First time visitors
Most first-time visitors come to a 10am morning service at Perry Street. This is probably the best way to see what the church is all about, although you may choose to go to South Green if the location or timing is more convenient, or attend the less family-oriented evening service at Perry Street.
Although we try to recognize and welcome all first-time visitors, the size of the Perry Street congregation makes this difficult. If you would like to make yourself known as a visitor, just let the duty deacon (doing the front door greetings) know, and he’ll point you to our welcome desk. If you’d rather stay anonymous to start with, just come in—there’s safety in numbers. The pastor giving the sermon will be on the door after the service, so you have another chance to introduce yourself then, once you’ve (hopefully) established that we are a reasonable bunch of people after all.
Here are some things you probably want to know, especially if you are not a regular church-goer:
Structure
The services are less structured than you might be expecting. We don’t use an equivalent to the Church of England service book. There are no fixed texts, with the occasional exception of the Lord’s Prayer, and we sometimes close the service with the Grace. No-one will expect you to know these.
Communion
If you turn up to a communion service (first Sunday morning and third Sunday evening of the month), we do not place any restrictions on the taking of the bread and wine (non-alcoholic in Baptist churches). You do not need to be christened, confirmed or baptised; you just need to have a relationship with Jesus. Only you know if that is the case: if you are unsure, just let the tray (we use individual glasses rather than a communal chalice) pass you by.
Collection
We take a collection in every service. Baptist churches are not centrally funded: the finances are the responsibility of church members. If you do not wish to contribute, just let the bag pass by. Many members arrange their giving via standing orders, so a significant proportion of the congregation will not be putting anything in the bag. No-one will think anything of it if you also do not.
Music
If you’ve only attended “traditional” church services, you may be surprised to see a variety of musicians at our services, from a simple piano and ’cello to a full rock band. The songs we use vary from the traditional hymns to more modern worship songs.
We have a video projector and large screen, onto which the song words are projected, so you should have no difficulty keeping up. Our congregation has a wide range of musical ability—so if you can’t sing or don’t know the tune, you won’t be the only one…
Sermons
Our sermons (or messages) generally make full use of the church’s media equipment, with illustrations and photographs as appropriate. We tend to run a series of sermons across several weeks: if you happen to come in in the middle, and want to catch up on what you missed, our sermons are online; audio cassettes (and for some series, videos and DVDs) are also available.
All of our teaching is rooted in the Bible. We primarily use the NIV (New International Version), but dip into other versions on occasion. Copies of the NIV are available in the church to borrow for the service, so don’t worry if you don’t have one. Some people prefer to listen rather than read, anyway.
Children
If you want to bring children to the service, see this page.
Disabled facilities
The church is set up to allow for wheelchair access, and disabled toilet facilities are available. A loop system is fitted for hearing-aid wearers. If you have any other questions, just ask.
Footnotes
The Lord’s Prayer
When we use the Lord’s Prayer in services, this is the version we use, which is nearly as the King James Version (who instead of which). This is about the only use of old-fashioned English in the church, primarily because of familiarity—it’s the version most people know.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever. Amen.
The Grace
We close many of our services with the Grace, which is taken from the closing of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and for ever. Amen.