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We fully understand that if you haven't been to church before, it can be
rather scary going for the first time, especially on your own!
In order to help you know what to expect, we thought that we give you an overview of our worship experience. There are also pictures of the outside and inside of the church. If you are still nervous after reading this, why not
e-mail us (we can arrange
for someone to come with you for your first visit) or contact our church office
at 256-828-4479.
To begin with, you need to how to find our church. Visit our
location page to view directions and maps to our church. Once you arrive please feel free to park in our guest parking lot which is located right in front of the main entrance door on the Hunt Drive side of the church. If you are coming to a church service, information about the times and type of services can be found in the right column of this page.
When you have parked, you will see the main church doors on the side of the
building. When you come into the building, someone will greet you and offer to help you find a small group class if it is during our Sunday School time or give you a copy of our weekly bulletin if you have come for one of our worship services.
At First Baptist Church, we have two different events happening on Sunday morning. At 9:15 we have a time of small group Bible Studies and at 10:30 we have our primary worship service. Dress is always casual. You will find that our congregation wears anything from suits to shorts. You are welcome in whatever you feel like wearing.
Sunday School-Small Groups If you have children with you they can, of course, stay with you, if you prefer. However, we do have small group classes for all ages. Our nursery (ages 0-2) is located just off of the main foyer (straight ahead as you enter the main doors). Our preschool (ages 3-5), children's (first-sixth grade), and youth (seventh-twelfth grade) departments are located in the educational building
(turn right as you come into the main doors and follow the hallway to the educational building). There will be greeters available to help you find the small group that is just right for you.
Worship Service At 10:30 we meet in the main sanctuary (take a left as you enter the foyer through the main doors) for our main worship service. If you have children, they are welcome to attend or worship service with you, or they may attend the nursery (Birth - 2), Little Kid's Time with God (ages 3-5), or Kid's Time with God (K-3rd grade). We also have a "Cry Room" located to your left immediately before you enter the sanctuary. In this room, you can view and listen to the service in a separate room. The cry room has an adjoined changing room and restroom facilities for your convenience. As you enter the sanctuary, an usher will hand you an order of worship. This is similar to a program that would be received at a theatre. It simply lists an outline of the service, a few announcements and contact information. Please feel free to sit anywhere you like. If you need special assistance for any reason please ask anyone that has on a name tag.
We typically include the following items in our worship service.
- Congregational Singing
- Greeting and Fellowship Time
- Offering
- Solo or Choir Singing
- Prayer Time
- Message
- Invitation
Congregational Singing This is the time that we offer praise and worship to God. Some of the songs will be sung by the congregation and some will be sung by individuals, small groups or our church choir. Instrumental accompaniment is normally provided by live instruments (piano, keyboard, guitars, etc.) or by prerecorded audio. The words for the songs we sing are provided via a modern overhead projector. We usually stand as we sing. If you are not sure what to do, just follow everyone else or, if you prefer, you can just remain seated throughout the service. You are under no obligation to join in any of the singing or even to like the music. We know we don't all have the same musical tastes and we don't expect you to either.
Greeting and Fellowship Time During this time we will recognize first time visitors by asking you to remain seated while the congregation stands. This helps to recognize you and welcome you to our service. An usher will provide you with an information card that we ask that you fill out. This helps us to keep a record of who visits so that we
can let you know of ministries and activities that our church offers.
Offering You are not expected to contribute to the work of the church (that's our responsibility), so don't feel embarrassed to pass the collection bag on without putting anything in it. Many church members contribute on alternate weeks, so you won't be the only one just passing the plate on.
Solo or Choir Singing We usually have two or three songs that are sung by our church choir or individual members of our church. The congregation usually remains seated during this time.
Prayer Time We pray together as a congregation several times during the worship service. Each of these prayers are led by a member of our church or one of our staff. Under no circumstances will you be asked to pray out loud.
Message Each week a sermon is preached by our
senior pastor. This message is a time of teaching our congregation how a specific passage from the Bible applies to our lives. The sermon outline can be found in your bulletin, and is projected on the screens in the front of the sanctuary.
Invitation Our worship service closes with an invitation. This is a time where people in the congregation may want to discuss personal issues or decisions with the pastor. We usually sing a congregational song or have instrumental music during this time. If you would like to talk to the pastor during this time, you are welcome to do so. He will also be available after the service if you have any questions.
Evening Worship Service We also have a second worship service on Sunday evenings. The format for this service is very similar to the morning service. It is a little more casual and informal and will have about half as many people. During some of the evening services we celebrate communion. This involves eating a small piece of bread and drinking a
little glass of red grape juice. This is done by Christian believers in memory of the death and resurrection of Jesus. However, just let this pass by you without any embarrassment. You will probably not be the only one to do so.
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