What To Expect

When You Arrive

You will be met with welcoming faces, folks from our church family that are there to greet you and hand you some information about the day’s service. We want you to know that we value you and that God does too. Don’t worry about your clothing choice here. If you feel you want to dress up, that’s perfectly fine. If you’d rather come in jeans and a T-shirt, trust me, that’s totally fine too.

You’ll have the option to grab a coffee and some fruit before you sit. The service will begin at 10:00, so come early enough to engage and meet new people. If you have kids, someone will show you how to securely check them in so that they are ready to go to their class when the time comes later in the service. All our kids’s ministry workers are background checked because we care about the safety and well-being of our children, and yours. 

The Music

At 10:00 the worship leader will briefly greet the congregation and begin. You can expect a mix of traditional and modern songs played to mostly contemporary style music. But we will do our best to always have the lyrics displayed on the overhead so that nobody gets lost. 

If you’ve never been to Church or perhaps grew up in a more traditional setting, you may be surprised to see some people raising up their hands as they sing. Don’t worry. They’re not crazy. They’re just being passionate about the one they are singing to. As part of our liturgy (just a fancy word for the order of service) we read a catechism question and answer together. These are simply questions to help us all memorize and internalize truth from God. We get the kids involved in this part of the service too. Before the final song we will pray for and dismiss the younger children to their classes. Parents are encouraged to walk them back. 

The Word

It’s easy for people to think that the music portion of the service is the pinnacle of our time together. But that’s not what we intend. Yes, we gather to worship in song together, but without the Word of God, the Bible, we are like a house with no foundation.

A sermon is not a lecture, and it’s more than a lesson or a pep talk. A sermon is a teaching from the Bible that is meant to grow the Church in the knowledge and the grace of Jesus, so that all who hear might come to more fully love and worship Him. We want to be a Church where every member sees themselves as missionaries in all contexts in which they live, work and play. That’s exactly what Jesus meant when He told His disciple to “Go into all the world and make disciples.” New City Church is committed to preaching sound doctrine, relevant to our day and age, without compromising the gospel of salvation by grace alone. 

The Gospel

Not a Sunday will come and go where we do not preach the Gospel. This means, no matter the text of scripture, the topic or the series, we will always declare the good news that Jesus paid the price for the sins of his people by sacrificially dying in their place on the cross. Now, all who believe by faith in this glorious news and place their trust in Him will be reconciled to God, filled with His Spirit, and will live forever justified and forgiven as a beloved child of God. Why does this matter? It matters because only where the Gospel is declared and affirmed in it’s fullness does the true Church exist. Without this, we would be just a social club, with no real power to transform lives. This also means that we are a safe place for sinners, skeptics and any who have yet to believe in Christ for eternal life. We want visitors and guests to have an encounter with the living God through the message of the Gospel, to believe for eternal life, and we want our members to fell safe to invite such friends and neighbors. 

The Benediction

The sermon will close and the pastor or speaker will invite the music team back to the stage for a closing song. After the song we will close with a final word of encouragement or closing Scripture and prayer. Then everyone will be dismissed and parents can retrieve their kids from class. There will be plenty of time to fellowship with one another and enjoy a coffee or refreshment. We will have people available to answer questions and pray with you should you need prayer or want to take any next steps in your spiritual journey. 

Tithes and Offerings

We do believe that God provides for the work of the ministry through the gifts given by the body of Christ. But we never want to make a spectacle of giving or for anyone to give out of compulsion. Therefore, we have chosen to simply place an offering box at a designated spot. And though many of our members do give, if you’re a visitor or guest, it’s completely up to you to give, or not. We trust Him with this.

Hopefully this has provided a helpful taste of what you can expect if you choose to attend New City Church in the near future. 

Thanks for reading!