What Can
You Expect
When You Visit the Valley church of Christ?
We want you to visit us at the Valley church of Christ, and we want you to feel comfortable. We know an unfamiliar place can be intimidating, so let us tell you what you can expect when you honor us with your visit.
Background
Who are we?
The Worship Service
Singing
Prayer
Preaching
Invitation
Lord's
Supper
Offering
Bible Centered
Family Centered
What Will Be Expected of
You?
The People
Background:
A brief description of our background may help you understand us. We
are a part of "The Restoration Movement." Our goal is to
"restore" the New Testament church - to determine from the Bible what
the church was like in the beginning, and to be like that. We believe this
is a worthy and reverent goal. We want to be a Bible-centered
church. We know our conclusions aren't flawless, that our practices are
sometimes colored by habit, preference, tradition, or convenience.
Who are we?
Spokane Valley is a family of caring and loving Christians. Our only
guide is the word of God as revealed in the New Testament, and our only desire
is to be faithful servants of Christ. We are not connected to any
denominational structure or organization. Our desire is to be Christians
only, simple New Testament Christians who are Biblical in doctrine, fervent in
worship, aggressive in service, friendly in spirit, loving in outreach, and
Christ-like in nature. We believe that it is the purpose of Jesus' church
to help mold His image in the hearts of men, women, and children so that we can
share Him and His offer of hope and happiness in a world full of
struggles. The church of Christ is built on hope, a hope centered in faith
in Jesus Christ and His power to change lives. Therefore, we want to make
Christ and His word the center of our lives and pray that His Spirit will
continue to remake us into His image.
The Worship Service:
Churches of Christ are autonomous. Each is self-ruled and
independent. The Valley church of Christ meets collectively at 17221 East
Broadway in Greenacres, Washington on Sunday's and Wednesday's. Family groups are
also available at different times during the year that meet in peoples homes,
and designed to become more intimately involved with each other, their cares and
problems. When you visit us, you will enter what we refer to as the
"auditorium." There will be rows of pews, none are reserved, you
are our honored guest, so feel free to sit anywhere you choose.
Worship at Valley is patterned after the simple worship of New Testament Christians. You will find enthusiastic congregational singing, prayers that flow from the hearts of the members, a celebration of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection in communion services every Sunday. Bible-centered preaching, and opportunities for Christians to give. It is not a formal worship led by clergy and witnessed by an audience, but a joyful celebration by all in a family atmosphere.
Singing:
There will be hymnbooks in the rack in front of you for you to use.
There will be a song leader that announces a number. You can turn to that number
in the hymnbook to find the words and music. One of the unique things
about churches of Christ - and something you may find strange - is that the
music is "a cappella." That is, we sing without the
accompaniment of musical instruments. This is a conviction with us, not
just a preference. It has its roots in our restoration heritage. We
are seeking to worship according to the New Testament pattern. Since the
New Testament leaves instrumental music out, we believe it's best to exclude it,
too. You may consider us narrow on this point, but we believe you will
respect our reason for it, and our conviction. We think you will find the
singing meaningful and invigorating, with everyone being invited to participate.
Prayer:
There will be several prayers during the service. And specifically,
there may be prayers for special needs and requests. James tells us to
pray when we're in trouble, to pray when we're sick, to confess our sins to each
other and to pray for each other so that you may be healed, healed of our sins
and diseases. He says the prayer of
a righteous man is powerful and effective. (Jas. 5:13-16) Paul tells us that
in everything, by prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving, present our
requests to God. (Php 4:6)
Preaching:
Our minister
doesn't have a title. He won't be referred to as Pastor or Reverend.
He
won't be wearing any ecclesiastical vestments which set him apart. The
hierarchy the bible teaches is that Jesus is our High Priest, that we are all
priests in the sense that we have a one-to-one relationship with Him. In
the eyes of God, we are all equal, making each of us responsible and accountable
for our own sins. He will speak 30 to 40 minutes encouraging and
challenging you to have a closer walk with God.
Invitation:
At the close of his talk, he will "extend an invitation." This is simply
a convenient time to invite those who are encouraged and moved to make their needs
known and request prayer or other support. He will encourage those who
wish to "respond" to come to the front while those not responding sing
a hymn. Don't feel ill-at-ease during this invitation. You will not
be singled out in any way. There may be several who respond. Or
none. Some may respond for baptism. Some to confess sins. Some
to ask for prayers for a specific need. Some to "identify" or
"place membership" with this congregation. If anyone responds for
baptism, you will witness the baptism during this service. The baptism
will be by immersion. And it will be for the forgiveness of sins.
Just remember, God's invitation is open to anyone at any time in any
place. He loves you and accepts you just as you are, and so do we.
Lord's
Supper:
If you visit on Sunday, the Lord's Supper will be included in the
worship agenda - because churches of Christ observe this memorial every
Sunday. Again, it our desire to follow New Testament teaching. The
first century church celebrated this observance on the first day of the
week. The inference is that they did it the first day of every week.
We know from the annals of respected historians that in early centuries the
Lord's Supper was an every - Sunday commemoration. During this memorial,
plates containing pieces of unleavened bread will be passed throughout the
congregation. The bread symbolizes the body of Jesus. Each
participating Christian will break off a piece of the bread and eat it.
Next, trays filled with small cups will be distributed. The cups will
contain "fruit of the vine," usually grape juice symbolizing the blood
of Jesus. Each Christian will drink the contents. If you choose not
to participate, don't be embarrassed. Feel free to just pass the plate or
tray to the person next to you.
Offering:
Again, if you visit on Sunday,
plates will be passed to collect the weekly financial offering. This is a
convenient time for members to contribute what they feel compelled to give back
to God as He has blessed each of us. As our
guest, you are not expected to make a donation. Feel perfectly comfortable in
just passing the collection plate on down the row.
Bible Centered:
We believe that the Bible is God's word for us today, and that His love
letter from Him to us today, is the foundation for our lives and the pattern for
the church. Therefore, education in the Scriptures, especially the New
Testament, is the core of happy, successful, and Godly lives. We have a
complete program of Biblical education for all ages, and we encourage every
Christian to be a dedicated student of the Bible.
Family Centered:
Valley is dedicated to doing everything possible to encourage strong,
Christ-centered families, and we want to help our families to reach their
potential for happy and abundant living. We have regular classes,
seminars, and sermons designed to strengthen families and build up skills in
Christian communication, child rearing, and family living. There are
regular activities for teens through older Christians.
What Will Be Expected of
You?
Nothing at all! You are welcome to participate. But don't
feel obligated. Just make observations if that is what you want to
do. You will asked to fill out a Visitor's Card. This simply
provides information so the church can write or call to thank you for your
visit. If you don't mind, fill it out, and if you do mind, that's okay,
too. We're just glad you came to visit us.
The People:
So, what kind of
people can you expect to find at the Valley church of Christ? Pretty much
the entire spectrum, as in any group. You will find
traditionalists... and you'll find those who prefer anything new over
everything old. You will find those of us who mistake our traditions for
absolute truth, and get pretty bent out of shape when they are tampered
with. And you'll find those of us who are a bit smug at having been
liberated from tradition. You will find legalists and liberals...
and a lot of people in between. You will find happy people... and
grouchy people. Friendly people... and unfriendly people.
Loving people... and cantankerous people. People who are
learning... and people who already know it all.
We could be likened to a small community in West Texas that has a billboard at the edge of town saying "The Home of 3000 Friendly People - And a Few Old Soreheads." We're just a diverse group of Christians, coming from varied backgrounds, and at different stages of knowledge and spiritual growth. We don't know everything. We don't do everything right. We don't always treat each other as we should. We haven't arrived - we're just on a journey.
We were not brought together by any illusion of our perfection or righteousness. We were brought together by our recognition that we are sinners in need of the cleansing blood of Jesus. That's the reason we can worship together, stick together, and, with God's help, accomplish some things that make a difference. You won't have to look very far to find our failures. The bottom line is, you will find people at the Valley church of Christ that love Jesus and love the Bible.