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The West Islip Church of Christ is a body of Christians growing from roots in the Campbell-Stone unity movement and maintains an ecumenical vision of the church. Among its membership there is a diversity of Christian opinion that the congregation cannot easily label liberal or conservative because it varies from issue to issue. Even so, the West Islip Church has forged a way to live creatively with its diversity without weakening the vitality of the whole congregation and its Christ-centeredness.

Also, we are a congregation that loves to sing and to ring the rafters in worship. We expect new insights from our teachers. We love to see our youth grow and develop in a variety of Christian ways. We value sharing our various interests and turns of life with a deep sense of joy and compassion. We feel a need to open ourselves more as a congregation to Long Island so that others may take advantage of our congregational life and be encouraged to live and grow in Christ.

This fellowship cares for those who have come to us hurting from frustration with other churches, from loneliness, and from grief through disappointed relationships. This congregation sees itself as a pastoring community of Christians, helping people to discover and taste the fruits of Christ's resurrection.

Nonetheless, we realize our need for trained and experienced ministry. We value imaginative and biblical preaching. We seek pastoral administration with a vision. And we expect to be enriched by our contacts with other churches and community organizations made possible, in part, by our minister.

Our life together includes meeting regularly for prayers of praise and petition, supplying needy families with food all year, sharing ecumenical projects and services with area churches, studying the Bible intensively and regularly, as well as housing and lending support to a day care center run by an independent outside board.

One of the things we have worked through together in the past few years is opening positions of leadership and public participation to women. The congregational goal: to make worship of God the focus of our attention and not the gender of the person leading us.

We are and we offer a community in Christ.

…By Count and Population

The group draws from a substantial population dispersed over a large area. Only a few members live in the immediate community of West Islip (25,000+). Most reside elsewhere in the larger Islip Township (about 300,000) or adjoining Babylon Township (about 200,000) or the more distant Huntington or Brookhaven Townships. Three members commute by train to work in Manhattan. Another member drives forty minutes from his small farm farther out on Long Island.

This congregation has about 45 members. We have come to this place from both coasts, north and south, Central America, and foreign countries. Almost half of the West Islip church members did not grow up in Churches of Christ, and over half of the congregation grew up in places other than states where Churches of Christ are numerous. A number of members attended Christian colleges and several teach in public schools and colleges. Partly because of the convenient access to MacArthur, LaGuardia, and JFK airports, the Long Island Railroad, and a network of parkways and expressways, we are pleased to host many visitors throughout the year.

The building is about 40 miles east of New York City on the south shore of New York's Long Island. A scenic drive can lead to some of this country's finest beach areas in ten minutes. The church property, including the attractive minister's home, is situated in a prosperous suburban community of single-family homes. The sheltered waters of Great South Bay lie a few blocks to the south. Across the street to the north is a fine public library, a restaurant where George Washington once ate, and within walking distance highly-rated public schools (K-12).

This is a good place for families. We enjoy one of the lowest crime rates in the United States. Long Island high school students won more Westinghouse Science Scholarships in the latest competition than did students in the states of California, Texas, and Pennsylvania combined. Recent statistics rated Long Island as the metropolitan area highest in the nation for the percentage of two-parent families. Complete shopping facilities, a major hospital, parks, marinas, and colonial historic sites lie within a fifteen-minute drive. Although the area abounds in excellent cultural activities, the additional resources of New York City are only an hour's ride away from a major commuter rail station in the adjoining village of Babylon. The nearby ocean's Gulf Stream moderates the climate into four temperate seasons, contributing to Long Island's reputation for farming since the 1600s. The spring and autumn are especially colorful both in manicured yards and in vast areas of woods, parklands, and preserves.

West Islip Church of Christ…

…By Character