What to Expect When You Visit North Pointe

Attending a new church can be a frightening and intimidating experience as a person wonders, “What is going to happen? Am I going to be embarrassed in any way?” In order to set your mind at ease allow us to explain what you can expect during your visit with the North Pointe church family.

At no time during our worship assembly will you be asked to stand up by yourself or be singled out in any way. Our goal is for you and the whole church family to have an encouraging, inspiring and life-changing experience with God.

As You Enter

As you enter the Murphy Middle School cafeteria where we meet, you will be greeted at the door by our greeters. Stop at our welcome table and get a name tag. Children need name tags as well to help identify them for security purposes. Greeters will help you find your classes.

If you attend our Bible classes you will hear in-depth Bible teaching along with life-challenging application, often utilizing small discussion groups. Children’s classes also meet in various classrooms in the school. Signs are available to point you to those classes.

Fellowship

In between Bible class and the start of our worship service you can enjoy some donuts and coffee while people visit with each other. Shortly before worship begins we all come back together to share any announcements which the church family needs to hear. The back row of seats is reserved for our guests but you are free to sit anywhere you like.

Worship

Expressing through songs our admiration, thankfulness and dependence on God is a central part of our worship service. Our worship leader and praise team members direct us as we sing contemporary praise songs and ancient hymns. Freedom of expression is valued at North Pointe as some people choose to clap with the songs, raise their hands to God or sit quietly as they sing.

Included in our worship from time-to-time are scripture readings, times of prayer, personal testimonies and the use of videos and dramas illustrating various teachings. Each week we share in what the Bible calls the “Lord’s Supper.” This is an ancient, yet deeply meaningful ritual dating back to the “Last Supper” that Jesus ate with his disciples before his death. Trays are passed containing “unleaven bread” and small cups of grape juice. By eating this bread and drinking this “fruit of the vine” we are remembering and reflecting upon the sacrifice Jesus made by giving his body and shedding his blood for our sins.

Also during the service we have an offering. We believe that giving and sharing is an vital spiritual discipline in the Christian’s life, whether giving money to the church, other responsible charities or individuals in need. Baskets are passed to collect the offering. As our guest you are not expected to give any money to North Pointe but are free to participate if moved to do so. As part of our offering time, our children come up front to a yellow star “piggy bank” where they give their offering. We do this to teach our children the importance of stewardship and thankfulness to God.

Children’s Worship

Following our offering, kids ages 2½ through 2nd grade are dismissed to attend two separate age-based Children’s Worship times. These consist of joyful and fun-filled periods of singing and a brief lesson designed for their unique level of understanding and learning style.

Sermon

As part of our worship service, our preacher delivers a dynamic and thought-provoking message from the Bible designed to encourage us and guide our lives. After the sermon we usually sing a song based on the sermon’s theme so we can reflect upon how God desires to impact our individual lives with the message.

After a closing prayer or closing song we are dismissed. Our worship service usually runs 1 to 1 ¼ hours in length. Afterwards people often stay around visiting and enjoying each other’s company.