Our Worship of God: We meet collectively on the first day of the week (Sunday) to worship God, partake of communion, sing songs to praise God and encourage one another, give a monetary offering, hear lessons from God’s word, and “stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). Throughout this assembly, we pray to God for spiritual direction, for His forgiveness, and that He would receive our worship.
Since God is holy, transcendent of human nature, and all-powerful, He is deserving of our utmost reverence. Therefore, we strive to maintain decency and orderliness in our assemblies (1 Corinthians 14:40) without giving way to formalism or legalism. Our collective worship follows the New Testament pattern and the teaching of Christ’s apostles as they taught “in every church” (1 Corinthians 4:17). We seek to inform, educate, edify, and encourage all who attend our services. We are not interested in entertainment, putting on a performance, or appealing to any one age group or demographic that may be represented in our audience. We do not prevent or prohibit the attendance of any person of any belief, provided every person respects the decency and dignity of our services.
Biblical Teaching: The purpose of our sermons and classes is to teach God’s word, the Bible (2 Timothy 2:2). We believe these Scriptures to be sufficient for all that is required for life with God and a righteous conduct with one another (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3). We do not appeal to human creeds, human consensus, or human authorities, but to Christ alone. You will be able to sit quietly and follow along in your own Bible as the lesson is presented. Our lessons are usually accompanied by PowerPoint slideshows and printed handouts to facilitate the learning experience. Our teaching is open to questioning and scrutiny, provided the Bible is the absolute authority for all matters pertaining to doctrine and salvation. We are not interested in popularity, pluralism, supporting non-biblical faiths, advancement of personal opinions, or accommodating social expectations.
Bible Classes for All Ages: We have traditionally offered separate Bible classes for all age groups, but children’s classes are currently suspended. We hope to resume them when circumstances change. We currently offer a Bible class on Sunday morning and one on Wednesday night which can be attended by people of all ages.
Communion (the Lord’s Supper): As directed by Jesus (Matthew 26:26-29) and the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and following the example of the early church (Acts 2:42, 20:7), we join in celebrating a memorial of Christ every first day of the week. This involves partaking of unleavened bread and fruit of the vine (red grape juice) by every Christian who is present, whether or not they are members of our own congregation. The bread symbolizes Christ’s body; the juice symbolizes His blood; we are instructed to “Do this in remembrance of Me [Christ].” The Lord’s Supper is only for genuine believers who are in good standing with the Christ. It is impossible for those who are not Christians in good standing to honor the body and blood of our Savior.
Congregational Singing: We engage in congregational singing at every service (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16). This gives everyone an opportunity to participate in praise to God and edification of one another. We understand this to be an act of fellowship that is made possible by the participation of all members equally in a collective experience. Thus, we do not use instrumental music, separate choirs, or “praise teams” as an accompaniment to or replacement for our singing.
No solicitations: According to the New Testament pattern, we take up a monetary collection on the “first day of the week” (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). These are voluntary offerings from the members of our congregation (2 Corinthians 9:6-8). We never ask visitors for contributions, and we do not expect them to give any. As our honored guest, we desire your presence and your attention to God’s word, not your money.
We Hope You Will Find Us to Be Christians Who…
- …are not denominational or caught up in party affiliations, factions, and names (1 Corinthians 1:10-13).
- …hold Christ as our only Lord and Savior (Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:18).
- …are striving to be “made complete” in Christ (Colossians 1:28).
- …treat strangers with courtesy and respect (Colossians 4:5-6).
- …believe in God and His desire to save even the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:12-17, 2:4-5).
- …believe that God teaches us through His word (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and that His Spirit leads us heavenward (Galatians 5:16).
- …believe that Christ’s message of salvation and hope—not snacks, gimmicks, or entertainment—should be sufficient to draw men to worship God (John 12:32, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
- …realize that the salvation of one’s soul is the ultimate and personal responsibility of each individual person (John 3:18-21, Romans 2:4-11).
We welcome you to our services regardless of your religious beliefs, and we encourage you to study God’s word with us. We want to help anyone who is sincerely seeking the truth which is in Christ (Ephesians 4:20-24). We want you to experience a warm, friendly atmosphere among us. We will do our very best to teach the Bible in its appropriate context and to practice genuine goodwill toward all people (Galatians 6:9-10).