Outreach

The Pastor and the Session, the spiritual leadership of the church, involve themselves in improving the spiritual life of the congregation in many ways. They do home, hospital, and nursing home visitation, and they also reach out to the members by inviting them into their homes for fellowship.

Because we have members who come from theological backgrounds other than the Reformed faith, the pastoral staff interacts with those who have questions about theological issues, such as infant baptism, predestination, particular atonement, and other issues. This is done either in person or in writing.

The pastor’s method of preaching is expository. He usually preaches through a book of the Bible, paragraph by paragraph, rather than preaching topically. Preaching in an expository manner through a book of the Bible enables the whole counsel of God to be covered, rather than preaching topically, which may be a platform for the preacher’s pet peeves.

The church puts a high priority on making visitors feel welcome without embarrassing them. The church has greeters at the doors to give visitors information about the church and to welcome them. Upon leaving the service the first-time visitor is given a loaf of bread and is later followed up with a note sent by mail from the greeter. The pastor follows up with a letter and then calls to see if the visitor is open to a visit. Those who return are invited to one of our member’s homes for lunch after the Sunday morning service.

Another ministry of the church is discipline, which is the exercise of authority given the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ to instruct and guide its members and to promote its purity and welfare. The purpose of church discipline is always reconciliation and restitution.