What does a meeting look like?
Since we meet in a home, we spend the first few minutes greeting each other and getting a drink and maybe a snack. If you come early you might see our family finishing up some Sunday afternoon activities, baking cookies, cleaning up or arranging the room. We do try to get started with the meeting proper by around 4:10-4:15 pm.
During this meeting, we will have a time that we will share prayer requests and praises and will pray for one another. We will also take some time to read God’s word together and we will hear a message. The messages are usually around 45 minutes and we conclude the meeting by taking the Lord’s Supper together and praying.
Before or after the meeting might vary a bit. We will sometimes sing hymns together or enjoy a meal together depending upon the season, occasion, or leading of the Spirit.
What is done with money that is given to the church?
One blessing of structuring the church this way is that there is almost zero cost to run it because we have no large programs to run, no buildings to fund, and no staff to pay. This enables us to use all that money for local missions as well as meeting tangible needs.
What should I wear?
You are welcome to dress in your Sunday best if you’d like, but most are usually wearing the kind of clothes that you wear as you are working around the house or watching a football game on Sunday. Our Pastor usually wears jeans and a polo shirt and is often missing his shoes.
Do you have activities for kids/youth?
I believe that the meeting is the place for kids to be. We have three young teenagers ourselves and I could not be happier to have them in the meeting with us. Our goal is to have passionate worship and an deep respect for the word of God. There will certainly be things that go over their heads and it may be a struggle on some days to pay attention. But the experience of worshiping with family and the church as a whole is an edifying experience whose impact cannot be overestimated and we want to use this time to cultivate discipline and an attention to the things of God.
There are always occasions with young children where distractions arise and we leave that up to parents to use discernment in how to handle the situation. We would encourage kids five-and-up to be present and attentive for the meeting. What that looks like for your kids might be different than what it looks like for someone else’s. We welcome all families regardless of size and age as long as their desire is to worship.
What is your stance on _________?
I would encourage you to read our Core Beliefs series. There I lay out the idea that everything we teach revolves around the person and work of Jesus Christ, the belief that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, and truth found in the Bible.
Beyond those basics, I also wholeheartedly agree with the Foundation Documents of The Gospel Coalition. I plan on writing articles more extensively on many of the topics that you may be asking about, so you can feel free to explore the site to see if there is already something on your topic of concern.
If your questions aren’t answered, please use the feedback form on our About page or give us a call directly and we can set up a time to discuss in person.