What visitors can expect...

Our sanctuary

Our Sunday service takes place in our sanctuary. It is a place of escape from day-to-day life. We encourage those who want to get away for a moment to enter the sanctuary where music will usually be playing, where people will be praying and where it's just a good place to sit with God for a moment away from the many distractions of life.

What we wear

Since we are not all that concerned about appearance, people come in everything from blue-jeans to slacks, pants to dresses. Some wear tee shirts and others wear ties.

Sunday School

From 9:30 - 10:15 AM each Sunday morning we have Sunday School which we consider to be a time for discipleship. This is a time when we gather in the sanctuary and learn about matters important to those who want to daily follow Jesus as a disciple of his. We have set aside 45 minutes for this teaching and it usually involves the teacher presenting the topic and the open discussion of the topic by all participants.

Testimonies

Often times we will begin our service by asking if anyone has a testimony of what the Lord has done, at which time, anyone who wants to tell others about what God has done in their lives (children and adults) can do so. In recent weeks we've heard about how God has healed people...how God has helped people overcome addiction...how God has helped people just get through a very hard time in life. We'll usually give 5 to 10 minutes to testimonies.

How we worship

Some of us sit down and others of us stand up. Some clap and some shout. Some of us raise our hands and others bow our heads and reflect quietly upon the Lord and all that He has done for us. Most weeks Pastor Jeff, Jonathan and Ben are on guitar and our sister Karen accompanies as she praises God with her voice (that is much more in key that Pastor's voice!). We believe in making a joyful noise onto the Lord. Our worship songs range from hymns and old-time favorites like How Great Thou Art or I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, to some of the more contemporary songs like Oh Lord Your Beautiful, Here I Am to Worship or As the Deer. We also sing a number of songs written by Pastor and others in our fellowship, like 24/7 and You Fill Me. The words to the songs are projected onto a wall at the front of the sanctuary to make it easy for all to join in. All in all, we'll typically sing 6 to 8 songs each week, lasting maybe 35 - 40 minutes.

Our Offering

We do not expect visitors to bring forth an offering, but we do believe members and those who regularly attend our fellowship should financially support their church and the missionaries we sponsor, so at the beginning of Sunday service, we pray and ask the Lord to speak to people about what they should give, then during worship, people have an opportunity to come forward and place their offering in a basket. There is also an offering box towards the back of the church for those who do not want to walk to the front.

The Sermon

We will not tell you how to get a perfect life in 5 easy steps. We will not tell you that when you give your life to Jesus everything will be perfect. We will not tell you that God will fill your bank account miraculously with money. We will not tell you that the Lord will 100% of the time will heal you. We believe the Lord heals people and prospers people when He can receive glory from these things, but these are not things we should focused our faith upon. We believe our focus needs to be upon Christ and the entirety of His Word - the Bible - so when you come to our church you will hear messages straight out of the Bible. Normally we pick a book out of the Bible and begin preaching at verse 1, chapter one and go through the entire book over a number of weeks. A couple of years ago we began with the book of James, then we went to Galatians, then onto 1st John, 2nd John...son on and so forth. It might take us 5-6 months to get through one book. We take things slow, hoping that people will hear what God is personally saying to them that day from His Word, so they can apply it to their lives. The average length of the message each week is 35 to 40 minutes.

Children's Church

During the sermon message, children between the ages of 3 and 10 are invited to leave the sanctuary to be taught Biblical truths more appropriate for their age. We are very selective in choosing the women who teach our Children's Church. They are members who we know well and who are mature women of God that can be trusted to teach the children and ensure their safety at all times.

Prayer

After the message, we'll close our service in prayer and then ask anyone who needs prayer to come forward to be prayed for or to raise their hand. Some may leave the sanctuary at that time. Some may stay in the sanctuary and reflect upon what they just heard in the message. Others may go to the altar and pray. Those who ask for prayer after service will be prayed for by Pastor and or others in the fellowship.

Fellowship

After the message, our fellowship hall opens and people are invited to stay and talk to one another over a cup of coffee, tea, hot chocolate or water and a few snacks. This is a wonderful time to get to know one another and to develop some life-long friendships. On good weather days our fellowship may "go outdoors" with a barbeque and children playing ball on the grass.

Wednesday Evenings

Each Wednesday evening from 7 to 8 PM we have our mid-week study. We just finished a 6 month walk through the Book of Lamentations and know we're looking at America's Christian Heritage using the Bible, historical books and DVD teaching. Our Wednesday's are very informal, encouraging group participation. We all seem to learn more when everyone has a chance to share what is on their hearts.

Outings

There are times that we all just want to get together for an outing. Maybe we'll sit around a campfire eating hamburgers and making s'mores or we'll have "movie night" we'll eat popcorn as we watch a good movie on the wall (we a CVLI license that permits us to do so). We've even been known to "camp out" at times. We're are just real people following a real God, living a real life and having some real fun!