There’s a reason we don’t livestream our church services. We have chosen to prioritize our time as a church family rather than create a worship experience that seems more like entertainment than sincere church participation. It is very difficult to be a church family if we choose to plan productions instead. Here’s what to expect when you visit.
Sunday
Come in through the main enterance. Whether you show up for Sunday School or the Worship service, someone will greet you at the door, most likely holding the door open for you. If it’s your first time, we will show you where to go. In the Worship Service, feel free to sit anywhere. We don’t have assigned seats. Dress up or down, just remember to be modest. Our preacher typically wears jeans and a button-up. We care more about the condition of your heart than the condition of your clothes. We have Sunday School for all ages, so the whole family can show up without worrying about whether there is a place for everyone.
At the beginning of the worship service, everyone is together. Children have an integral part of our meeting–having the opportunity to collect our special offering for the food pantry and clothing closet. If they are going to Children’s Church, they are dismissed right before the sermon to their room. They meet their parents in the lobby directly following the worship hour.
Our music is currently led by volunteers and comprises mostly hymns with a some contemporary praise music. We still collect birthday offerings for the Baptist Children’s home and pass the offering plate. Don’t worry, we don’t judge if you don’t put anything in. Just don’t take anything out.
You can typically expect a 30-40 minute sermon. Pastor Andrew doesn’t prepare with that timeframe in mind, and he will preach as long as a text demands, whether shorter or longer. But, 30-40 minutes is fairly standard for him. You can expect Pastor Andrew to preach expositorily, get to the point of the text, apply it, and offer an invitation or time of response. He doesn’t tell many stories, and only occasional short illustrations when some clarity is needed. He preaches from the New American Standard, but we don’t judge you based on your preferred translation.
The service is dismissed shortly after the sermon, and you will typically find that some people stand around and talk for 10-30 minutes before they leave the church building.
Wednesday
On Wednesdays, bring your family in through the South Entrance, which will bring you into the Fellowship Hall where we eat dinner before everyone scatters to their places. Youth play games, sing worship songs, and hear a Bible lesson in the youth building. Children play and learn the Bible in the North Wing. Adults currently meet in a classroom on the North Wing and walk through the Bible.
After our Wednesday evening activities, children meet their parents in the lobby of the church.
Alex Southern Baptist Chapel 