Not everyone enjoys a surprise, so we’ve put this together to help you gauge what a Sunday morning entails here at Covenant OPC.
We hope this brief overview will help you with what to expect when you visit our church.
Expect to see many young families (with children and infants present) and a handful of elderly. Total service time is typically 1.5 hours. The service involves standing for the few psalms and hymns that we sing from the Trinity Psalter Hymnal that you will find waiting for you on the chairs. The bulletin will contain the reference numbers for each song. The whole church recites the Nicene Creed from the Psalter Hymnal near the end of service, then sing the 113B (first 2 verses) doxology as final close of service. Monthly Communion consists of wine and a loaf of sourdough. (Snacks are currently withheld while we transition to a new facility) Coffee is available at all times (self serve), and snacks are provided afterwards.
We believe that God gathers us in worship to renew his covenant promises through word and sacrament and to refresh us with his grace. In response to his mercies, we pray, sing and give thanks. If you are looking for an entertainment oriented worship experience, Covenant OPC probably isn’t the place for you. But if you are looking for worship that is exuberantly reverential, Biblically rooted, and Christ-centered, come join us this Sunday! Each Sunday we hear the 10 Commandments, sing both Psalms and Hymns from the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, and recite the Nicene Creed as part of our service.
Since the OPC holds to the distribution of the Lord’s supper by only Ruling and Teaching elders, we currently serve the sacrament of Communion once a month. This has to do with our current status as a “plant” and our Ruling elders all being from neighboring OPC churches. Once we achieve church status, and have our own communicant members as Elders, we plan to serve Communion weekly. We hold the Lord’s Supper as an important part of every believer’s growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the preaching of God’s Word and the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Spirit strengthens his people in their relationship with Christ. All believers who are baptized and are members of a church that preaches the Gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone are invited to participate in this sacred feast.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church is a conservative and Reformed denomination committed to the sole authority of the Bible in all matters of faith and practice and to the doctrines of the Bible as summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith. You can read about particular views on our About page, and find a full description of our denomination at www.opc.org.
We encourage parents to worship with their children as a family each week. However, we recognize that parents often need a time and place to care for the needs of their very young children in an undistracted way. Our current meeting location has a foyer where parents often sit with their littles while still in earshot of the sermon. There is also a suitable place for nursing mothers, and fussy infants should the need arise.
We do not have a dress code here at Covenant OPC, but you’ll find that most people fall somewhere in the category of dressy casual. Each week we are invited to meet and dine with the King of kings. So how should one dress on such an occasion? We’ll leave that up to you.
The Bible encourages believers to give with a cheerful heart rather than out of duty or compulsion (2 Cor 9:7), but the financial support of the ministry here at Covenant OPC is the privilege and responsibility of our members. So as our guests and visitors, we ask you not to contribute during our Sunday morning offering. Just enjoy the worship, fellowship, and spending time in God’s word.
Service: 9:30am and 6:00pm