On most Sundays, adults meet for worship in the church, while children and young people aged from 3 to 13 have their own worship and teaching programme known as Powerhouse. Most services are a little over an hour long; they do not follow a set pattern, but always include prayer, worship songs and preaching from the Bible. We join up again with the children after the service for refreshments in the church hall.
There is a crèche for under-3s, which is available throughout the service. Most people with babies keep them with them in the church: we like seeing them and don't mind if they cry a little. However, there is an audio relay in the crèche, so if you want to take your baby or toddler there and decide to stay with them, you will still be able to hear the worship.
COMMUNION - on the first and third Sundays in the month we celebrate the Lord's Supper as part of our morning worship. We use ordinary bread and non-alcoholic grape juice; the elements are served to the congregation by the deacons. Anyone who has come to faith in Jesus Christ is welcome to join us in sharing the bread and the cup; anyone else is invited to share in the worship and allow the bread and cup to pass by. (We say 'cup', but actually, like most similar churches, we use trays of thimble-sized individual glasses.)
FAMILY WORSHIP - on the fourth Sunday in the month everyone stays together in the church for the whole of the service, which is normally fairly informal and less than an hour long.
Our evening services are well attended, although not as full as the morning service. They sometimes include a time for open prayer or sharing what God has done.
COMMUNION - on the second and fourth Sundays in the month we include Communion in our evening worship, in the same way as described above.
About three or four times a year, our evening service focuses on the baptism of one or more people, who may be young teenagers, grandparents or any age between. The church is often packed full for these services: not only do friends and family from outside the church want to support those who are taking the plunge [sorry :-)], but the whole church family is keen to share the joy and excitement.
After some lively praise and worship (most of the songs are chosen by those getting baptised) and an explanation of what is to happen, each candidate will say how they came to faith and why they want to be baptised. It is amazing how much these testimonies differ from each other and hearing them is a particularly encouraging part of the worship.
Next come the baptisms themselves. Two of the leaders of the church go down into the baptistry (a waist-deep pool about ten feet long and four feet wide) and invite one candidate at a time to join them. They are asked if they agree with a simple statement of faith and intent to grow in fellowship with the church and, after they have answered that they do, they are baptised. That is, they let themselves fall backwards, supported by the two leaders, until they are under the water and then they are immediately helped back up onto their feet and one of the leaders says a prayer as they stand in the water.
The worship continues while those who have been in the baptistry change their clothes; once they have rejoined the congregation, a sermon is preached.