1. Do You Just Want My Money?
Absolutely not! While there are many religious organizations that seek
to collect as much money from the community as they can, we cannot do
that. The Bible requires the members of the church to “lay by in store”
upon the first day of the week. (1 Corinthians 16:2) We do not ask
visitors to our services to contribute in this way. This responsibility
belongs to those who make-up the congregation. We are not interested in
“getting into your wallet.” What we do hope to accomplish is to persuade you with the Scriptures, the power
of God to save everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16)
2. Should I Bring Something With Me If I Decide To Visit?
You do not need to bring anything except an open honest heart that will
examine our practices and give consideration to the lesson that is
taught. We hope that you will examine the Bible and check our teaching
and practices for yourself. If you have a copy of the Scriptures that
you always study from, bring that Bible with you. If you do not own a
Bible, don’t worry about that. We have copies of the Scriptures
available for your use. There are maroon, hard-back Bibles on each pew
for use by anyone who needs them. We invite you to search the
Scriptures and see if the things we teach are so. (Acts 17:11)
3. What Can I Expect If I Visit?
You can expect to find a sincere group of
people who love God and are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.
Further, you can expect to be warmly welcomed by the individuals who
make-up the congregation. You will not be intentionally put on the
spot or embarrassed by undue attention being brought to you; we will
not single you out publicly or ask you to stand during the service. The
most you will notice publicly done in recognition of your presence is a
sincere, general welcome to all of our visitors at that service. We
will, during the course of our worship service, petition God in prayers
which will each be lead by an individual, sing hymns as a congregation
being lead by an individual (without instrumental accompaniment),
partake of communion (during Sunday services), take up a collection (on
Sunday, from the members of the church) and have “book, chapter and
verse” preaching from the Bible which should be easy for you to follow.
In short, you can expect decent and orderly worship according to the
pattern revealed in the Bible.
4. What Denomination Are You?
This is a common question I receive from sincere people who are
wondering who we are. The answer is, we are not a denomination. It is
not appropriate to call us "Non-denominational" however. The reason
for this is, in our current vernacular, that term has taken on a
meaning of "inter-denominational." The Bible teaches that Jesus built
only one church. (Matthew 16:18) Further, the Bible records Jesus'
prayer that all His believers be one. (John 17:20-21) The
congregation in Corinth began to divide and the apostle Paul was
inspired to write them warning against this evil. (See 1 Corinthians
1-3) The religious division that is practiced today is contrary to the
will of God and is displeasing to Him. We should all relinquish human
names and traditions and hold to the word of God alone as a guide for
faith and practice.
5. Why Don't You Use Instruments?
We do not use instrumental accompaniment in our worship because we can
find no Biblical authorization for it. The Bible instructs, “Let the
word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and
admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16) We
find only the command to sing. Instrumental music, while aesthetically
pleasing, can neither teach nor admonish us . The Bible clearly asks us to sing for these purposes. While
emotion is expressed with a musical instrument, thoughts and ideas
are not expressed as they are with singing. Therefore, it is impossible
to teach and admonish one another through music by playing an
instrument. Worship will only accomplish its intended purpose when it
is engaged in by the worshiper in exactly the way God asks us to engage in it. Further, in
order to express our love for Christ, we must follow His directions.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)