What to expect
Our service
We are made to worship the one true God who has made you and everything for himself. You will be guided through a time of song, prayer, scripture, and reflection that points you to who God is and what he has done and continues to do through his Spirit. Our music seeks to reflect the diversity and vibrancy of our city by incorporating the best of a variety of styles – hymns, contemporary music, as well as songs from the wider global church body. Feel free to join in or to simply listen to the words.
Our Service Structure
Call to Worship
This reminds us of who God is and redirects us to worship him as he invites us into his holy presence.
Prayers
We pause a number of times throughout our service to pray because we have a personal God who gives his children access to him through Jesus. God is holy, so we take time to confess how we stray and fall short of God’s standard and then are quickly reminded of the work of Jesus in the gospel in forgiving us and giving us the same standing he has with God. Our "Prayers of the People" is led by a member of our congregation to lift up our needs to God and to ask God to make his church into an agent of gospel grace and renewal wherever we find ourselves.
Giving of Tithes and Offerings
All we have is a gift from God. The offering is an opportunity to continue in our worship by giving back a portion of what God has blessed us with to meet the needs of the city and the church. If you are a visitor, please do not feel like you need to participate in this part of the service as you are our guest.
Scripture Readings
The Bible is God’s inspired and chosen means of speaking to us. Each week we read passages from the Bible, listening to God reveal both who he is as well as the character of our hearts.
Sermon
God, in the Bible challenges both the skeptic and the Christian with the radical and transforming nature of the gospel. Our preaching and teaching explores Scripture and seeks to be thoughtful and engaging as it brings the implications of the passage into our current culture. We typically preach a series of sermons through a book of the Bible though sometimes explore a specific topic by looking at what the Bible has to say about it.
Communion - the Lord’s Supper
We celebrate the Lord's Supper most every time that we gather on a Sunday. It is a visual picture and illustration of the sacrificial and substitute death of Jesus for us on a cross. The bread points to his giving his body for us and the wine signifies his blood shed for our sins. This meal is for those who look to Jesus as their perfect substitute and have professed this faith and been baptized, whether at our church or at another. If you have not made a public decision to follow Jesus, we put up some prayers for you to consider at this time. If you would like to discuss this more, please talk to the pastor or whoever invited you to church.
Baptism
We baptize both new Christians and “covenant children" as an admission into the visible church. Baptism is a multi-faceted sign that tells of how God seals us into life with him through his promises of grace. Water signifies a person’s union with Jesus by the washing away of sin, as well as the dying to the old way of life and the rising again to new life. It further points to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit who empowers us for living out the implications of the gospel as he makes us look more like Jesus.
Benediction
A benediction is a blessing from God. The pastor or speaker will pronounce this blessing reminding us of the gift of grace and presence of God upon his children.
Fellowship
Please hang around with us after the service so that we can get to know you. We typically have food and drink after the service to facilitate community building. If you would like more information about our church or the Christian faith, please fill in a Newcomer Card so we can answer any questions you might have or help you get more connected.
Get Connected
We want to welcome you and help you connect to our church community! If you would like more information about our church or the Christian faith, please fill in a Newcomer Card and drop it into the box at the Connection Table so we can answer any questions you might have or help you get more connected. We do not share your information outside of our church.
One of the best places to get connected to New City Church is through our Life Groups. These meet throughout the week and offer a place to grow in relationship, prayer, and understanding and applying the Bible. Please let us know if we can connect you to one!
For those who are new or exploring the Christian faith, we offer periodic short-term classes like Christianity Explored that help you understand who Jesus is and how you are to respond to him.