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The Worship Acrostic
Most of our ministries can be categorized into one of seven different areas.
W-orship: We are dedicated to conducting worship services that are done with excellence and to the glory of God. Contemporary music, a praise band, drama, multimedia, testimonies, and dance are some of the elements of our worship experience. Preaching is centered upon the scriptures and is applicable to daily life. Mostly we pray for worshipers to sense God's presence each Sunday and to actively enter into worship.
O-ne on One Discipleship: Many persons over the years have met one on one with individuals for the purpose of Bible study, sharing, and prayer. Our church has a discipleship coordinator who encourages and matches people for these exciting growth opportunities.
R-unner: As the runner or courier carries the Gospel so do we want to bring others to a saving relationship with Christ. In many ways evangelism is a major purpose underlining all of our ministries whether it be preaching, youth ministry, or discipleship. We exist to reach people for Christ and to help them grow in Christ. Some of our ministries have more of an intended evangelistic thrust such as Addicts Victorious, our weekly community based support group which help people struggling with addictions, fears, and everyday problems. World wide evangelism is also a major thrust of our ministry. We support several missionaries who serve overseas or domestically. Our people are encouraged to be involved in short term missions projects. Locally, we attempt to see people come to Christ through our church, our ministries, but mostly through our people. We stress that we are all to see ourselves as missionaries to the school, the work place, the neighborhood, or where ever God has planted us.
S-mall groups: There are two categories of small groups. Adult Bible Fellowship classes are aged based groups that meet during the Sunday School hour. These groups meet year round and focus upon not only learning from the scriptures but upon developing supportive relationships. Each ABF class is encouraged to have social, outreach, and ministry events. Small groups are elective opportunities that are offered in the fall and winter of each year. Although some of these have been in operation for many years, such as the Saturday morning men's Bible study, most of the groups meet for six to ten weeks. All persons are encouraged to be part of the small group ministry.
H-youth: For many years our church has been known for its strong youth ministries. Awana has been a very successful midweek program that is targeted towards grade school children. Children are also encouraged to be part of Sunday School and Children's Church. Middle School and High school youth are not only encouraged to be part of the weekly youth groups but to attend conferences and missions trips that are sponsored by the church. Our dedication to youth is seen in our hiring of a full time youth pastor who oversees the teen and educational aspects of our ministry. The evangelical thrust of our ministry is seen in the fact that many of the young people who attend our youth activities do not have a church home,
I-ntercession: Several small groups meet for the purpose of praying for our church, our ministries, and our people. Monthly a list of prayer needs, "The Intercessor" is included in the church bulletin. Individuals are encouraged to share personal prayer requests through our prayer chain which is e-mail based.
P-oor: We believe that God wants us to help the poor and needy of our community. We attempt to do this through, giving as a church to the Salvation Army and through our church food pantry. We also have a small group which promotes the ministry of a local church, God's Way Christian Center, which has a strong ministry to the needy of our community. For our own people the church has a benevolence fund with is administered through our Deacons.
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