Our service starts at 10.30 am, but please join us for coffee from 10.15 am!
We also have Vineyard Kids which runs from 10.20 am – 12.10 pm, and Ignite,
our youth group (14-18) which runs during the service.
Whilst our church is much bigger than a Sunday service, it still forms a vital part of our church life.
We know that it's not easy visiting a new church for the first time. You may feel nervous or unsure of what will happen. This section has been written to help explain what you can expect if you do visit us for a Sunday service.
We want to make visiting us an enjoyable experience. We’ve tried to design our Sunday services to make them accessible, whatever your background, including if you’ve never been to church before. About two thirds of the people who come along on a Sunday were previously not regular church goers..
What can I expect to happen at a Sunday morning service?
If we were visiting a new church for the first time, we'd like to know what to expect, so here's a brief overview of our Sunday morning service.
When you arrive at VCS for our 10:30 am service, you'll park in the main car park and use the main entrance to the school. There are signs to help you find your way.
At the front door, there will be some friendly people (we call them our "Welcome Team") to say Hello, answer any questions you have, and direct you to the main hall where we meet. If you have kids, they can point you to the kids' groups (which are also well-marked with clear signs). If your kids are shy, they're welcome to attend the adult service with you, but most kids really enjoy the kids' programs for infants through to age 15. Many of us have children so we know how important it is for kids to enjoy church.
You'll notice that everyone is dressed comfortably, in anything from "office casual" to jeans and trainers. If you arrive early, you're welcome to have a cup of tea or coffee and some chocolate biscuits (near the entrance to the main hall) and pick up information from the welcome area.
When you sit down in the hall you'll notice welcome forms on the chairs, which is an easy way for us to get better acquainted; you can ask for any kind of information or assistance using the welcome form, just complete it, and post it in the wooden offering box (at the back of the hall).
The service usually begins with a worship song and all the words are on a big screen. If you don't know the song you can just sit back and enjoy the music. The worship team do a great job leading us musically, with a contemporary feel (drums, guitars, keyboards, vocalists).
The song is followed by a welcome introduction and notices of some of the events that are happening in our community. I, (or occasionally another speaker) usually give the talk.
We do our best to make the talks interesting, enjoyable, challenging and relevant to how we live our daily life. The message will be based on the Bible, and I will often include interesting quotes from contemporary people, songs, or movies. Last year for instance we did a series on the Christian response to caring for the environment. This year we are going through the gospel of Mark and looking at some of the difficult/challenging questions that our faith raises in our daily lives. You can listen to all Sunday talks given since 2004 by clicking here
We also use prayers and confessions and worship items that have been part of the church for the last 2,000 years. These practices help us connect as a community and to Christian communities around the world. They remind us that Christianity has a tradition and family story that we want to be a part of and.which we want to retell.
We close the service with more worship music for about 30 minutes (the whole service is about 90 minutes and hopefully the time has flown by!).
We don’t just talk about God, we believe we can experience him and he is with us in the service. Therefore each week we end our service with some time to reflect and connect with God and there is the opportunity to respond personally by seeking or giving prayer. We believe that prayer is a great way to experience God and showing help and support for each other.
After the service it would be great if you do come and say hello to one of the Staff team- their photos are on the welcome boards.
One thing you may notice is that we don't pass an offering basket. We want you to feel welcome as our guest, with no pressure to give. Even though we hope you'll simply be our guest on your first visit, we do hope you'll stop by the offering box to drop off your welcome form, or give it to one of the Welcome Team, so we can send you any information you request.
After the service, you are welcome to stay and enjoy some more coffee, biscuits and chat with us! , Church is about God and worship, but it's also about community and friendship, so we hope you really experience warmth and friendliness at VCS.
Will I belong here?
We really hope that you will come along on a Sunday, and find VCS to be a place where you can get involved, feel you are contributing your talents and belong. All of this takes time and we encourage you to participate in other areas of church life such as
Small Groups
and through serving on one of
our teams. However you may feel that this is not the right church for you so we invite you to come along, try it out and make up your own mind whether you want to stay and belong.
Am I really welcome?
Yes you are really welcome, we have all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds, and none of us are more special or important than anyone else. We’re sure that you’ll find some people like you who you can get to know.
Will the people be unfriendly….or too friendly?!
This is a hard one as we all have our own expectations of friendliness!. We hope that everyone you meet will be friendly towards you but not too creepy! The best way to make friends in the long term we have found is to get involved in a Small Group and serve on a Team.
Will I be conspicuous?
Visiting a new place you’ll probably feel more conspicuous and self conscious than you really are. We certainly don’t try and add to this feeling by making you identify yourself as ‘New’ in any way and have plenty of people around who can help you, answer your questions, explain where to find things and tell you what is going on.
Will they ask me for money?
We don’t have an offering or collection of money during the service. We want you to feel welcome as our guest, with no pressure to give. If you decide to make this your church then one of the ways we all participate in the life of the church is by giving our money, and we can show you the different ways to do that.
If you want to read about the church finances and how we make ourselves accountable for the money that is given, please click here.
Will my kids enjoy it?
We hope your kids will enjoy the experience as much as you do! We have age appropriate groups that take place at the same time as the church service. You will need to register your child by signing them in and taking a band so you can claim your child back at the end.
All our kids workers are CRB checked and information on the kids work is available by clicking here.
How should I dress?
You are welcome to dress anyway you want. Most people who come along dress casually in jeans and trainers.
Am I welcome if I don't believe?
You are welcome whatever you feel, think or believe about God.
