Welcome To Our Worship Services!
If you are a first time visitor, we want you to feel both welcome and comfortable. If you are attending with us for the first time, you may notice several things that seem unusual. We will address them here, but we also understand that God's people can express their worship to Him in many different ways. You are under no obligation to participate in any part of the service any more than you are personally comfortable with.
Come on in!
When you first arrive at one of our worship services, something that may startle you may be how we still practice the Biblical greeting of a holy kiss. As you spend some time with us, you will realize that there is nothing sensual about this, but rather that it is a sign of affection and Christian love between God's people. For the sake of propriety, we have chosen to limit this salutation by exchanging it only from brother to brother, and from sister to sister. We understand that most churches no longer practice this particular greeting, and visitors are not expected to engage in this. Instead, we will greet you with a handshake and a smile.
Services begin at 1030am, so feel free to find a seat anywhere you are comfortable. Extra hymnbooks are usually available near the back, don't hesitate to ask for one or two to use during the service! And we traditionally use the King James Version of our Bible, but please feel free to use whichever version you may have brought along. Our ministers and deacons will sit around a table at the front of the room, and older men and women tend to sit on separate sides near the front, while younger families generally sit together and toward the rear, so you are certainly welcome to sit together with your friends or family.
Sing and pray with us!
Services will begin with one of the ministers calling out a hymn number. Someone will start the hymn to a particular tune and the congregation will sing it together while latecomers straggle in. There may be one or two hymns at the beginning and all of our singing is done acappella (without musical instruments); you are welcome to sing along if you are comfortable. Some of our ministers still use our traditional practice of reading each verse before we sing it; this is called "lining" the hymn, and has been carried down from our early days when not all members could read or afford a hymnbook. After this hymn, the brother who will deliver the sermon later usually rises to his feet and reads an Old Testament chapter, followed by another brother who will ask for a hymn to be sung, after which he will then spend fifteen or twenty minutes offering some comments on a subject or Scripture passage.
At this point, the brother will invite us to join him as he offers a prayer. Our tradition is to kneel with our faces toward the back of our chairs, but if you are not comfortable with this, it is completely acceptable to remain in your seat and nobody will be bothered in the least. After the brother concludes his prayer, another brother will offer the Lord's Prayer, and when he concludes, all will rise and take their seats again.
Hear the Word!
After prayer is concluded and everyone has taken their seats, the minister who will preach the main sermon invites another brother to stand and read the text chapter. After this, the minister will rise and deliver a sermon based on the Scriptures for the next hour or so. He will also usually invite the congregation to sing one or two songs during this time.
After the sermon has been concluded, another brother will rise to his feet and offer a few words of testimony regarding the sermon, and some of the lessons or thoughts he gleaned from it. After offering another hymn, this brother will invite teh congregation to kneel for prayer, which will again be concluded by the Lord's prayer.
Due to the distance between our members, the Shenandoah congregatin currently hold s a carry-in meal each Sunday after services. After a minister makes any pertinent announcements, he will invite some brother (usually in the congregation) to choose a short hymn and offer a prayer for lunch, after which all are dismissed. Visitors are always welcome to stay for lunch and get to know folks, and there is no obligation to bring any food. We generally have more than enough!
Shenandoah
Old German Baptist Brethren - New Conference
O magnify the Lord with me! Let us exalt His name together! Psalm 34:3
