When You Join Us On Sunday...

...you’ll notice right away that there are no pews and not even any rows of chairs.  People are taking their coffee cups and pastries (thank you, Panera!) to their tables and visiting with each other. Most people don’t dress up. Ties are rare, jeans common

MAKING NEW FRIENDS
Once you find a seat, two or three people will come by your table, shake your hand and introduce themselves.  One or two may sit down to get better acquainted.  If you have young children, someone will come by and offer them coloring sheets and crayons.  The whole family will worship together until children are dismissed for children’s church.

PRAISING GOD THROUGH MUSIC
Our worship usually begins with the reading of a Psalm and lively worship music, a blend of contemporary and traditional, led by our praise band.

GOD SIGHTINGS
For many of us, “God Sightings” is the part of the service we most enjoy.  We ask, “Where have you seen God at work in your life this past week?”  We get to hear firsthand how God is at work in people’s lives. Many of the stories people share are amazing!

CHILDREN'S CHURCH
At this time children go to Children’s Church.  We also have wonderful nursery facilities for infants and toddlers.

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TEACHING TIME
Next we explore together how to apply the Bible to our lives. This sometimes takes the form of a sermon, but more often it is less traditional.  The teaching is led by various people and ministry teams. There may be skits, craft activities, or videos woven into the teaching time. Often one or two people may share stories from their own lives—how they have struggled, what God has been teaching them, how God has been helping them grow—in the area being explored that day.  Our teaching times aim not just at head knowledge but at heart transformation.

TABLE SHARING AND PRAYING TOGETHER
Most Sundays, following the teaching, you and the others at your table will share in response to two or three “table sharing” questions that invite you to consider how to apply the teaching in your life.  This helps us move beyond head knowledge to heart change.  Then everyone around your table is invited to share praises and prayer requests, and we close by praying for each other. 

BUT IT'S NOT OVER YET...
We know that a few minutes of sharing following the teaching time is not enough to bring about the heart change we all need.  That is what our house churches are all about.  In our house churches most weeks, we review the Sunday teaching and ask, “Did God speak to me from this week’s verses? How?” Our desire is not just to be hearers, but also doers of the word. There is a good chance that before you leave on Sunday morning, one of our shepherds (house church leaders) will invite you to his or her house church.