What You Can Expect
As friendly as most churches hope to be, it still can be a little frightening visiting a church for the first time. Will everyone know what's going on but me? Will people be nice to me? Will my kids like it (and be well-cared for in a safe environment)? Will they ask me for money? How should I dress? Is it okay if I don't believe what everyone else seems to believe?
We've done our best to make Morris Community Church as "user-friendly" for people as possible, whatever your background, whether you're a longtime church attendee or this is your first time. In fact, many people attending were not regular church-goers before joining us. The bulletin will give you a rundown of what to expect in the service, along with the day's announcements. One of the first things you'll notice is that everyone is dressed in a comfortable and casual manner. First there will be an opening song then a greeting and prayer. After that, we'll worship for another 20 minutes or so.
Worship
Ours is a style of lively worship of God in song led by some gifted musicians, many of them trained at the local music schools. Our music is known for being contemporary and dynamic so, for instance, we have a band rather than a choir and an organ. While most of our music has a pop/rock feel, we do sing some hymns. One way or another, you should have some catchy tunes to hum all week long.
Children
After worship and announcements/shares, during the offering, children ages 6 months through 6th grade are released for their Sunday schools. Children should be picked up in the commons area directly following service.
Sermon and Prayer
After the share time and offering, one of our pastors will begin to speak. The messages last about 30 minutes, and we get a lot of encouraging feedback about how vibrant and relevant people typically find them to be. Sharing from the Word of God, we emphasize personal growth in walking with God, discipleship, and outreach often in what is shared. After the message, whoever is speaking usually prays for the congregation along the lines of what's just been said and, if you're interested, you'll have the opportunity to receive further prayer up front. Services typically conclude by 11:30am.
Communion and Offering
We take communion together the second Sunday of each month. This takes place during the worship time of our service. If you're a follower of Jesus, you're invited to join in, or you can sit back and enjoy a song from the band. We are told that those tend to be powerful times, whether you take communion or not. Right before the sermon, we do take an offering, though our hope is that our visitors won't give, but will regard themselves as our guests.
After the Services
Our services run about an hour and a half, usually concluding by 11:30. After the service, many people stick around and make new friends and catch up with old ones. If you have children, that's when you'll pick them up from children's church.
We hope you'll stop by for a visit and, if you do, please come up and say, "hi" to one of the pastors. We'd love to meet you. And, one way or another, may you find a spiritual home that works well for you. We're for you, and we're for you finding a meaningful and transforming connection with God.
If you would like more information about what we believe please follow the About Us link above. We also recommend the Contact Us link – our pastors and staff would love to get to know you and answer any questions you may have!