scriptures - 9th November
The Tongue - 16th November
Stewardship - 23rd November
Pursuing the Spirit - 30th November
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.
Disciplines of the Disciples - Discussion Notes
See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Creativity and the Kingdom
Bible School this month looked at what the Bible story says about Creativity. Meg Nurcombe, who is currently studying for a PhD in Theology and Art, is our speaker
Tough Talk
Tough Talk
Our November morning sermon series looks at some of Jesus’ teaching from the Gospels which can be hard. Hard to understand or hard to put into practice, or both! Jesus’ call to take up our cross and follow him comes at a cost but the benefits are always rich, deep and wide as we surrender every area of our lives to him and learn how to be his disciples.
Our Morning talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:
The Way of the Cross - 2nd November
Friend of Sinners - 9th November
Love Your Enemies - 16th November
Two Masters - 23rd November
Authentic Faith - 30th November
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.
See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Session Two of Autumn Bible School - Philippians
Dan Viner and Jack Johnson take us through the second part of Philippians chapter 1 and the amazing Christ poem at the beginning of chapter 2
Autumn Bible School - Intro to Philippians
Here is the first session of our Autumn Bible School on the book of Philippians.
October Prayer Calendar
Pray each day
Each month, you’re invited to pray for church and all that is happening with our monthly Prayer Calendar. You can view and download the calendar below as a PDF.
Woodlands Bible School - The Kingdom of God
Here’s a whistle stop tour of what the Bible has to say about one of Jesus’ main obsessions - The Kingdom of God
Kingdom Community
Kingdom Community
The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. Jesus calls us into His Kingdom, a community under His rule, living out His ways, and showing the world what love looks like. Over these weeks we’ll explore what it means to belong to the body of Christ, to practice the “one another” commands, to join in God’s work of Kingdom growth, and to honour Him even in our bodies and relationships.
Our Evening talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:
The Body of Christ - 5th October
One Another - 12th October
Kingdom Expansion - 19th October
Sex God? - 26th October
Helpful Resources
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.
Kingdom Community - Discussion Notes
See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Called to Worship
Called to Worship
This October we are looking to come together as a church to take a fresh look at worship and the place it takes in our lives individually and as a worshipping community in a world that worships many things other than God. The context for this series is the Exodus story but we also want to reference how this points to Jesus and how we worship him. The story of the Exodus is the pivotal salvation event of the OT. The story is driven by God’s desire for his people to worship him. He wants a people for himself who will worship him exclusively. God frees people from the powers of Egypt in one night but the challenge of idolatry in the hearts of the people takes many years to remove. There are many aspects of worship that are seen in the Exodus
narrative, from the Passover, the presence of God, establishing the tabernacle as a place of worship of God and being filled with the glory of God. It’s also a story of human failings, idolatry, grumbling and judgement.
Our Morning talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:
Free(d) to Worship - 5th October
Sacrificial Worship - 12th October
Worship as Resistance - 19th October
Encountering God’s Presence in Worship - 26th October
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.
Called to Worship - Discussion Notes
See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Prayer Week 2025
At Woodlands Central, we love to pray and each September we celebrate Prayer Week, where we come before God together and offer him what is on our hearts.
Prayer Week is happening from the 22nd - 27th September 2025. It is a lovely time of fellowship, where we look forward and prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming season. The week consists of daily events and a 24/7 Prayer Room that can be booked by individuals or groups.
Here’s how you can get involved:
Pray the Lord’s Prayer at 12 noon every day
Come to Morning Prayer Meetings from Monday to Friday from 7.15am - 8.15am in the Foyer
Come to an Evening of Prayer & Worship event on Wednesday, 24th September at 7.45pm
Fast on Wednesday 24th September before coming to our evening event (Learn about fasting)
Summer Bible School - Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs
We take a good look at Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs in our final session of Woodlands Summer Bible School.
September Prayer Calendar
Pray each day
Each month, you’re invited to pray for church and all that is happening with our monthly Prayer Calendar. You can view and download the calendar below as a PDF.
Reading the Book of Proverbs Well - Summer Bible School with Dan Viner and Tim Dobson
This week we looked at the Book of Proverbs, understanding a bit about the structure, content, life application and how we see Jesus here.
The Blessed Life
A life shaped by God’s Blessings
People are often looking for ‘The good life’. It could be the American Dream, or the eponymous rural idyll of TV fame. As Christians we are called to something higher, ‘The Blessed life’. It doesn’t mean an easy life, rather it means a life aligned to the good purposes of God, for us and through us.
Our talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:
The Chosen Life - 7th September
The Peaceful Life - 14th September
The Consecrated Life - 21st September
The Given Life - 28th September
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.
The Blessed Life - Discussion Notes
See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Jesus' Priorities
Aligning our Hearts with His Priorities
As we start a new academic year, we want to begin by looking at what’s important to God. What are Jesus’ priorities? We want to share about 4 key areas which were Jesus’ priorities for his early followers and ask ourselves are these our priorities too. We want to have an opportunity to share vision as we start the new year.
Our talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:
Children - 7th September
Witnessing - 14th September
Prayer - 21st September
Harvest - 28th September
Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.
Jesus’ Priorities - Discussion Notes
See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!
MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES
Book of Psalms with Tim Dobson and Megan Nurcombe
This week we looked at the Book of Psalms. Who wrote these poems, how should we read them and how can we find Jesus in amongst some great psalms of worship, intercession and lament?
The Book of Job with Dr Philip Thomas
Our first session of Summer Bible School looked at the book of Job. Dan Viner hosted the evening and we were joined by Dr Philip Thomas who took us through the book at the start of our Wisdom Literature series.
Vacancies in our Youth Team
Join our Youth Ministry Team
The Woodlands Church Family (WCF) is a vibrant, growing family of churches with eight sites located across the city of Bristol. Our vision is to see Bristol transformed through the love and power of God as we create spirit-filled, visible communities of faith in neighbourhoods across the city.
Each congregation is distinct in their style, but we all share the same vision, mission and values to be communities which are welcoming of everyone, authentic in our faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit and expectant of all that God will do in us and through us.
Central to our plans to reach this city for Jesus are young people! In Bristol, there are 90,000 young people who don’t have regular contact with church or faith. We would love to see this change!
As we’ve grown, so too has our team, and we have several exciting opportunities for joining our youth ministry team.
ABOUT THE ROLES
Candidates should be highly motivated, enthusiastic, able to take initiative, work well in a team and be committed to see the church community grow in their faith and reach the city for Jesus.
The following positions are available at Highgrove Church in Sea Mills. Find out more about each role below:
SENIOR YOUTH MINISTER
£27k - £30k (pro rata) | Full or Part Time Role
View Role Summary & Terms
View Job Description
YOUTH MINISTER
£25k - £27k (pro rata) | Full or Part Time Role
View Role Summary & Terms
View Job Description
Occupational Requirement
These roles have an occupational requirement that the post holder be a follower of Jesus and to be a worshipping member of the Woodlands Church Family (if not already) to ensure protection of our strong Christian ethos and values, and our charitable objective of advancing the Christian faith. We also want to ensure all team members thrive and flourish in this environment.
Right to Work in the UK
We have a legal responsibility to ensure that all our employees have the legal right to live and work in the UK. Therefore, please only apply if you are eligible to work in the UK as we will have to verify this before you can start work.
How to apply
To apply for either of these roles, download and complete the Woodlands Church Family application form:
The closing date for applications is midnight Sunday 28th September 2025.
If you would like an informal conversation to discuss questions about the role please contact the Lead Recruiter, Jack Saunders at jack.saunders@woodlandschurch.net.
If shortlisted, the first interviews will take place online during the week commencing Monday 29th September 2025.
If you are taken through to the second stage in the interview process availability all day on a Sunday 5th October 2025 will be required. We will consider other interview dates for candidates not able to make the 5th October 2025, this date will be confirmed at the first stage interviews.
Please download and complete the Woodlands Church Family Application Form.
Please send your completed application to our HR Team at hr@woodlandschurch.net.