1. Following the pattern of the New Testament, the church comes together regularly on the first day of each week. This is known in Scripture as the Lord’s Day, the day Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave. We do not, however, see it as any type of sabbath day. Every day is a holy day under the New Covenant (Heb 4, Col 2:16 - 17, Ga 4:8 - 11).
2. Our dress code is casual and comfortable. Nobody wears a tie. Both the ladies and guys are encouraged to dress comfortably, but modestly. Children usually end up playing outside after the meeting and therefore wear play clothes and shoes. Getting dirty is not uncommon for the kids.
3. The meeting itself is spontaneous and participatory as is found in 1 Corinthians 14:25. Nothing is pre-planned except the day we meet and of course the meals being prepared to share. Sometimes we sing a lot, sometimes not much at all. On one Lord's Day some brothers may teach, while on other weeks no one will teach. Sometimes we pray a long time, sometimes very little. Any of the brothers may participate verbally, but everything said must be designed to edify the whole church (14:26). Only one person at a time is allowed to address the assembly, and everything is to be done in a fitting and orderly way. All teaching and prophecies are liable to public cross examination and judgment. Further, there is no moderator nor emcee per se. In fact, unless there is a problem to correct, you would not even know who our leaders are. Ladies do not speak out or pray publicly in the 1 Corinthians 14 phase of the meeting (look up 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 and you’ll see what this is based on). In contrast, the ladies do speak quite a bit during the fellowship of the Lord’s Supper.
4. The children stay with us in the meeting, though if a really young child gets noisy one of his parents will take him out until he calms down. If you have young children you may wish to bring along something to keep them happy, such as a drawing pad and crayons or quiet toys. The children usually sit on the floor next to their parents. We believe it is the parent’s job, not the church’s, to teach their children about Jesus. Thus, we purposely have no Sunday school nor children’s church.
5. The Lord’s Supper is an integral part of our gathering. Actually, it is the main reason we come together each week. We eat it as a full meal per 1 Corinthians 11b. It is potluck with everyone bringing something to share with the rest. We believe it is to be a true meal to typify the wedding banquet of the Lamb. It’s a great time of fellowship and encouragement and very much like a wedding party rather than a funeral. During the meal, the head of each household serves bread and juice/wine, representing the body and blood of our Lord, to the members of his household who have made a profession of faith. We believe it was originally designed to remind Jesus of His promise to return and partake of the meal again with His people. There is not an official ending time. Just leave after you have dined and enjoyed sufficient fellowship!
6. In short, we believe that the patterns for church life evident in the New Testament are not merely descriptive, but are actually prescriptive (2Th 2:15, 1Co 11:2). Thus, we believe in home-based and home-sized fellowships, interactive meetings, and that the Lord’s Supper be a weekly event. You may find it helpful to read through 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 and 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 before coming.