Walking into a new place for the first time can be intimidating. It is our hope that knowing a few details before you walk through our doors will help put your mind at ease.
What to Wear
Since the Bible doesn’t prescribe any dress code, aside from simple modesty, we don’t make any rules either. While we seek to honor God in all that we do, at our congregations you will see everything from suits to jeans and from dresses to shorts.
The Service
You can plan on the service being one hour long. It will include responsive readings, prayers, hymns, and a sermon message from our pastor. We want our services to be for all ages and we believe that worshiping as a family is a great blessing!
Children
We love kids and we know that kids praise God with their own beautiful voices. If you have a talkative little one, don’t sweat it! But if you feel like you need to step away for a minute into our nursery or another part of the church, you are welcome to.
It’s a great blessing for families to worship together. Children need to hear that their sins are forgiven too. Because our services follow a pattern each Sunday, it is very easy for children to catch on after only a few Sundays. The best part is that these repeated parts of the service teach us the basic truths of the Christian faith.
Offering
After the pastor’s sermon and the prayer of the church, we will pass around a plate in order to collect our offering. We don’t give offerings out of obligation or to earn something from God, we give because we are thankful to him. Do not feel obligated to give anything. However, if you do wish to give there are several ways to do so. You can place cash or check on the offering plate or you may also give via our website: Online Giving
Connect
If you’re new, our ushers or pastor will pass out a visitor card. On this card, you can make prayer requests and provide information so the pastor may connect with you outside of the Sunday setting.
What Kind of Lutheran
We are a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), which is a confessional church body, meaning that we hold to the Lutheran Confessions because we believe they are the correct explanations of Scripture. We are in fellowship with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).
Our beliefs shape our practices. What we learn from the Bible guides what we do together. Our primary focus in our weekly worship services is not what we do for God, but what He does for us. He comes to serve us with forgiveness and life, and we respond with thanks and praise.
Traditional Worship
The history of the Christian Church spans thousands of years, and our worship reflects that. We use the outline of the traditional Christian liturgy, and we sing hymns from the ancient Christian Church to today.
Contemporary Sermons
The teachings of God’s Word never become outdated. Our pastor applies the Word of God to our lives by preaching the Law (for repentance) and the Gospel (for forgiveness).
Counter-Cultural Practices
What happens in church is very different than what happens in the world. In church, the purpose of the songs we sing, are not meant to entertain but to teach and comfort. Our actions, like standing up and sitting down, bowing our heads, and folding our hands, are not meant to draw attention to our work but to keep the focus on God’s work.
Holy Communion
One of the most unique and special things we do as a congregation is receive Communion together. We go forward to the altar rail to eat bread and drink wine, but we receive more than these earthly elements. By the power of His Word, Jesus gives His body along with the bread and His blood along the wine for us to eat and drink for the remission of sins.
We want everyone to have the blessings of Communion, but God gives certain instructions for how Christians should prepare for this Holy Meal. He tells us that everyone present should be in agreement about what the Bible teaches (1 Corinthians 1:10). He says that all communicants should believe that Jesus truly gives His body and blood to eat and drink (1 Corinthians 10:16). And He says that they should humbly recognize their sinfulness and their need for the Lord’s Supper, so they do not receive it to their harm (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).
Because of this, we ask visitors to learn more about our teaching and practice and to talk with our pastor before they join us for Communion.