I'm new - what should I expect?
(More detailed version)
We know it can sometimes be scary to visit a new church – especially if you’ve never really been to church before – so we’ve written this brief guide to what you can expect.
Our services are informal and friendly, with a ‘family’ feel to them. People in the church are used to introducing themselves to visitors, so we hope that you'll be greeted by a friendly face as you arrive, and made to feel part of the family very quickly.
What should I wear?
There’s no dress-code, so people come in comfortable and smart casual clothes, just what you might wear out and about in everyday life. You don’t have to wear anything special or feel like you need to dress up in your “Sunday Best”. We believe that God wants to meet us as we actually are – not as we feel we should be!
WHERE IS IT?
We hold our Sunday services in the Town Hall on Queen’s Gardens in St. Andrews at 10:10am.
Before the service
We begin to gather from 10:10am in the upstairs hall to have the opportunity to catch up with or meet for the first time members of the church over some coffee and doughnuts. The service begins at 10:30am and we are normally finished by 12pm at the latest.
What do the children and young people do?
Children and youth are really welcome, and we consider them full members of our church. Our youth are encouraged to engage in the service alongside their weekly Friday night gatherings. You can find more information on that here. Our kids are invited to remain with parents for part of worship and then they are welcomed to join our kids leaders to engage with the Bible through craft and activities.
During the service
At about 10:25am, someone will encourage us to find a seat, as we’re about to begin the service.
At 10:30am we begin with one of the leaders grabbing a microphone and welcoming everyone, and then inviting people to stand to sing worship songs.
We really value honest, heartfelt worship, and we use contemporary songs in an extended time of music and singing at the beginning of the service (usually around 25 minutes long). The words for all of the songs are projected onto a screen at the front of the church, so we can read them together as we sing. There is no need to learn them by heart!
After sung worship, people are invited to take their seats, and the leader will let the church know about any news or upcoming events, and there will be an opportunity to give financially to the work of the church. Guests are not expected to give, so feel free to skip over this if you would like to. Members of the church are expected to have a lifestyle of giving to God, in response to His love for us.
Next, our preacher for the morning is invited to get up and speak to the church. We really value the Bible, and having Bible passages explored and explained in a way that brings God’s message to humanity to life, and so the preaching you’ll hear at Kingdom Vineyard is designed to help each of us to get to know God better for ourselves (you can check out messages from our Sunday mornings here). Some people bring Bibles to church with them (or use Bible apps on their phones) to read along with the Bible passage being talked about that morning, but we also put the words on the screen, so you can read along there.
After the preacher's talk, the church is invited to stand up again, the worship band will get back to play and then we move into a time of what we call prayer ministry. This is when anyone in the church is invited to come forward to the front if they’d like to respond to anything that was said or would like prayer for anything at all.
What happens is 1 or 2 members of our homegroups will come stand beside you, introduce themselves and ask what it is you would like prayer for. They’ll ask if they can put a hand on your shoulder and then pray for you.
Finally, the service leader will close the service with a prayer and we’ll finish by 12pm. Following the service more coffee and doughnuts are served.