Who are we?

We are Christians.  Each of us has named Jesus as the King of our hearts and are attempting to live lives in submission to His will.  As a group, we work together to follow the patterns (2 Tim. 1:13) we find in God’s Word, stir one another up to love and good works (Heb. 10:24), and to spread the Gospel Light (Matt 5:16) in our community.  

We are far from perfect, but we love God, we love one another, and we seek to help each other grow closer to the Lord and to each other.  We believe relationships are critically important in all areas of our lives, but none more so than our spiritual journey.  Our hope is that we glorify God in everything that we do and look forward to spending eternity with Him in Heaven.

What we believe

We believe that man is saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8).  We believe Biblical faith is an active, obedient faith that willingly conforms to God’s will.  This is the faith of Abraham that God accounts as righteousness (Gen. 15:6; Romans 4:9; Gal. 3:6; Heb. 11:8-10; James 2:23).  We believe that when one becomes convinced of who God is (John 8:24) and the condition in which our sin places us, our response should be to repent and turn back to God (Rom. 10:9-10).  We see believers confessing their faith that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 8:37) and continuing to confess that faith for the remainder of their lives (Acts 4:12), and we see again and again where believers are baptized to be forgiven of their sins (Acts 2:38), to put on Christ (Gal. 3:27), and to be added to His Kingdom (1 Cor. 12:13).

We believe the New Testament is the only authority for all we do as a local congregation of God’s people.  We believe through careful study and application of the teachings and patterns found in the New Testament, we can know and do the things which God has called us to do (2 Thes. 2:15).  We believe studying the Old Testament gives us valuable insight into the character of God, His goodness, His holiness, His judgment; and we believe we learn valuable lessons about man’s desperate need for rescue, for redemption based on something other than our perfect law keeping (Gal. 3:24).

Our leadership

We read in the New Testament of Elders, leading each local flock (1 Peter 5:1-4).  These men are also referred to as shepherds, pastors, presbyters, bishops, and overseers.  Men who meet qualifications of leadership established by God (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tutus 1:5-9) are charged with the oversight and protection of the local bodies of believers with whom they serve.  

Visit with us

Let’s be honest, visiting a new church for the first time can be an anxious experience.  We want all of our visitors to feel welcomed, comfortable, and able to engage in heartfelt worship to God.  First and foremost, please know, we’ll be excited to meet you.  Your presence is an encouragement to us and we hope you’ll be encouraged and strengthen by worshiping with us.

We’re a pretty friendly group, so park where you want…sit where you like…ask questions of any of our members if you have any.  We’re excited you’re visiting and we want you to be comfortable.  Our hope is that if you feel overwhelmed, you’ll be overwhelmed by our folks coming over to meet you!  Below, we’ll try to share a few thoughts that may help you feel more at-ease when you visit us.  

Our Sunday morning worship times begins at 10:00 AM.  We have members begin arriving around 9:30, so feel free to come on early.  In our morning assembly, you’ll have a chance to join us in prayer, Bible reading, acapella singing, and preaching based on God’s Word.  There is a collection taken up each Sunday morning, but this is an obligation for our members.  We never expect our visitors to feel pressured to contribute to this collection.  

We also take the Lord’s Supper each first day of the week based on the example we find in Scripture (Acts 20:7).  We believe this remembering Jesus’ sacrifice to redeem us is central to our faith.  At Wilsonville, we take our time with the Lord’s Supper and so we don’t have a set end time to our morning worship.  You are free to participate if you like.  You’ll simply take a small piece of bread and juice from the trays as they are passed around.  You don’t have to leave your seat.  If you’d prefer not to participate in the Lord’s Supper, just pass the tray on to the next person.  Typically, we wrap up our morning services around 11:30.

On Sunday evening, we have Bible classes for all ages from 6 months to adult classes.  Our adult classes meet in the auditorium while we have classrooms for age groups.  When you visit, you’ll find kids’ classes with lots of activities and learning, and classes for teens and adults with in-depth study of God’s Word.  You should expect to hear lots of interaction between the teacher and class members.  

One of the questions you may have is, what should I wear.  We do not have a dress code.  Generally speaking most of us will wear our “Sunday bests” for Sunday morning worship.  Sunday evenings and Wednesdays are a bit more casual.  But, frankly, we’d rather you come as you are rather than not come because you’re not dressed up.  

One last thought, someone will likely hand you a visitor’s card.  Please take a moment and fill that out.  You can give it to one of the members or leave it on your pew as you leave.  We like to keep a record of our visitors.