Nothing is required of you when you visit us. You walk in, someone shakes your hand and says they are glad you came, you sit wherever you like, and you are free to watch everything. While we will ask you to fill out a visitors card (or scan a QR code), there is no check-in, no registration, no visitor badge, and no moment where the room turns to look at you. Two passages shape how we handle a first visit, and we would rather show you those than just assure you. Here is the whole morning, with the texts behind it.
Romans 15:7, Which Is Why Someone Is at the Door
The building is probably plainer than you expect, and you can park anywhere since nothing is assigned. At the door you will usually find a member or two greeting people. What happens is a handshake, a welcome, and maybe a “first time with us?” That is not a trap; it usually means someone is offering to help you find a seat.
We take the tone of that moment from Paul: “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (). The measure there is not politeness, it is the way Christ received us. The door is where you should feel it first.
Where You Sit, and What Is in the Pew
Sit anywhere. We keep no reserved pews, no members-only rows, and no visitor section. People near you will likely introduce themselves before things start, and it will be ordinary conversation, names and a welcome, not an interview about your soul.
You will see Bibles everywhere. Bring yours in any translation, or use one of ours from the rack. Songbooks are in the racks, and if there are announcements they will be on a screen or a printed sheet and will mean very little to you the first time. That is fine.
1 Corinthians 14:40, Which Is Why the Hour Looks the Way It Does
Paul told the Corinthians, “But all things should be done decently and in order” (), and that verse is the reason our assembly is simple and predictable rather than elaborate. Week to week our worship includes singing, prayer, the Lord’s Supper, preaching, and a collection for the members to contribute to help needy people among our members and for spreading the good news about Jesus.
Our singing is the whole congregation at once, without instruments, and you are welcome to join or just listen. One man leads each prayer while the rest of us follow silently. For the Lord’s Supper, you can pick up a small cup in the lobby as you walk in; it holds both the bread and the fruit of the vine. You are free to take part or simply sit quietly, and nobody watches what you do. Our preaching is done straight from an open Bible, and we put the passages on the screen or read them out so you can weigh them as we go.
The Invitation, and Why Staying Seated Is Normal
We want to be plain about this one, because it is the part guests worry about. No one here will single you out and ask you to stand, speak, raise a hand, or come to the front. Toward the end of the sermon we offer what is commonly called the invitation, a moment when anyone who has decided to act on the preaching may come forward. Most of the room stays seated. That is completely normal, and it is what we would expect a first-time visitor to do. Sometimes the entire group is asked to stand for a song or a prayer, but none of this is meant to single anyone out.
How Long We Go, and What Happens After
Worship tends to last about an hour and 15 minutes. Our Bible classes are a separate gathering, and you are welcome at either or both. Nobody will mind if you come for worship only.
After the closing prayer people stay and visit, and more than one of us will come find you to say we are glad you came. You can stay and visit or slip out; both are normal here every Sunday. Someone might ask for a way to keep in touch, and turning that down is met with the same warmth as handing over a number.
Our congregation answers to no headquarters or governing body, so we can only tell you about Decker Prairie. What we have described is generally how worship takes place at the Decker Prairie church of Christ.
Come Study the Bible With Us
You were made for a life of real purpose, and that rarely starts with certainty. It usually starts with walking in once. We would be glad to have you, and gladder still to open the Bible with you afterward, at your pace, alongside a church family happy you came.
Plan your visit, and you will be right at home.
Want to know what the Bible says about being saved? Start here.
When we meet:
- Sunday: Worship 10:00 am · Bible Class 5:00 pm
- Wednesday: Bible Class 7:30 pm
