Thinking of Visiting?  We’d love to meet you!

Our goal is for every person who comes to our church for any service to feel connected to God and welcomed by people. We hope your visit with us is a time when you can relate to God and be touched by His power, and we also want you to be able to meet some people who really care for you.

What to Expect When You Visit
We have been to new churches before, and we know how easy it is to feel uninformed about what is happening, disconnected from the service, and alienated from the people. We hope that none of that happens when you visit us! Here is some information that might give you a better idea of what to expect when you visit for the first time. Although we do not have a strict order of worship, the meeting usually lasts one hour and a half and incorporates the components described below.

Praise and Worship
The first half of the meeting is devoted to praise and worship. During this time we have a band that leads us in singing and lifting our hearts to praise and worship Jesus. We encourage people to worship with all of their hearts, minds, emotions and bodies. This is truly a time to connect with Jesus and experience his love and power in your life.

The “Call Forward”
If you’ve never been in a church like ours before, this may seem a little odd to you; but really the call forward is a very special time for individuals to come forward and receive individualized prayer for needs in their lives. Often we will give specific needs that we feel God is highlighting that day (for instance, people who need direction in life), but we are always open to anyone coming up for prayer with any need. Feel free to come up even if it is your first time here. We’d love to pray with you. Sometimes there will be a call forward during the service, if not, prayer ministers are available to pray with you after the service.

Communion
Depending on your religious background, you may be used to this being called “The Lord’s Supper.” Either way, this is a very special and sacred time of the meeting where we encourage people who are Christians to “take Communion.” Communion is a very rich and holy event in which we eat some bread (or crackers) and drink some grape juice (some churches use wine) to connect with Jesus in a profound way. During communion we remember that Jesus died for us to save us from sin. We are also receiving in our lives the forgiveness of our sins and healing from the pain and struggle (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) that sin causes in our lives. If you are not a Christian, we would advise that you not take Communion and instead talk to a leader about what Christianity is all about.

Announcements
This is pretty self-explanatory. We take a little time in each meeting to announce upcoming events in the church. If you see anything that interests you, we encourage you to try it out! There are lots of ways to get to know people in the church and many opportunities to make a difference in our communities.

Teaching
The teaching time is set aside each week for one of our many gifted teachers to stir our hearts, stimulate our minds and motivate our wills. All of our teaching is founded on the truth of the Bible. Our goal in teaching is not simply to inform us of this truth, but to help us learn how the truth in the Bible can apply in a relevant way to our lives today. Our hope is that people will be encouraged, challenged and even transformed by the teaching each week.

Getting to Know People after the Meeting
After the meeting is over we encourage you to stick around for a while! Often we have meals to raise money for mission trips, and if you are here for your first time – you can eat for free! So join us! Feel welcome to hang out and to get to know some people and even to ask some questions.

What About Children?
Here at VCF we love kids! While many churches will separate the children from the “real” adult service as soon as the meeting begins, we feel that having our children with us during worship enhances our worship experience. We love the energy and excitement that the kids add to our time of singing and celebration. We also strive to make our children’s ministry, called “Kid’s of the Kingdom,” a fun-filled, meaningful time of learning about Jesus and growing closer to Him. We accomplish this goal in two ways – small group time and large group time.

In small groups, kids will get a chance to eat a yummy snack, make a creative craft that enhances the lesson of the week, and get a chance to make some new friends. During large group time, the kids will enjoy a puppet show, skits, games and a lesson that highlights the theme of the week.

Each teacher is screened and trained to work with children and we strive to make the classroom a healthy and warm environment. When the announcement is made for children to head to children’s ministry, feel free to escort your child/children to the atrium and someone will meet you to help you find the right classroom.

Schedule for the Kids:
Worship with your family
Children go to children’s ministry
Small Group Time
Large Group Time
Church ends

The Next Step
After you have been here a few times and are thinking you might like to make this your church, we encourage you to participate in our Newcomer’s Community Group. This group is led by senior pastors Bruce and Lynn Latshaw and meets for several weeks. It is a wonderful opportunity to get to know them and other folks who are new (or fairly new) to the church.

Read More About Us
Read about our Staff and our History, Vision, and Beliefs.  And, by all means, click this Location link and come visit us.