What to expect...
Church .. at Bryant & Stratton? I know - it's not easy visiting a new church for the first time. Sometimes you feel like a nonmember visiting a country club. Do I belong here? Will the people be unfriendly, or too friendly? Will my kids enjoy it? How should I dress? Will it be easy to leave if I don't enjoy it? So many questions-- why is finding a church so hard?
Hi- I'm Rick Myles, part of the pastoral team at Crossroads. When God led us to start this church, we desired to make visiting CBF an enjoyable experience, easy, stress-free, relaxing. If I were visiting a new church for the first time, I'd like to know what to expect, so here's a brief overview.
When you arrive at Crossroads (at the Bryant & Stratton Training Center in Frontier Commons on Jefferson Road (Behind the big Perkins flag). It is just down the road from the Holidome and Krispy Kreme. When you arrive for our 11:00 am services, you can drive to the back of the Frontier Commons, park in the back parking lot and use the South entrance. We have many signs with our logo to help you find your way.
At the front door, there should be some friendly people (we call them "greeters") to say hello, answer any questions you have, and direct you to our meeting room in the hotel. If you have kids, they can point you to where our Sunday School classes and nursery meet(which are also well-marked with clear signs). If your kids are shy, they're welcome to attend the service with you, but most kids really enjoy the kids' programs for pre-k through 12th grade. Feel free to bring your child to our nursery, where one of our helpful staff will be waiting to provide a great environment for your toddler or young child. I have three young children myself, so I know how important it is for kids to enjoy church.
You'll notice that everyone is dressed comfortably, in anything from "business casual" to jeans or shorts and sneakers. You'll notice that the ushers and Sunday school teachers have nametags so that you can remember them easier. If you arrive early, you're welcome to pick up a cup of coffee (just inside our meeting room) or browse through information in at one of the information tables..
When you come into the auditorium, you'll be given a copy of "The Bulletin" which has the week's announcements and an agenda for the day's service. You'll find an outline for the sermon (we usually call it "the message"), with room to make notes if you like. You'll notice the Bulletin has a "comment card", which is an easy way for us to get better acquainted; you can ask for any kind of information or assistance using the "comment card". As our guest, you can also request a free Bible or video on the life of Jesus.
The service usually begins with some upbeat music, followed by a welcome and introduction to the theme of the day's service. Often, there will be a drama or multimedia to further explore that theme. Then we'll invite the children to attend their classes and one of our leadership team will begin the message. We usually speak for about 30 minutes, and strive to make the messages interesting, enjoyable, and relevant to daily life. The message will be based on the Bible, and we will often include interesting personal stories and examples that we hope will provide solid answers to your questions, and solid advice from the Bible to live by. A prayer and song will follow the message, and we'll close the message in about 60-70 minutes after we started.
One thing you may notice is that we don't pass an offering basket. There's no trick, we want you to feel welcome as our guest, with no pressure to give. We do hope you'll drop off your "comment card" in the box on the back table, so that we can provide you with any information or assistance that you may need.
After the service, you'll pick up your kids from their classrooms, and then we hope you'll stay around, meet some people and enjoy some refreshments. Church is about experiencing God and worship, but it's also about experiencing community and friendship, so we hope people really experience warmth and friendliness at Crossroads.
That's about it. I hope you'll stop by this Sunday. And if you do, please come over and say hi, and tell me that you found out about Crossroads on the web.
Thanks for visiting us online - Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions you may have.
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