Who Is spring Road?
Our church exists to share Jesus and serve others in our community. Read more to learn about our beliefs and get an idea of what to expect when you worship with us!
Our Beliefs
Concerning the Focus of Our Faith:
The cornerstone of our faith is Jesus Christ, who is our ultimate authority (Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 2:20). Our belief that Jesus died for our sins and that He rose from the grave to be with our Father is central to that faith.
Concerning Our Message
We believe that all people are sinners alienated from God, but by God’s grace all people have hope. Through Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, He won the ultimate victory over Satan, evil, and death and gave us the right to be children of God (Romans 8:16, John 1:12). We believe that God’s grace has been made available to all people (Titus 2:11). We believe that faith in this reality inspires us to turn our lives toward living as He has called us to live. We affirm that we have been given the mission by Jesus Christ to teach others about His salvation, His grace, and His mercy (2 Corinthians 2:14ff). We will teach that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). This faith is confirmed by becoming a true follower of Jesus Christ, repenting and being baptized (immersed) into Him, for remission of sins (Romans 6:1-4; Acts 2:38). We will teach and try to do all that Christ has commanded us to do (Matthew 28:19-20), all the time knowing that, in this life, we will never be perfect. We believe that only by our willingness to renew our minds will we be transformed by the power of God (Romans 12:1-2).
Concerning the Holy Spirit and the Bible
We believe the Bible has been preserved as the primary source of knowledge concerning Jesus, God’s nature, how to live the Christian life, and how to relate to people and to our Lord. In those matters where God’s will has been made clear, we will declare his teachings clearly. While the Bible serves as the base of our knowledge of God and His will, we also affirm that it is the Holy Spirit who helps us grow in our relationship with Jesus and in our understanding of God’s will (Ephesians 1:17ff).
Concerning the Needs of Others
Since we have been created in God’s image He expects us to be servants of all people (Mark 10:43ff). We believe that the Spring Road family is to serve everyone with the Spirit of Christ to the extent that God gives us opportunity.
Concerning Our Worship
Ultimately we believe that worship consists of a life of devotion that is established by the divine nature of God himself. Consequently, our worship is not confined to what happens when we gather together. Our worship time together is the overflow of lives spent worshipping God in daily life (Romans 12:1-2). John 4:23 says that worshippers must worship in Spirit and in Truth. The “Spirit” expresses sincere heartfelt devotion to God. The “truth” is the truth as revealed by God’s words (John 17:17), and His son (John 14:6). Publicly, we will strive for devotion and zeal that brings honor to God and strengthens the worshippers. We believe in public and private prayer as effective communication to our God. We believe that God approves of our singing to him and to one another with our voice and heart (Ephesians 5:19). We honor God and lift up Jesus in our observance of the Lord’s Supper, on the Lord’s Day. We believe in giving from the blessings of our financial resources.
Our Challenge to Each Christian
The heart of our existence as a church must always be Jesus – His life, His death, and His resurrection from the grave. All our activities, both as a congregation and as individuals, should be designed to allow God to transform us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
What To Expect
At Spring Road, we believe that Christianity, like life, is not just a Sunday morning event, but a journey. At the same time, every journey has to have a starting place. For those who are curious about Christianity in general, or our congregation in particular, Sunday morning is a great starting place. Here’s what you can expect from our Sunday Morning Worship Assembly.
Greeters
When you first enter the building, you will be greeted by some of our members who will hand you our congregation’s weekly bulletin. In this publication you will find articles, information about congregational activities, an Order of Worship for the assembly and other items depending on the week. You will also find our Prayers for the week insert. We believe deeply in prayer and are a fervently praying group of Christians.
Singing
One of the unique things you’ll notice about our congregation is that the music is a cappella (according to the chapel, in chapel style). This means that we sing without the accompaniment of musical instruments. We all sing together as our Worship Leader leads us.
We hope you will find this type of praise to be uplifting and beautiful. Please note that if our Worship Leader does not announce a song number and the song is included in our hymnal, the number appears in the Order of Worship in the bulletin and usually on the first slide of each song on the large screen.
Lord's Supper
In our assemblies on Sunday mornings, the Lord’s Supper (or Communion) will always be included. We observe this memorial of Jesus’ death and resurrection every Sunday. Someone first shares a meditation with us, words designed to help us focus on Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. Then, following prayer, plates of bread will be passed throughout the congregation. The bread symbolizes Jesus’ body that was sacrificed on the Cross. Next, following another prayer, trays of “fruit of the vine” (grape juice) will be distributed. This symbolizes the blood of Jesus.
As we take these emblems, we are reminded of God’s love for us. He sent Jesus to be sacrificed for our sins so that we can live with Him forever! We are also reminded through the Lord’s Supper that people who have been saved are called to live in community to provide support and encouragement for one another. In essence, we are a family, created by the Cross of Jesus Christ and our faith in His ability to save us. The Lord’s Supper will be passed in trays through each pew. If you choose not to participate, simply pass the plate or tray to the person next to you.
Offering
Each Sunday morning we also collect a financial offering which supports the work of the Spring Road Church. Our congregation is funded solely by these offerings and this collection is an important part of our worship to God and our time together.
While the collection plates are passed, you are welcome to place visitor cards and prayer request cards in the plate. If you are a guest, please do not feel you are expected to make an offering.
Prayers
There are usually a number of prayers led during each assembly because we believe God’s people should be in constant communication with Him. We talk to God and share our praise, dreams and requests with Him. We also pray for one another.
At some point in our assembly, one of our Shepherds (men chosen by our church family to lead us) will offer a “Shepherd’s Prayer. ” This prayer is a very important tradition at Spring Road. We realize that life is a struggle and that we all face various challenges and sorrows as we move through it. Our “Shepherd’s Prayer” is a time when we pause to pray specifically for those who are suffering in any way and to offer praise to God for blessings and answered prayers.
For Kids
After the Lord’s Supper, during the Sermon, a Junior Worship class is offered to age 3 through 5th Grade.
The ‘next generation’ are very important to us and the continuation of the spreading of the Gospel. There are yellow and blue activity pages for our youth available which focus on Bible stories. These are on a table near the auditorium and are called Children’s Bulletins. New ones are put out each Sunday. Though ages are listed for each, any child may take and work on any of these.
Invitation
At the close of the sermon, an “invitation” (or “altar call” as some call it) is offered. Those who wish to become Christians by confessing their belief in Christ and being baptized for the forgiveness of their sins should come to the front of the auditorium.
However, if you wish to respond in any way to God’s grace by coming to the front of the auditorium, you are more than welcome to do so!
If someone wishes to be baptized, you will witness the baptism during our assembly. This is a joyous occasion for us at the Spring Road Church of Christ! After the baptism there will be singing, part of our celebration of joy at the birth of a new Christian.
The baptism will be by complete immersion in water to receive the forgiveness of sins and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer (Acts 2:38; Titus 3:3-7). Baptisms do not have to occur during the assembly. A person may be baptized in any body of water and at any time, day or night.
We welcome you to participate in all aspects of our assembly, but don’t feel obligated to do so. If you wish, just observe. You are honoring us, and God, with your presence.
We would be honored for you to fill out a Visitor Card at the beginning of the assembly. This simply provides us information so we can write or call to thank you for your visit. Feel free to decline, if you prefer. However, if you do fill out a card, please place this in the collection plate as it is passed. We hope you enjoy our assembly and that it is both inspirational and uplifting.
We thank you for your attendance and welcome you to worship and praise God with us whenever possible.