We always get the question, "What should I expect when I come to The Journey service?" We hope to be able to answer that question here.
For starters, we gather in the fellowship hall of Oak City Baptist Church. As you come in the back doors of the fellowship hall, you'll be welcomed by one of our folks who are there just for you. If you need directions to a restroom or you have children that might need nursery services, the greeter can help you out. Kids are always welcome in our service, but the nursery will be available if you need it. All of our Journey services will be very media driven. Before the service you'll see any important announcements scrolling on the screen in the sanctuary.
One of our goals is to create a place that anyone can come worship God. We really mean it when we say, "Come as you are!" From shorts to slacks, t-shirts to button-ups and flip-flops to dress shoes, ALL are welcome here. Our goal is to worship God!
As worship starts, make yourself at home in worship. The time of worship is a very special time that we get to spend praising God for who He really is and for what He has done just for us. You'll find the music to be contemporary and modern. During worship, you'll find that some may raise their hands in worship, some may clap and others may just be content to sing along. Either way, it's great! Our focus is on the Lord and not our neighbor in the worship time.
You may notice that we have no "formal" offering spot during the worship time. If you are our guest for the service, please don't feel obligated to give. We feel that you should never be made to feel guilty for not placing money in an offering plate. You'll notice that in certain areas of the sanctuary we will have offering plates set up for people to give. You will find that our regular attenders to The Journey service will place their offering in the plates (on the fireplace mantle) before worship, during worship or after the service. As our guest, we only want to encourage you to simply come and worship God, with no strings attached.
As the service progresses and we reach the time for the message to be brought, you might experience one of a few scenarios. Pastor Chris may be bringing the message or we might have a special guest speaker or we may have a media driven (video) message for the day. We try to mix things up a bit to keep people on their toes. The message we hear should be a message that is relevant to our lives. We try our best to focus the messages on things we can use each and every day. From finances in the current economy to family living, we know that God's Word can be used in all area of our lives. Our goal is to allow God's word to be alive and relevant in today's society.
Keep in mind that we are still committed to sharing the Hope of Christ, so at the close of each service, we will allow time for a response to the Holy Spirit. During our time of invitation, we will begin to sing and those that have a desire to come and pray or those that need to speak to the Pastor are encouraged to do so during this time.
After the response time, if you would like to spend a few minutes getting to know some of us, we will head back to the fellowship hall for a short time of fellowship and encouragement before we leave and we would love to have you come back and see us.
We hope this helps you get a better image of The Journey service and we hope to see you soon. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us by clicking here.
