What kind
of church are you?
We are a non-denominational church. Although we have no
official church body to which we belong, we make many efforts to connect
ourselves to the historic Christian Church. For example, our basic doctrinal
statement is a reflection of the Apostle's Creed, which we quote in our morning
worship service. Our extended doctrinal statement and bylaws are a reflection
of the beliefs and philosophy of ministry of many evangelical churches that
lean toward a reformed view of salvation. It is our desire to establish
interdependent relationships with likeminded congregations.
What is a
"Bible" church?
When we chose to use the word "Bible" in our name we
wanted to convey the centrality of God's written revelation in the life of our
church. Though we recognize that creation declares the glory of God, and Christ
as the revelation of God par excellence, God's word provides the only
infallible rule of faith and practice for the believer and the church. The Word
also plays a vital role in forming and informing our congregational worship.
What does
a typical Sunday morning look like?
We have two services on Sunday mornings: the first is our weekly
congregational worship service, and the second is a church-wide teaching hour
with graded classes for children and teens. No doubt you will be greeted by
someone at the door and shown the welcome center, where you can learn more
about our church. At 9:15 music will begin to play in the sanctuary, and you
can go in and find a seat. If you have infants, you will walk right by the
nursery on your way to the sanctuary. We encourage our congregation to arrive a
few minutes early and sit quietly in the sanctuary to prepare their hearts and
minds for worship. The church bulletin provides a detailed order of service,
and will aid you greatly in participating in our congregational worship. On
most Sundays we offer a Children's Church that children may attend unless the
family chooses to worship together. The children are typically dismissed right
before the sermon. Between services, we have a coffee break and fellowship
time. The second hour is much more informal for the adults, while the kids head
off to their classes.
What kind
of preaching will I hear?
Our teaching elder typically delivers expository sermons, and enjoys going
through a book of the Bible in a systematic manner. However, we try not to stay
in a series overlong, as the goal is to provide a balanced diet that produces a
well-rounded congregation over the long haul. Occasionally, we'll focus on a
doctrine or another topical issue if that is deemed appropriate. We do follow
the church calendar during a couple key times of the year: Advent and Holy
Week. On the fourth Sunday of each month we focus on the Gospel and observe the
Lord's Table together. Finally, during the month of January we'll give our
attention to basic spiritual disciplines in light of the upcoming year:
Bible reading, prayer, cultural engagement, and church life.
How would
you characterize your worship?
It is our desire to be God-centered in all we say and do. We
adhere closely, though not exclusively, to the regulative principle of worship;
that is, we want to practice those forms of worship that God sanctions in His
Word, and that build godly character in our people. We also focus on being
congregational, in that we encourage broad participation as opposed to
spectatorship. Therefore, our worship service may include a call to worship
from the Psalms, confession of sins, the announcement of forgiveness to those
that are truly repentant, a time for meditation, the singing of psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs, scripture reading, congregational prayer, reciting the
Apostle's Creed, a focus on wisdom from Proverbs, an expository sermon, and an
offering for those that are members or regular adherents of our church.
Occasionally, a small choir, ensemble, or individual musician will join the
congregation at an appropriate time in the service.
What
version of the Bible do you use?
We use the English Standard Version (ESV). The ESV is an
“essentially literal translation” of the scriptures seeking to be very accurate
and yet retain the literary beauty and cadence of the original text. This is in
keeping with our hermeneutic, as it is our desire to use a text that is as
close to the original documents as possible. We also encourage our congregation
to read from a wide variety of translations to broaden their personal Bible
study. On any given Sunday, one can probably find these translations among the
congregants as well: NASB, KJV, NKJV, NIV, and NLT.