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Frequently Asked Questions1.How large is the congregation? 1. How large is the congregation?
We
are currently (in ’09) a small fellowship, with 30-40 participants. We
are praying that God will entrust us with others to serve and
minister
to. 2. On your building it says “Disciples of Christ.” Are you part of a denomination?
We
are an autonomous congregation with close fellowship ties to other
Christian Churches.
While in some denominations many major decisions are made by
officials in
the organizational hierarchy, it is not so with the Disciples of
Christ. Our local members
make all congregational and financial decisions. We pay no “dues”
to any organizational
entity, and we only support projects and missions that are consistent
with our
own congregation’s values. 3. Who owns your church building?
We
do...the local Linden Street Christian Church congregation. It doesn’t belong to the
Disciples of Christ denomination. 4. What does your church believe? We hold conservative beliefs. The Disciples of Christ arose from a movement called the Restoration Movement at the beginning the 19th century in America. One of the slogans that formed our movement was, “No Creed but Christ, no book but the Bible, no name but the divine.” We have no catechism or book of doctrine or official confession, but the following expresses our consensus here.
5. What is the leadership structure in the church? Just this year (in ’09) we have re-established a church ministry system. While all decisions are currently made by congregational consensus, we have elected 3 Elders and and several Deacons and Deaconesses. Our system has a built-in attendance trigger point at which everyone understands that decisions will be deferred to the Elders, who will make final decisions with congregational input. Deacons and Deaconesses are not part of a decision-making body (except as part of the congregation), and understand that it is their role to serve the needs of the church, whatever they might be. 6. What will my experience be like if I attend worship at your church? You will likely be greeted warmly by several of our worshipers, and most likely by me, the minister. But you will not be overwhelmed, overhugged, over-handshook, over-introduced, or otherwise be made the center of attention. You will not be asked to stand and be applauded, and no appointments will be made for anyone to come call on you unless you ask. We want you to feel in control of your experience with us, and on that basis make the decision whether or not to return. We’re just going to be glad you came.
Our
worship service is simple and easy to participate in. We have no
worship band, and our
sound system is never loud. (You barely need one in our worship
area.) We sing, we pray
for needs that we are aware of, and the sermon is always from a Bible
passage. We take
communion each Sunday and it is open to all who consider Jesus to be
their Savior, with
no questions asked and no eyebrows raised. The offering plates are
passed each Sunday,
but we do not expect our guests to give, so there is no need to feel
obligated. 7. What programs for youth and children do you have? Due to our small size, our youth and children’s programs have been on an as-needed basis. We feel that may change as we are faithful. We have regular Sunday school classes for grades 3rd through 6th. We are prepared with facility and program to accommodate all ages on short notice as God brings them to our door and there is a need. 8. Do you have a mid-week service? Yes. We have a regular Bible study each Wednesday night at 7:00 PM.
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