Our Gatherings
Corporate worship gatherings are on Sundays @ 10am (and lasts till about 12pm)
Community groups meet throughout the week!
What can I expect?
Let’s face it. Visiting a new church can be scary, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Sometimes it seems like “going to church” can be so difficult! Plus, so many churches are so different! We’ve all been there and we’ve all felt uncomfortable too. So we do our best to keep that in mind.
We’ve been here for over 19 years and we’ve found that what worked for the apostles has been working for us. What do we mean? It’s simple. The early church didn’t function on multi-million dollar budgets, nor did they have a seventy-person tiered leadership group. They didn’t have to jump through hoops to get into the ‘inner-core,’ nor did they have to memorize long creeds to be a part of the community. They just loved Jesus and expressed their love in four ways:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (bible study) and fellowship (community), to the breaking of bread (communion) and the prayers.” – Acts. 2:42
We gather together to enjoy God’s presence and encounter biblical truth. Our time includes passionate and Christ-exulting worship by singing, praying, preaching and hearing God’s word and in order to develop lasting relationships. Encouraging each other is a big priority here! Before and after the meeting, you’ll probably notice people hanging out, relaxing, and spending time being a family. Join in!
What else can you expect to find at TCF?
A diverse church. You’ll see people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds. But the gospel of Jesus Christ makes us one family.
A warm environment. We’d love to meet you, so feel free to introduce yourself! Please let us know what we can do to serve you while you’re here.
A relaxed atmosphere. You’ll notice some folks who like to dress up for church and others who don’t. Feel free to wear what’s comfortable for you, and you’ll fit right in.
An accessible facility. If you require wheelchair access, designated parking or seating, directions to our accessible restrooms, or additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask. Our ushers would love to point you in the right direction and be of any assistance that they can be.
So what does it “look” like?
The atmosphere of our gatherings is casual. It really is a “come as you are.” This doesn’t mean don’t dress up, it just means that you should come as you are comfortable. Some members of our community like to wear suits or dresses, while others like to wear blue jeans and a t-shirt. Some people like to stand up during the music, while others like to sit. There’s a lot of freedom here! We celebrate diversity and realize that God made us as unique individuals who are part of a one Body of Christ!
Our gatherings generally start with a “welcome” from either Pastor Luke or another of our members. We then like to sing some songs that express our hearts to God. We like to sing how much we love Him and how great He is in our lives! After some time of music, we study God’s Word together. We value solid biblical teaching and realize that it is important that the Scriptures are understood in their context and how they are relevant to our lives! Sometimes we’ll end our gathering by praying for each other or thinking about how we can apply what we’ve studied to our lives. After that, we like to stay and fellowship together.
One thing that may seem a little “different” for some people is the musical aspect of our Sunday morning. First of all, we like to celebrate our love for God by giving him a “sacrifice of praise” (Heb. 13:15). Sometimes we have musicians leading our music, videos, or other creative ways to encourage our celebration of God’s goodness. Secondly, some people like to stand, others like to sit, and sometimes people might kneel before God. All of these are biblical ways to worship God, yet sometimes are a little different than what you might have experienced. We’ll go to a Packer’s game (or a Bears/Vikings game, if you are a traitor) and get excited for God, but in church we think we’re “crossing the line.” We’ll raise our hands for our favorite football star, but we feel uncomfortable to do it for God! Thankfully, the Scriptures tell us that raising our hands is pleasing to God (cf. Ps. 28:2; 63:4; 119:48; 134:2; Lam. 3:41; 2 Tim. 2:8). As long as it is in “decency and order” (1 Cor. 14:40), we encourage people to be who they were created to be and to worship God in a way that brings Him glory in the freedom of the Holy Spirit!
A distinctive that we hold dear to our hearts is that we value the leading and moving of the Holy Spirit. This means that we do our best, as a community, to be sensitive to what the Lord wants for us when we gather. Sometimes there may be a special song that is sung by a member and other times someone may share a personal testimony about how God has done something wonderful in their life. We love it when God interrupts our plans and leads us in a way that may be different than we planned. We’ve found that these times of being gathered are often the most effective is drawing us closer to Jesus!
Once a month we celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a deeply intimate way in which our congregation remembers Jesus’ sacrifice and experiences His presence.
