Listened to the teaching from May 1 on the website before deciding to check it out in person.
4-person worship band: two guitarists, 1 drummer, 1 female keyboardist/vocalist. 4-song opening worship set. Communion was taken at the beginning. Pastor Dennis Templeton made reference to the Passover meal and the 4th cup of redemption. Points for bringing it back to the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith!
Teaching by Pr Templeton was on Hebrews 11:4-7. His delivery was not showy but is quiet & confident. (Reminiscent of Roger Barrier of Casas in Tucson.) Teaching was very well researched & methodical, providing several biblical cross-references as well as timely quotes from John MacArthur and Billy Graham. Opened with a personal anecdote to introduce the topic. I found the teaching to be stimulating & engaging. Teaching was approx 20 min in duration. He concluded with the Aaronic blessing, which is sadly rare in contemporary churches in my observation.
Visited in person 5/22/2022 9:30 am. This is a small congregation, so this is their only weekend service. Cozy sanctuary was maybe half full. Greeted at the entrance by a lovely woman named Kim who immediately knew we were visitors and invited us to fill out prayer request and connection cards if we wanted.
There's a menorah on display on the front left wall of the sanctuary. Points again for the nod to Hebrew roots!
Same 4-person band I saw on their video, except this time the pastor filled in on bass guitar. Six songs total.
Announcements were delivered by a young man wearing a ballcap. Minor bugaboo: men should not wear hats in church. It's one thing if attendees are not convicted of this, but church leadership should set the example and not take the stage wearing a hat. (1 Cor 11:7)
Before the message, Pr Templeton took a moment to recognize a recent high school graduate in the congregation and make him "honorary usher" for the day. Very sweet.
Pr Templeton reviewed the past few messages to provide context before launching into today's (Hebrews 11:8-16). Provided a ton of Scriptural cross-references, a handful of Greek word translations & a Hebrew word translation. I was geeking out in my YouVersion app alternating between English, Greek and Hebrew translations. There's no reason God's word can't be stimulating to the intellect as well as to the soul.
Soft altar call at the end, an invitation to meet pastor in the back after the service. Points for that as well. Church is not the place for a hard altar call IMHO.
His message was well-researched, doctrinally sound and styled to equip the saints. Delivery was measured, calm, not gimmicky, and not in the annoying exaggerated preacher intonation typical in some seeker-sensitive congregations.
Service was 90 min from start to finish.
Husband and I are visiting several churches over the next few weeks to find a church home, so we don't know yet if we will land on this one, but it gets a thumbs-up from me. What this church lacks in light & sound effects, fog machines, flamboyant worship leaders and other flashy gimmicks, it makes up for in sound and sober teaching. read more