What To Expect When You Visit
We are a group of believers striving to deny ourselves (Luke 9:23),and follow in the example of Christ (John 13:15). We are committed to seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10) and serving those in need (Gal. 6:10, Eph. 2:10).
We are a group of believers who were called out of the world by the good news of the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14, 1 Cor. 15:1-4), and added to the Lord’s Church (Acts 2:36-47). We accept the Bible alone as the source of authority for all matters of doctrine and faith (2 Pet.1:3, 2 Tim.3:16-17).
The congregation of the Lord’s church at Spring Valley is an autonomous (“self-governing”) congregation with no head or leader except that of Christ (Col. 1:18). We are overseen by a plurality of elders as prescribed in the New Testament (Acts 14:23, 1 Tim. 3:1-7). Also, deacons are chosen to serve the body of Christ in various duties (1 Tim. 3:8-13) along with a minister to preach the word (Acts 20:7, 2 Tim. 4:2)
Some people might be hesitant to visit or attend a church they are not familiar with or without knowing what to expect when they get there. Hopefully this will help you understand what we are about at the Church of Christ in Spring Valley, and what our services will be like if you visit with us.
It is our intention to be identified only with Christ, His teachings, and the Biblical example of the first century Church. We strive to be known simply as Christians belonging to Christ just as the first century church was. We do not wish to be identified as any denomination or be subject to any man-made creed or spiritual ruling body other than Christ as He is the Head of His Church (Col.1:18).
There is no man or group of men who legislate for the church. We only have God to be accountable to, and it is only God that has given us His word that contains what He wants and expects of us, and it does not change. Just as the first century church, we also have no inter-congregational leadership organization. As we are given instruction in (Titus 1:5-9, 1Tim.3:1-13) we do appoint qualified men of the congregation as elders or overseers to guide the congregation or “Shepard the flock” and set proper examples(1Pet.5:1-5). We have Deacons to serve under the Elders (1 Timothy 3:8-13).
One of the men from our congregation will lead the entire assembly in singing praises to God. We have no choir, praise teams, etc., just congregational singing. We do not use any instrumental music in our song service, as we do not find any commands or examples of the Christians in the New Testament doing this in their organized worship service. We only have commands and examples to “SING” praises to God with our hearts. (Col.3:16, Eph.5:19, Heb.13:15).
Men of the congregation will lead us in prayer at different points in our services. These prayers will be for giving thanks and praise to God, and for special request of the congregation or for those in need that we may be aware of. We have an ongoing prayer list so we can remember those who request in our prayers not only in the services but in our individual prayer lives as well.
Preaching / Bible Study
The content of our preaching and Bible study will come directly from scripture. In Bible classes we may occasionally use study books or material for reference or comparison, but all our efforts are put towards learning and teaching the Truth of God’s Word which is only found in the Bible.
Just as the first century Christians in the Bible did, we take the Lords Supper each first day of the week when we gather. This consists of unleavened bread and fruit of the vine, grape juice, which represents the body and the blood that Jesus sacrificed on the cross. (Acts 20:7, Matt. 26:26)
Giving