The Heidelberg Catechism is a Question and Answer document first published in 1563.It was produced at the request of FrederickIII, ruler of the Palatinate . (The Palatinate was the most powerful of the German provinces, and its capital was Heidelberg). FrederickIII was a man of real faith, and wanted his subjects to be well versed in the teachings of the Reformation.

3. HOW WE GOVERN OURSELVES

For any group of people to be able to work together effectively, there must be some agreed basis of how we are going to work together. In our denomination, the agreed basis of how we work together is outlined in a document called "The Church Order". Its translates into practical life our thinking as to what the church is and ought to be.

The Church Order (CO) is divided into various sections:

3.1.The Offices of the Church:

3.2.The Task and Activities of the Church:

Our most obvious activity is worship. We encourage all members whenever possible to attend both the morning and evening services. The other task deals with membership. We welcome infant children of believing parents through baptism, older children into communicant membership through public profession of faith and new Christians by public profession of faith and baptism (if they have not been baptised before).

3.3.The Assemblies of the Church:

This deals with the functioning of Session (also called the Church Council), Classis and Synod.

The Church Council is the governing body of the local church, made up of the pastor(s), and elders. Elders (as are deacons) are elected usually for 3 year terms.

The Classis is the meeting together of the churches in one state. Each church sends one pastor and one elder as their delegates. Classis can only deal with things, which have been brought to the attention of Classis by one of the Sessions. The WA Classis normally meets 3 or 4 times per year. The activities of Classis are funded by what is known as Classical Ministry Share payments, which are levied on each church on the basis of the number of communicant members.

Synod is the meeting together of the church on a national level. Each Classis appoints two pastors and two elders to be its delegates. Synod meets once in three years. Synodical activities are funded by Synodical Ministry Share payments, which are levied in the same way as the Classical one. Currently this is about $110 per communicant member per year.

3.4 The Admonition and Discipline of the Church:

4. THE LOCAL CHURCH

4.1. The Pastor

Calling a Pastor: When a congregation wants to have a pastor, the Church Council usually calls a congregational meeting to get input from the congregation as to what we are looking for in the minister, and where do we want to go as a church. The session usually appoints a “calling committee” (or it may do this work itself) , which seeks to find a person who matches the criteria being sought. The denominational Pastor Church Relations Committee keeps a profile of all ministers (which the minister completes himself) can be asked to forward profiles of men which seem to match the criteria. The Calling Committee then makes enquiries about these men and comes to the church council with either one or two suggested people. If the church council is satisfied that they are suitable, the congregation is provided with background information, and the communicant members are entitled to vote. The man receiving the most votes receives the "call". If it is a single nomination, a minimum of 70 or 75% is usually set, before a vote would be issued. The called minister is then free to accept or decline the call. A pastor normally stays in a congregation until such time as he sees fit to accept a call to serve elsewhere.

Eligibility for a call: To be eligible for a call, a man must have completed the prescribed training at the Reformed Theological College or another accredited institution. He also needs to have passed an oral exam set by the Classis. A minister from a “sister church” can be declared available for call after the completion of a “colloquium doctum” – a friendly discussion aimed at determining whether the minister would fit in with our denomination.

The Tasks of the Pastor: The Pastor is sometimes referred to as the preaching/teaching elder to indicate that his office is not higher than that of the other elders. He is responsible to the Church Council.

Traditionally the view has been that the pastor “does” the ministry in the church. However, we are placing more emphasis on the pastors training up people in the church to equip them to be involved in ministry. Nevertheless, the pastor’s primary responsibility in our churches is to preach and teach the gospel, and to lead the worship services.

4.2. The Elders

The elders, together with the pastors, are responsible for the pastoral oversight of the congregation. To make this work easier, the Willetton congregation is divided into 3 groups, with two elders being responsible for each. The elders work in pairs, and are responsible for visiting every home in their section at least once per year.

4.3. The Deacons

The deacons are responsible for the ministry of mercy to the needy in the congregation as well as in the community at large.

4.4. The Church Council (also called Session)

The church council is made up of the pastors and the elders. Currently the Willetton Church Council is made up of 2 Pastors, 5 section elders, 1 youth elders.

Bringing Matters to the Church Council

If you have a matter, which you believe should be drawn to the attention of the Church Council, you should contact your section elder who will then convey the matter to session verbally, or you may write a letter to the Clerk.You can also discuss the matter with one of the pastors.

Council usually meets on the 1st Monday of the Month. The first meeting of the month is a pastoral meeting, where the deacons also involve them selves.The second meeting in the month is a business meeting. Business meetings are open to members of the church. (If matters of a personal or confidential nature are discussed, the meeting moves into “closed session”, where only office bearers are allowed to be present.)

4.5. Committee of Management

This committee is appointed by the Church Council to look after the general maintenance of the church buildings and grounds, as well as matters of finance.

4.6. Finances:

The second offering in the worship service is for a variety of purposes, and these are announced in newsletter at least one week in advance.

As a church we encourage tithing - giving one tenth of one's income for the work of the Lord. This is not a legalistic rule, but is a guide by which we express our thanks to God for all that he has done for us. Most people pay only a portion of their tithe to the local church, the remainder being used to support such institutions as Help a child Foundation, World Vision, and other Christian organizations.

4.7. Safety

In order to make the church environment as safe as possible, we have a formal screening process for anyone working with children and youth. Everyone also has to abide by the processes and procedures laid down in our Child Safety Policy and Procedures document.

5. DENOMINATIONAL WORK

There are a number of things, which we believe are important for a church to be involved in, but which are difficult for a local church to do on its own. These are:

5.1. World Development and Relief

This committee disburses the funds collected by our congregations for overseas and national relief work. WDR is involved in the long term resettlement projects in the Philippines , an orphanage in India, an abandoned children's home in Uganda etc. WDR receives its funds from two annual offerings in all our churches, plus any additional offerings a local church may wish to hold.

5.2.Mission Work Groups

5.3. Youth Conventions

Every two years one of the states hosts a youth convention (16 and over) at which young people from all over Australia come for a time of learning and fellowship. The conventions are usually held early January.

5.4. Reformed Theological College

Located in Geelong , this is our denominational ministry training college for all of Australia. The college is accredited by the Australian Collegeof Theology, and offers degree courses as well as diploma courses. To help support the College, church members are encouraged to become members of the Association for Christian Tertiary Association, which runs the College.

The college moved to its current premises in 2000, next to Deakin University.

5.5 Reformed Churches Publishing House

This publishes booklets and books on behalf of our churches. For example, it has published the marriage preparation class material, various teaching materials, as well as documents which Synod determines are to be made available for our churches.

6. PUBLICATIONS

6.1. Local

Church Bulletin:

The purpose of our weekly newsletter is to help build a sense of community by keeping each other informed of church activities, and the well being of each other.

Church Directory:

This will include the present address list, as well as a brief explanation of the different activities and groups that function in the church. It should be particularly helpful to newer members as an aid to help find areas of service within the church.

The address list is a list of members and regular visitors, which lists, address and phone number. This serves to keep the lines of communication open.

We encourage people to list their occupation as it makes it easier for members to seek out a fellow believer who has expertise in a particular field.

6.2. National

Trowel and Sword:

This is a monthly magazine which serves all our Australian Churches. It is intended as a forum for discussion of issues facing the church and its members, and for communicating things of interest. Communicant members and those who worship with us regularly automatically receive a copy, which is paid for out of general church funds.

Denominational Yearbook: