Come In
This is the place where all of us meet weekly to worship the God we follow in our daily lives and in community together throughout the week. We believe that doing church is more about doing life together, but we also believe that a weekly service is important to gather together for worship, encouragement, and sound Biblical instruction. Oh, drop your coffee in the trash before you enter. No drinks or food allowed.
Look around and you’ll notice that the setting is casual. There is no dress code, just be comfortable. Now is a good time to complete the information card. Don’t worry, we’re not going to show up on your front door step. We’ll send you a friendly email thanking you for your visit and might inform you about upcoming events. But, we’re not a program or event driven church so you won’t develop carpal tunnel hitting the delete button every other day. Every person in the place will be filling out an info card, not just the visitors. Keep it until the end of the service so you can drop it in the offering basket…. The music’s about to start, stand up so you can praise God with us. It might get a little loud.
Okay, I’ll whisper now because the music has ended and the pastor is about to preach. If you have been here before, you might notice a different person preaching than the last time you visited us. That’s because this church has multiple pastors, or what the Bible calls “elders”. We believe this is a Biblical suggestion and it has the benefit of not putting too much focus on one person. This is not a church that believes in elevating a man, so we’ll keep the focus on the Word of God. You’ll also notice a familiar phrase that will sound something like this… ahem (in my best deep, authoritative, radio type voice), “last week we ended with verse 7, this week we will start with verse 8…” We believe in preaching through books of the Bible to discover what it says, what it means, and what it means to you. There’s a fancy term for this that’s called “systematic expository preaching.” Since the Bible says we need a translator when tongues are used, that simply means “verse-by-verse exposing what the Bible says and speaking it out loud so it can be understood and applied to our lives”.
Now it’s time for the offering. Of course, we’re going to try to squeeze every last penny out of you. Sound too sarcastic? Okay, it was. The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver. If you give out of obligation or because you think there’s some mystical return coming your way if you do, then keep your checkbook at home. If you cannot give cheerfully to advance the work of this ministry, then just drop your information card in the basket. God already owns your money. He wants your heart. When He’s got that, He’ll move you to give some of what He already owns in a cheerful way as a form of worship.
As the announcements are ending and the band is playing its closing song, you’re about to be dismissed. If you are in need of prayer, the pastor will tell you where to find the prayer leaders who are waiting to pray with you. Those prayer leaders can also talk to you more about the way to the Father and how to become a Christian. We would also like to invite you into the kitchen to learn more about Manor Fellowship. The kitchen is usually the place where the party gathers to hold conversations and to get to know one another better. Ever wondered why that is? It’s usually the smallest place in the house to talk. Weird. But, who are we to judge? Come on into the kitchen and pull up a chair.
