What will Providence Presbyterian Church be like?

This past Sunday we hosted the last of three informational meetings for Providence Presbyterian Church.

In this third meeting, Jake shared the vision for the church plant, including what Sunday worship will be like, how we hope to foster community and fellowship among those in the body of Christ, and our plans for outreach and evangelism. Below are his notes from the meeting.

Centered on the Ordinary Means of Grace

Luke records that the early church in Acts 2 “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Notice the centrality of preaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer.

First and foremost, this is a God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, Biblical, Christian Church. I want to center the ministry of Providence Presbyterian Church around that text.

Preaching and Teaching

Worship is centered around the preaching of God’s Word. But on a fundamental level, I don’t think you can separate discipleship from education. Teaching and learning are major components to becoming more Christ-like. Preaching and teaching is how we grow spiritually. That’s my prayer for each one of us here - that through the ministry of Providence Presbyterian Church we’ll all grow spiritually!

Prayer

Prayer is another central component of Christianity. Admittedly, prayer is difficult. A pastor once remarked to me, “Is any Christian proud of their prayer life?” It’s true and yet it’s critical that we cast our cares upon the Lord. It’s a lost spiritual discipline in so many churches. I want us to lift one another up in prayer. I want Providence to be a praying church.

The Sacraments (Lord’s Supper/Baptism)

When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper he said, “This is my body broken for you. This is my blood poured out for you.” I believe that the Lord Jesus is spiritually present in the elements of the Lord’s Supper. I believe that our souls receive spiritual nourishment when we eat the bread and drink the cup. There is an aspect of remembering what Jesus has done for us on the cross, but it’s more than that. Our souls are fed through the Lord’s Supper. It’s because of that view that I’m committed to observing the Lord’s Supper weekly. If we believe there is a spiritual benefit, why would we limit the frequency?

In a similar fashion, baptism will be an exciting and integral component of worship. It will be a wonderful opportunity to see how God is growing the church through families, but it will also be an exciting time to see people come to saving faith as well.

Fellowship

Next, I want Providence to be a church where we anticipate and look forward to going to church and gathering together because we want to be around each other. Fellowship is hard because the best fellowship is organic. It comes naturally.

I don’t think you can force genuine fellowship, but I think it’s something that we can all pray for. That we enjoy each other. We like being around one another. We look forward to it. We’re blessed by it. The benefit of being a smaller group is that we can really get to know each other. Let me encourage you to pick a couple out and invite them over or out to eat or something. Get to know one another. Some of you already know each other, so seek out someone that you don’t know well. I want Providence Presbyterian Church to be a church that loves one another in the most authentic, genuine way.

Committed to Worship

Our worship services will be pretty formal or liturgical. We’ll have a call to worship, a confession of sin, an assurance of God’s pardoning grace, read creeds, sing to the Lord, hear a sermon, read Scripture, occasionally hear vows of membership, participate in the Lord’s Supper, see a baptism, hear a benediction. All these elements are mini gospel presentations. The idea is that the worship service presents the gospel like the waves of the ocean. That you keep being hit with the good news of Jesus Christ. That throughout the service that you’re reminded of your sin, and at the same time, immeasurable riches of mercy and grace found in Jesus Christ.

Several weeks ago, I wrote an article about worship.

Because whenever you talk about worship, people want to immediately jump to music style. Will it have a contemporary or traditional style? If I was going to describe the music style I envision for Providence Presbyterian Church, I’d call it angelic. We’ll predominantly sing hymns and we’ll have a pianist, a violinist, and perhaps a cellist or trumpet. I’m actively looking for musicians right now.

But I really don’t like talking about music style because it implies that God is indifferent to how we worship; that worship music is a buffet and we get to pick and choose. “I like contemporary so that’s what I choose” or vice versa. There’s no Biblical criteria, it’s just whatever we feel like.

But that mentality runs contrary to God’s Word. God cares not just that he is worshiped but the manner in which he’s worshiped. Nadab and Abihu were struck down for offering strange fire to God. God cares about both your heart and the manner in which you worship. Reverent, God-glorifying worship is what we’re going to strive for.

The first criteria should be Word-saturated lyrics. It’s sad to say, but that right there eliminates a lot of so-called “Christian music” or “worship music.” There is a way to ensure you’re singing Word-saturated music, and it’s by using a hymnal. I’m planning on having us sing predominantly from the Trinity Psalter Hymnal. With that said, there are some wonderful modern hymns that are being produced that are certainly God-glorifying. Keith and Kristin Getty write a lot of wonderful music that I’d have no issue singing in worship.

Secondly, the music should encourage and promote congregational singing.

Again, the church is a worshiping community. We’re worshiping a holy God together. And when it’s done well, it’s beautiful. I’m all for having folks accompany and aid our worship. But we shouldn’t be watching a group of people on stage worship for us.

As a side note, Biblical worship is not in competition with secular music. I don’t think our worship music should sound or look like a John Mayer, Lynyrd Skynyrd, or Bob Dylan concert. And this is coming from someone that loves music. It’s instantly a losing battle anytime Christian worship music attempts to compete with secular music. Sunday morning worship is a different category. It’s worship devoted to a holy God. Worship is not a baptized version of John Mayer, Lyrnrd Synryd, or Bob Dylan. There is a distinction between the sacred and secular. God says in Leviticus 10, “You are to distinguish between the holy and the common.”

Isn’t that the point of the tabernacle, the temple, and the New Testament Church? To gather for a time of focused, concentrated, God-honoring worship? Yes, our entire lives are an act of worship, but there is also a specific time of concentrated worship to God as well.

Sunday worship is a different category.

Focus on Sunday mornings (and evenings, too!)

Worship is everything for a church, which is why I want this to be a point of emphasis for Providence. I’d like for us to eventually have morning and evening worship services.

Now before everyone gets their tomatoes out to pelt me with, let me give me rationale. In fact, I’m going to read something that perfectly captures my sentiment. It’s written by a pastor named Paul Carter on the Gospel Coalition website. He’s pastored bigger churches and the essence of his article is what he would do if he was planting a church today. He wrote the following:

“I’m not a fan of Saturday evening church. I understand the logic. Some people work on Sunday mornings, some people can’t get out of bed that early – I get it. But I don’t think that Saturday evening church is an upgrade. It seems to encourage a “let’s get ‘er done” kind of attitude, particularly among the young and nominal. Church becomes a box to check – the faster the better – before getting on with the serious business of the weekend.

Whatever happened to the Lord’s Day?

I’m not being legalistic here; I don’t think it’s a sin to work on Sunday if you are poor or out of options. I just think that if you can, setting aside an entire day for worship, community, rest and fellowship is a really good idea. It is a blessing. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Most of us hear the permission in there, but we miss the opportunity. A Sabbath rest is good for man! And woman! And children! It isn’t a box to be checked, it is a blessing to be enjoyed.

Sunday evening services somehow became stuffy, obligatory and passé. I’m not interested in bringing that back. I’m thinking of something different. Something simple [and] edifying… I’m thinking a sermon, a song and the Table. I’m thinking fellowship, friendship and prayer.

If I was starting a church from scratch today, that would definitely be on the menu.”

I quote this guy only because he has never planted a church, comes from a very different background than me, and yet, we draw very similar conclusions.

I don’t think that morning and evening services are Biblically required. I’m not going to stand here and tell you that you have to go to church twice on Sunday.

But if we believe there is a spiritual benefit from hearing the preaching, partaking of the Lord’s Supper, and fellowshipping with other believers, why would we want to limit that? I want to encourage that as much as possible.

30% of evangelical Christians want more depth, which I take to mean that they want to understand the Christian faith better. They want to learn and grow spiritually, and I believe it’s my God-ordained responsibility to encourage that. I don’t want to limit that.

It’s not the Lord’s hour, it’s the Lord’s Day.

If we’re only willing to give God one hour a week, why are we surprised when professing Christians hold unbiblical views? Most of us spend more than one hour a week on Facebook, Youtube, or Netflix. I’m not trying to shame any of you - I’m preaching to myself right now as well. I spend more than one hour a week on those things. I need more time in worship and among God’s people. I need that. I want that for the people of Providence Presbyterian Church.

My position is a minority one among American Christians. I recognize that. I have church planting friends who would tell me I just committed church planting suicide by mentioning an evening service.

My prayer is that this conviction of mine – that I haven’t always held, by the way – can persuade this to be a conviction that we share. Keep in mind that by doing this, I’ll be creating more work for myself. I’m not doing myself any favors here!

But I genuinely believe that corporate worship is spiritually beneficial for God’s people. I want to give you as much of that as I possibly can.

Now keep in mind, it’s going to take a while for us to get to this point. Space and availability are limiting factors. Lord willing, if we’re able to launch on Easter, we’ll only have one service. My goal is to get there eventually. So it will be a while before this is a realistic option.

If you’re unsure or maybe uncomfortable with this, my request would be that you’d keep an open mind in regards to the evening service. Don’t reject it until you’ve given it a fair shake. I really believe that the Lord will use this in all of our lives.

A church planter friend of mine who shares this conviction told a story several months ago. He said that after an evening service a member came up to him and said, “Pastor, I think I’ve had my third conversion.” And he said, “What do you mean by that?” He said, “Well my first conversion was to Christianity obviously, my second was to reformed theology, and my third one was to the evening service. Receiving a second helping of God’s Word has done wonders for the spiritual health of my family.”

I recognize that it isn't easy. It’s not convenient.

But at the end of your life will you regret spending too much time in worship to the living God? Furthermore, for those of us who have young kids, what a beautiful message we’ll be sending them. That Mom and Dad are devoted to worshiping God and that God is a primary aspect to our lives. Isn’t that the message we want to send to our family and friends around us?

Committed to keeping families together in worship services

I’m also extremely committed to keeping families together in worship services.

Like I just mentioned, Dad and Mom and their relationship with Christ will have the greatest impact on their children. God works in and through the family. There is a ton of Scripture that supports that.

No one is going to have a greater impact on your children and their walk with God than you are. And by “you,” I mean Mom and Dad.

But that’s not all. Grandparents have an opportunity to point children to Christ. And young married couples and single folks have an opportunity to point children to Christ.

I think it's important for them to see their parents worship, but it's also important for them to see the whole body of Christ worshiping together - their brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents in the faith!

I believe that we’re robbing children of this beautiful thing that the Lord has established if we segregate them from the service.

Often more is caught than taught.

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4)

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:4-9)

Parents have a responsibility to teach their children the Christian faith and I believe removing them from the worship service is robbing both the parents and children of that opportunity.

With all that said, we will eventually have a nursery for babies 0-3 years old. But by the time a child is 4, they understand a lot. They may not understand everything that’s going on in a worship service but they understand that Dad and Mom are taking this seriously.

I’m also keenly aware that this view invites screaming children into the worship service. So, go ahead and mentally embrace that.

But here’s what’s worse than that: n hearing a child in church. That’s infinitely worse in my opinion.

We all have a unique opportunity when a child is inevitably breaking down in the middle of a worship service. Let’s not look at Dad or Mom with judging eyes; rather, let’s ask them what we can do to help them and encourage them.

Dedicated to Hospitality and Fellowship

Last but certainly not least, I want to mention that hospitality and fellowship are going to be central to Providence. The best hospitality and fellowship within the life of a church needs to begin organically.

Organic Fellowship

It’s important for the people in a church to enjoy being around each other and actually look forward to getting together. How do you foster organic fellowship? It’s hard because by definition an organic thing is something you don’t have control over. But I think there are some things you can do to encourage it.

First, everyone needs to make an effort to get to know one another. I feel like that’s happening already, which is really encouraging. Pray about taking the next step, which is having someone that you don’t know over for dinner, or out to eat, or just to hang out. It doesn't have to be elaborate.

Secondly, I think the church has a responsibility to protect the calendar. If there’s a church event every night of the week, you’re not giving folks the opportunity to first and foremost, spend time together as a family, and secondly, have people over and practice organic hospitality. I’m committed to doing my best in maintaining a healthy calendar. Maintaining a well-balanced calendar is hard, and I’m sure I won’t do it perfectly. But I’m going to do my best to balance having enough events without creating too many events.

Organized Fellowship

But regardless, the church should organize events outside of Sunday worship.

Wednesday Evenings

Eventually, I’d love for the church to center primarily around Sundays and Wednesday evenings. I’d love for Wednesdays to be a time of prayer. I envision a meal provided by the church so folks can come right after work and spend some time in prayer together. Again, I want prayer to be a major part of Providence’s DNA. I want us to be a praying church. I envision a time of Scripture memory and catechizing little children. And Lord willing, eventually have a youth ministry gather simultaneously on Wednesday evenings as well.

I’m going to do my best to avoid prayer meetings on Tuesday, youth on Wednesday, and adult Bible study on Friday, and then, church on Sunday. I want to avoid that situation.

Fellowship Groups

I’ve also been the beneficiary of small groups. I’d love for fellowship groups to take place in folks’ homes one Wednesday evening a month. The primary purpose of these would be fellowship.

In my experience, the best part of small group ministry isn’t the prayer or Bible studies. It’s almost exclusively the fellowship. It’s just a much more intimate setting. Also, in my opinion and experience, it’s hard to host a small group weekly. Even biweekly can feel like a lot. But monthly I think is the right balance.

But again, if it was on Wednesday evenings it wouldn’t be taking up an additional night of the week.

Occasional Bible Studies/Book Studies

With that said, I’m of course committed to Bible studies and book studies. Eventually, when we’re in the right space, we’ll have Sunday school. That will be a major outlet for teaching and more in depth Bible studies.

But right now, I think Bible studies and book studies are going to be an important component for us in the weeks and months ahead.

I’d like to launch corporate worship and then figure out a few Bible studies.

Additional Church Gatherings

We'll have additional gatherings for more fellowship opportunities. We'll have meals together, men can get together for a grill off or an early morning breakfast, families can meet for play dates at the park, ladies can get together for a walk on the greenway or Saturday brunch. These are simple ways to spend time together and provide opportunities to invite other people outside the church to.

Plans for Outreach and Evangelism

But obviously, we don’t want to be a church that only thinks of itself and never reaches out. We want to reach out to our community as well. And there are opportunities all around us.

Workplaces and Schools

The most obvious opportunities we have are with people we already know. Tapping into our existing relationships and inviting people into the life of the church is going to be huge for all of us.

Public schools are great opportunities and so are homeschool co-ops. I’d always assumed that Christians were the primary homeschoolers, but that’s not exactly necessarily true. People do things for a variety of reasons.

Roanoke College will be nearby, which will be another great opportunity. We sometimes wrongly assume that college students are a lost cause, but college students are sometimes the most open and receptive to the gospel.

Church Planting

I might be putting the cart in front of the horse a little bit, but I want church planting ingrained into the life of Providence. I want us to consistently send people out to start new local works in places like Botetourt, Shawsville, Vinton, Rocky Mount. I would love to cap attendance at 250 or 300 and once we’re in that range, begin to look for a group of people that live in close proximity to one another in a particular locality, and ask them to prayerfully consider beginning a new work.

All of this is a testament to our belief that the best church planting is the best vehicle for evangelism.

Foreign Missions

This is again thinking big and way out into the future, but I’d love for our foreign missions to be centered around church planting. I would love for Providence to be committed to international church planting. And so, we’d support missionaries and agencies that have similar commitments.

Again, this is long term vision.

Upcoming

So what’s the plan for the next six weeks leading up to our first worship service on Easter Sunday?

For the next six weeks, we’ll meet together for vision gatherings. These will be a time to discuss in greater detail some of the values of the church and spend time in guided prayer. We’ll pray for one another, people we know, and of course, we’ll pray that the Lord will work in and through Providence Presbyterian Church. I’ll provide a sheet for guided prayer and bring your own prayer requests as well.

3/6 - A Word-Saturated Church
3/13 - A Prayerful Church
3/20 - Family-Focused Church
3/27 - A Hospitable Church
4/3 - Church Planting Church
4/10 - Planning for our first worship service (possible preview service)