If you’ve ever been a visitor to a new church, you know that it can be a little daunting walking through those doors the first time. You’re not quite sure who the people will be, what the music will sound like, if you’ll like the preaching, or if your children will be taken care of.  It always takes time to get a feel for a new church.  So as the Lead Pastor here at New Hope, I thought I’d share a little about us to try to put your mind at ease a little bit and give you an idea of what you can expect from a typical Sunday morning with us. I hope some of these thoughts will answer whatever questions you may have and help you to feel comfortable with us right from the start.  If I’ve left anything out or you have any further questions, please just contact me at the church office and I’d love to answer whatever other questions you may have.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

-Pastor Dave

What to expect…

The overwhelming word used to describe most people’s first experience at New Hope is “welcomed”…the second would be “relaxed”.  We try to be real with each other and would much rather be genuine than appear “perfect” in each other’s eyes.  We appreciate that people come from various homes, various backgrounds, and various places spiritually – and we want nothing more than for each new person to feel the same unconditional acceptance that we have felt ourselves.  We don’t care if you’re young or old, rich or poor, smart or uneducated, faithful or doubting, or anything else.  We believe that God knows our hearts anyway, so there’s no reason for us to pretend to be anything other that who and what we really are.  So we encourage people to be genuine and value the honesty of the people around them.  We hope that you’ll form the same impression if you decide to join us some Sunday morning at 10am.

What to wear…

The first thing you should know is that you can come in anything from a three-piece suit to your pajamas. We are an informal church, mostly wearing whatever is comfortable to church. I typically preach in a shirt and tie but don’t usually go the extra mile and wear a suit. There are a couple of members in our church that enjoy coming in suits and they fit in just as well. But aside from myself and these few people, most don’t dress formally at all, feeling comfortable enough to come in jeans and t-shirts if that fits their taste better. We believe that it is far more important to bring yourself “as you are” before the Lord than it is to make an encounter with Him a formal event. Feel free to come as you are and I’m sure you’ll fit right in.

What we sing…

I think that music is one of those beautiful gifts that God gives us to worship Him and express and solidify our own emotions. I often play the piano, and always feel grateful for God’s gift of music. We do sing and listen to music each week, praising God for His blessings and pouring out our hearts to seek His presence. Each service begins with worship music led by our praise band which consists of piano, guitars, drums, flute, keyboard, singers and guest instrumentalists from time to time. We also often sing the old, familiar hymns that many of us grew up singing in church, trying to keep a balance in our music, and realizing that people have different tastes and that no one particular style of music is more “holy” than another. We just try to be intentional in praising God regardless of the musical style.

For the children…

Each week we provide great nursery care for the little ones, and all of our child-care workers are very well trained and have been CORI checked. We also have a system of Sunday School that consists of three age groups, K-2, 3-5, 6-8 grades. These children are dismissed to their classrooms during the worship service to allow them both the ability to stay upstairs and worship with their families, and then to be dismissed for specific teaching for their age-group and learning levels. Our teachers and aids put in a lot of work to make sure that our children are being taught God’s word and are being shown God’s love each and every week. You can certainly feel comfortable that your children are in good hands!

The preaching…

I guess I can’t be very objective as I describe my preaching style, but each week I try to be personal, relateable, and challenging in the messages that I bring from God’s Word. I usually don’t preaching from behind a pulpit, feeling more comfortable walking and interacting from the floor, trying to engage the congregation and not just lecture them. I often ask for questions and answers during the sermon, trying to hear where everyone is coming from and generate productive thoughts and conversations. I believe that God has called me to bring His thoughts to our church, and I look forward each week to sharing what He’s put on my heart to say. I don’t preach from any one particular translation, although our church “pew Bibles” are in the NIV translation. I’ll sometimes also use our audio/video equipment to add another dimension to the preaching. Whatever the means, I truly hope to encourage and challenge each person on any given Sunday with what God would have them consider in their lives at that moment. I believe that God would have us continue to study and grow in our knowledge of Him and I hope to do my part to facilitate that process.

Everything else…

There are a million other ways I could describe our church, but I think it might just serve you better if you come and see for yourself. I can guarantee that if you visit us that you’ll be welcomed with smiles and with a sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to take the step and walk through our doors some Sunday morning at 10am and join us in worshiping our Lord. Wherever God brings you, I pray that He will connect you with a great church that will draw you closer to Him each week. God bless you in your search!

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