Our Beliefs

We want to encourage an atmosphere of love and compassion for all individuals, just as Christ did while assisting one another in our Christian walk. Our desire is to create a warm and caring environment that provides counsel and guidance as we encounter the difficulties of life. An atmosphere that recognizes we are all sinners and we rely totally on Christ for our salvation.

We invite you to come and be part of a congregation that emphasizes spiritual growth and development in an environment of love and fellowship for one another. A place where we understand that social relationships can strengthen the bond of Christian fellowship.

We are committed to developing leaders that are spiritually minded with servant attitudes. Leaders with a desire to teach and evangelize, but those who also have compassion for others and can counsel and encourage those who are struggling.

What To Expect:

We are inviting you to come worship with us. We believe in worship of God and we believe that our worship services can change your life and help you to fall in love with Jesus and fall at the feet of God.

So, to be fair, if we invite you you need to know what to expect. Feel free to sit anywhere, there are no reserved seats, and park right up front in our visitor parking. Our style of worship is simple, patterned after the examples and teachings of the earliest Christians in the New Testament.

We want our services to be moving, unique (not a repeat of the same thing week after week), engaging and uplifting (John 4:24) – but MORE than all of that want them to be true to God who is the Author of Truth (John 17:17) and the Way of Truth (John 14:6).

• First off, we want you to know that you will be greeted and welcomed as soon as you approach the building! Test us on that. We positively love guests. People mean the world to God and therefore to us as we strive to be His People.

• We believe God has told us what to do and that our worship times must be “in truth” (John 4:24).

• Dress: You’ll see a wide variety of attire at our worship services. We believe that the most important clothing you wear is internal (Colossians 3:12) – compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Most of the women here either will wear a pants or a dress. Most of our men don’t wear suits, though a few might. We’d want you to dress modestly but outside of that it is more important to us that you are here than what you wear.

• SINGING: Probably the most noticeable thing that many will see is that our worship in song is without instrumental accompaniment. That means in the style of the church. It means we praise God and edify one another through a cappella (non-instrumental) singing (Colossians 3:16). We sing to praise God and to exhort and encourage one another. (Ephesians 5:19). And, everyone is invited to sing! God is more interested in hearing praise than the quality of your voice. We believe that a cappella congregational singing both enhances our personal involvement in the worship, and conforms to the New Testament example.

• THE LORD’S SUPPER: You’ll also notice that on every Sunday we assemble to observe the Lord’s Supper, a memorial established by Jesus Himself to commemorate His death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). We celebrate the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. This is a focal point of our services as we worship the Lord and show our thanks to Him. The first century church celebrated this observance on the first day of every week (Acts 20:7). During this memorial, plates containing pieces of unleavened bread will be passed throughout the congregation. The bread symbolizes the body of Jesus. Each participating person will break off a piece of the bread and eat it. Next, trays filled with small cups will contain “fruit of the vine,” usually grape juice, symbolizing the blood of Jesus. Each participant will drink the contents of one of the cups. We leave to each person the decision to participate in the Supper. If you choose not to participate, don’t be embarrassed. Feel free to just pass the plate or tray to the person next to you.

• GIVING/OFFERING: In our Sunday assembly, our members give. This is the means by which our members make their weekly contributions in support of our ministries. Occasionally, we will also take a collection for special needs in our community or throughout the world. As our guest you are welcome but not expected to make a donation (I Corinthians 16:1-2; II Corinthians 9:7).

• PRAYER: We are a praying people. There will be several prayers offered in every service as we depend on and truth and want to thank God. We offer prayers of supplication and thanksgiving (1 Timothy 2:1-8; Acts 2:42; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). If you have a specific prayer request let us know and we will try to include it.

• PREACHING: You will notice that the preacher doesn’t have a title such as Pastor or Reverend. He will probably be referred to as brother, mister, or, just called by his first name. He won’t be wearing any ecclesiastical vestments (special robes), which set him apart. The reason for this is our belief in the priesthood of all believers. We affirm that all believers are equal in God’s sight. The sermon is the time when the “good news” of God’s love and Jesus’ redemptive life is proclaimed and applied to our lives today. We want our preachers/speakers to work hard at applying the ancient Word to our lives today. It is his job to preach the Word (2 Timothy 4). We believe you will find it encouraging, relevant and Bible-centered.

  • Invitation: At the close of some sermons, the preacher will “extend an invitation.” The preacher will encourage those who wish to “respond” to come to the front of the auditorium, while the congregation sings a hymn. This is not a time to feel uncomfortable; no one will be singled out in any way. There may be several who respond, or there may be none. Some may respond for baptism. Some may confess sins. Some may ask for prayer for a specific need. Some may want to “identify” or “place membership” with this church. If anyone responds for baptism, you will witness the baptism during this service. The baptism will be by immersion and for the remission of sin.

A couple of other things you might want to know:

• We offer Bible Classes for all ages. All of these classes are Bible based and their purpose is to help individuals gain a better knowledge of the Bible and its practical application to one’s life.

• We simply ask that you “Come and see.” (John 1:46). Be our guest for a few weeks – observe, ask questions, get acquainted, and prayerfully consider the things that you see and hear. We look forward to seeing you at the Pottsville Church of Christ!