WHAT TO EXPECT

Where to go:

As you walk in the building, the auditorium/sanctuary is straight ahead. The restrooms will be on your right. If you need help finding your way around, just ask anyone. Our people will be happy to help you.

Sunday School:

We have Sunday School at 9:00am. It begins with a time of Scripture reading and singing. After that, we will head to our different Sunday School classrooms. Currently, here are our Sunday School options:

Auditorium: More of a classroom-style lesson, focusing on understanding a particular biblical text, how it integrates, culminates, and/or climaxes in Christ, and how it changes our lives. Open to all ages.
Fellowship Room: A discussion of the previous week's sermon. Even if you're a visitor and didn't hear the sermon, it will be very easy for you to benefit and even participate. It's focused on basic points, and applying the text. This is open to all ages.
Classroom by South Entrance: Sermon discussion geared toward young men (roughly ages 12-17, give or take).
Kids Room: A Sunday School lesson for kids. Ages 12 and under.

Sunday Corporate Worship:

Sunday corporate worship begins at 10:30am. You’ll be welcomed by our greeters, and almost surely others in the congregation. We love to have new people join with us whenever we gather in Christ’s name.

Once you’re seated, you’ll notice that we come together as one church family for worship. We believe it is very important for children to learn to worship together with their families. We do have a nursery space available for younger children and nursing moms. This nursery is not staffed, so please attend your children while utilizing the space.

You will very likely be greeted by several of our people before the service begins (but we don’t expect you to remember all our names!) And though we take worship very seriously, our gathering time will be anything but solemn. There is usually a rumble of joy to be heard as the saints are gathering.

You will see people dressed both casually and "formally" (sort of) and everything in between! Come as you are.

Elements of our Services:

Announcements. At the start, someone will call us together and share a few announcements. Most of these announcements can also be found inside the bulletin.

Call to Worship. Immediately after the announcements are read, there will be a "call to worship.” Technically, this is when our service truly begins. Why? Because worship begins with God, not us. Who does the calling? God through his word. He is the one truly worthy of all praise, thanksgiving, and allegiance. The goal of our gathering is to consciously acknowledge and respond to the God of all grace as He makes Himself known through the Word of Christ. The call to worship is intended to remind us of this goal and to prepare our hearts to worship God in spirit and truth. We try very hard not to do anything in the service that would be a distraction from our goal of seeing each of us draw near to Christ in Word and song.

Singing. Our singing is first and foremost unto the Lord, honoring and praising the Triune God whom we worship. The songs we use for corporate worship will focus on God and His Gospel, be rich in theological truth, and serve to teach, edify, and move believers to greater trust in Jesus Christ and gratitude for their salvation. This is NOT a performance, though musical excellence can certainly enrich our singing, and we strive for this. The voice of the congregation is the main instrument. All other instruments are accompanying that main instrument. The songs we sing may reflect any number of musical styles (though style is not the issue, truth is). We love songs that are biblically rich and have engaging, beautiful melodies. We love old hymns and modern hymns alike. We try not to be guilty of "chronological snobbery" (as C. S. Lewis would say). That is, we do not merely like old hymns because they're old. Are they biblically faithful? If they're not, then we don't sing them. The same goes for new songs. As folks sing, you will see a diverse range of physical expressiveness: some raising hands, some clapping, some hands folded, eyes open and closed alike, and so forth. The truth is not merely head knowledge, but meant to impact our whole selves. Singing is just one way (and a glorious one at that!) we experience and demonstrate this.

Prayer. At several points during the service the congregation will be led in prayer. We believe in the power of prayer. We worship a sovereign God who has purposed to work through the prayers of His people. Short or long, eloquent or simple the prayers of God’s people are powerful and effective. For this reason, we devote ourselves each Sunday (and every day in our families and individually) to thanking God, confessing our sins, interceding for one another, and offering praise through prayer.

Scripture reading. At various times in the service, we will hear from God through the reading of Scripture. We believe that the Bible is God’s inspired word written for our endurance and encouragement. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the Bible’s central message, is the power of God unto salvation. For the Scriptures are living and powerful. So, in a dry and arid land, where Man’s opinions reign and God’s Word is neglected, we are committed to going to the only spring that offers living water – the word of God about Christ.

The Lord’s Supper. We share this meal together every week. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial, a proclamation of the atoning death of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act, whereby the bread and juice recruit all of our senses to remember the substitutionary, atoning death of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And for this reason, it is a means of grace, teaching us to cling to Christ and to trust in His finished work on the cross, even as we commune with him via the Holy Spirit. We invite all who trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, and who have evidenced their profession of faith by repenting of their sins, to participate in the Lord’s Supper with us.

Preaching. We are committed to Biblical, expositional preaching. Usually our pastor will be leading a series through a book of the Bible. Our commitment to you is that the message you hear will always be anchored in the truth of God’s Word. We will not waste your time with mere opinion. Pastor Geoff preaches most Sundays, though we have other faithful men who can and do bring the word occasionally. (Even though we currently only have one pastor, we believe God designed the church to be led by a group of committed and accountable elders rather than a single pastor. We are praying that God will raise up other elders to serve alongside Geoff.) Those who preach are committed to the Reformation principle of “Sola Scriptura” (or “Scripture Alone”) as the source of all Christian faith and practice. You will hear some Amen's and other verbal responses as the sermon is preached. (This isn't merely a lecture after all...)

After the worship service:

Though we gladly invite men, women and children to repent and believe the Gospel of Christ for salvation, we do not use man-centered manipulation techniques to do so. Instead, you’ll be exhorted to look to Christ, and given an opportunity to speak to one of our elders after the service if you so desire. If you need prayer or anything at all, please feel free to take advantage of this time.

Also, plan on sticking around when the service is over. Most of our congregation enjoys this time after the last “amen” for sharing in each other’s lives. This is when many friendships are formed. On the first and third Sunday of every month, we enjoy a fellowship meal together after the service. Help yourself to the yummy food that our various members bring to share with all. (And FYI, we have some very gifted cooks in our fellowship.)

During the week:

We will not force ourselves on you during the week, though our elder or deacons would love the chance to come visit with you in your home if you want us to. (If so, please fill out a card located in the back of the sanctuary/auditorium near the offering box.)

We also gather each Wednesday at 6:30pm for fellowship and prayer. We would love for you to join us. If you're tired and weary--or really, whatever state you're in--then Wednesday night services are the right place for you.

That’s what to expect. We believe that you will find us to be—by God's abundant grace alone—a warm, loving family in Christ who would love to get to know you better. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you.