Frequently Asked Questions

To begin with, we will run a very “lean” ministry - prioritizing the gathered worship of the church, in a single service, for all ages. We believe that there is great beauty in the entire church gathering together, where children can see their parents worship and learn to worship alongside them.

From day one, however, we plan to have a single children’s ministry option during the main worship gathering, for nursery to Pre-K (ages 0 to 4). This option will be available for children at their parents’ discretion. Infants and younger toddlers will be cared for by a team of volunteers, while older toddlers and preschoolers will have some age-appropriate games and activities while beginning to learn core truths of the Christian faith.

We do still believe that there is value in age-specific programming. By year two, we hope to have built a large enough volunteer-base to launch our “Equipping Hour” which will run weekly, prior to the main worship gathering. During this Equipping Hour, children will be split into age-specific groups and engage in a full Children’s Ministry Curriculum such as the Gospel Project, Praise Factory, or the New City Catechism. During the main worship service, families would still be encouraged to worship together.

Regarding ministry for middle and high school students, we aim to launch a student ministry within our first three to five years, as the Lord provides both students and leaders. This would be on a separate night of the week, and students will meet for biblical teaching, prayer, and small groups.

Our vision for worship music is to blend modern musical style and instrumentation with doctrinally rich songs and lyrics from all of Christian history. Modern instrumentation fits our 21st century context well, while doctrinally rich and historically-rooted songs will be sung to help our congregation to worship in spirit and truth.

All songs will be vetted for Scriptural fidelity, doctrinal clarity, and corporate singability. Modern songs will be introduced slowly so that the congregation can learn them. Historic songs and classic hymns will be incorporated to keep us rooted in our heritage, reminding us of our connection with all worshipers down through the ages. So long as the standards above are met, no song is “too new”, neither is any song “too old” for us to use profitably for worship.

Regarding style and presentation - we will value simplicity over opulence, and corporate participation over professional performance. The purpose of the Sunday gathering is for all of God’s people to come together and worship him. Worship musicians will understand that they serve to facilitate the congregational worship of God, rather than to put on a concert.

We believe that the main “diet” of teaching in a church should be expositional preaching through books of the Bible. Exposition is an approach to preaching that seeks to make the main point of the text the main point of the sermon. Sequential exposition, through books of the Bible, provides several benefits. It allows the Bible to set the agenda for what our church will study, trusting that God has given us all we need in His Word. It also shows how each individual passage preached connects to the big picture of that book and of the entire Bible. Finally, it teaches listeners how to read, interpret, and apply the Bible on their own.

This does not mean that we will preach “impractically” or without regard to present day concerns. First and foremost, the Bible itself is relevant and practical for all times and cultures. Second, faithful exposition seeks to apply the Bible’s teaching to the various life situations of modern day hearers. Third, we reserve the right to occasionally preach a ‘topical’ series in our Sunday morning worship gatherings, though it will still be approached expositionally. (For example, a series on prayer that expounds various prayers throughout Scripture, or a series on marriage that expounds Genesis 2:17-24, Ephesians 5:22-27, 1 Peter 3:7 and Hebrews 13:4.) Finally, our future Equip Classes will be the primary avenue for topical teaching that surveys all of Scripture surrounding a particular topic. Examples of possible classes include: Marriage, Parenting, Singleness & Dating, Financial Stewardship, Evangelism, Theology, and Bible Overviews.

With this approach, we will make sequential exposition the main diet for the church’s Bible intake, while leaving room for topical teaching in other environments.