WSCCC

The Sunday service is the core ministry of cp11, which all of our church community attends. It is also our “front door” for visitors to come and see what we are all about!

What can you expect when you visit our Sunday service?

We seek to be a welcoming church to both our first-timers and regulars – not only first-timers, but also those who have returned for several weeks. We like to find out who our newcomers are, so that we can introduce ourselves as well as give you information about our church with our “welcoming pack”.

We encourage families to start worship together in the service, sharing in praising God, praying together, and fellowshipping with others. Primary school-aged kids then leave the service before the sermon for their own Kids’ Ministry.

We have a monthly lunch together as a congregation every third Sunday of the month. This is free for our visitors ($5 for regulars).

An offertory is taken during the service, for our congregation members to bring their money as an act of worship to God.

What is the focus of our service?

One of the key objects of our service is the communication of the Bible through each element of the service. The peaks are in the reading of the Bible, and the preaching of the Bible through the sermon.

The theme of each week’s Bible passage is conveyed in the service leader’s comments, the music and songs, and of course, the sermon.

After the sermon, we usually have a Question and Answer time, for members of the congregation to ask the speaker anything about the sermon or Bible passage. This is a fruitful time to help people to work out how to apply the Bible in their lives.

Prayer is also an important element of the service – as a congregation in unity, we talk to our God, praising him and giving thanks. We pray for ourselves as a church, with particular focus on specific needs of members of the congregation. We also pray for the world around us, and its need to know God.

What style of service do we have?

Our service has a vibrant style of worship, with a mix of formality and informality. We seek to convey meaning in what we do, and often vary what is traditionally done, in order to preserve that meaning.

The music used in the service is prepared by a dedicated team of vocalists and musicians who consider and pray about the Bible passage before they lead the worship. They lead with a balance between traditional hymns and contemporary songs. The songs chosen deliberately focus on the gospel.

We also believe that creativity is important in ministry. Thus we often incorporate artistically creative elements into the service, such as drama and video. At other times, we come back to a quiet, reflective service based on Bible readings.

Who leads the service?

The preaching of the Bible is prepared by our minister, Bruce Dipple, most weeks. He sets the theme of the service each week, from which the rest of the team base their preparation. Whenever we have a visiting speaker, we similarly seek to communicate the theme of the day.

There is a team – the Sunday service team – of people actively involved in serving in the Sunday service. Most of our congregation are part of this team in some way at some time. Each week, about 30 people serve in different ways, led by the service director for that week. They are grouped into different areas of responsibility:

• On-stage team
• Music team
• Hospitality team
• Off-stage team

It is a wonderful encouragement to have so many in the congregation committed to proclaiming the Bible at cp11!

Focus spots

The corporate nature of a church service allows us to worship our God in unity, encourage each other in fellowship, and spur each other on in ministry. During our Sunday service we usually have a focus spot, during which we hear about a particular ministry, a missions update, or testimony. At other times we simply get to know a member of the congregation, and their Christian experience, through a segment called “Cuppa with Kots”!