On a typical Sunday people usually start arriving about 15 minutes before the start of the service in order to mingle and enjoy some refreshments. Each person can find a bulletin with the full order of the service, announcements, and other useful information located inside the main entry and also between the doors leading into the auditorium. To the right of the auditorium doors you will find an information rack full of items that will help you learn more about the church.
Down the hallway to the left of the entryway you will find a nursery (0-2yrs) and preschool room (3-4yrs) which are staffed by volunteers and available during the whole service. A children’s lesson is also offered during the sermon for children in kindergarten through 4th grade. First time visitors should accompany their child to the room to fill out a brief release form. There is also a soundproof room in the back of the auditorium with a large window and a speaker that provides the audio from the service in case any families and their little ones need to make use of it for a time. During the summer we also broadcast a video live-stream to the Children’s Lesson room in case parents would like to make use of that space as well.
Most people are usually seated by the time the opening worship song begins, but if not, they’ll start making their way to a seat when they hear the music begin. As people come in we will have several announcement and Scripture slides rotating on two large screens. Song lyrics are also projected on these screens. After the first song one of the pastors will point out and explain important announcements, and then we will enjoy a brief time to meet and greet one another. We return to our seats and sing a brief song, after which, we listen to a Scripture reading, and then we will pray together and transition into two or three more songs of worship and praise, which is usually a mix of traditional hymns and more contemporary songs. As long as the content of the song is solid, we enjoy praising God with all sorts of musical arrangements. Our worship team usually includes a couple acoustic guitars, a keyboard, a few vocalists, or even a harmonica or electric guitar mixed in at times depending on who’s involved and the talents the Lord has given them.
After we worship through song for a while, we then worship the Lord by giving back to Him a portion of the financial resources He has given to us. We begin that time with prayer, and then reflect on a song together while some place their offerings in the box by the back doors or give on their phone, or maybe just listen and then place their offering in the box at the end of the service. We close that time by singing the Doxology together. Then the congregation is encouraged to publicly share any ways they’ve seen God at work that week, or anything they’re thankful for or would like to praise Him for, or maybe an important prayer request or personal update. This usually lasts about 5-10 minutes. After the sharing time, families are reminded that their children are always welcome to stay for the sermon, but if the parents prefer, they may also dismiss them to attend the children’s lesson which is led by our volunteers.
Then one of the pastors will begin the sermon. Most of our sermons would technically be known as serial expositions which follow the grammatical-redemptive-historical method of interpretation. Now that’s just a fancy way of saying we pick a single book of the Bible and then preach through each passage by explaining what it would have meant in its original historical context, how it fits into the bigger picture of what God is doing through Jesus, and how it applies to us today. The sermons usually last about 35-40 minutes. At the end of the sermon, the pastor will pray and then we praise the Lord through one more song. We close our time in prayer and by reading one final portion of Scripture out loud together. We usually observe the Lord’s Supper at the end of those services which fall on the fifth Sunday of certain months and around Easter and Christmas time.
The entire service usually lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes.