The worship at New Hope combines a traditional format with a fresh, new praise and worship experience. From the written “Reflection” in the bulletin, to the closing hymn, there is an intentional coordination of each part of the service to lead one toward a personal encounter with the One True Living God. Elements of the service include:

A. Welcome, Preparation and Prelude: This part of the service is designed to quiet the congregation and to point the body to a personal reflection as a quiet prelude is played or sung.

B. Call to Worship and Hymn of Praise: The congregation is called to worship God as we begin the service.

C. Prayer of Adoration, Silent Prayer of Adoration, Confession and Words of Encouragement: Through prayer and a time of confession (corporate and silent), the congregation is encouraged to go before the Lord in repentance. This is an expectant grasping of the grace of Jesus for sinners like us. This time of confession is ended with words from scripture that encourage the soul that has been forgiven.

D. Songs of Praise: Three worship teams (two contemporary and one classical) lead the congregation in carefully chosen worship songs. Each song is selected based on the scriptural accuracy of the lyrics and the “singability” of the music. The songs include praise songs, songs that are prayers and songs that are taken directly from scripture.

E. Congregational Prayer: Led by the worship leader (an elder or other appointed spokesman) the congregation joins in petition as we consider individual and corporate needs of the congregation and the world. Included in this prayer time is intentional prayer for the community, local and world missions.

F. Sermon Text and Sermon: The sermon text is read aloud by the pastor and an expositional teaching time follows. Pastors typically preach series from a particular book of the Bible and incorporate topical sermons as the occasion rises.

G. Offering : During the offering, an offertory is played quietly while the offering is collected. Special offerings for missions or special needs are also collected at this time.

H. Closing Hymn, Benediction, Postlude: The closing hymn is used in response to the sermon but is also used to urge the congregation forward as we are released into the world to do the work of God. The pastor pronounces the benediction and a postlude signifies the end of the service.

It is our aim at New Hope to be a family to one another. We have promised to support each other as Christian parents in the task of raising our children to know and love God. Believing that the Bible places the primary responsibility for training children in godliness upon parents, we seek first of all to provide parents with the wisdom, skills, and knowledge they need to disciple their children and to pray for and support one another in this critical task. One means of supporting each other as parents is to reinforce the spiritual training of our homes with additional teaching and fellowship for children from their aunts and uncles in the faith at church. New Hope takes special care of the children in our midst.

A safe pleasant nursery, with at least two adults present at all times, is provided for children ages 0-4 during the worship service and for children 0-3 during Sunday school. Parents may also opt to bring their children into worship with them.

An optional children’s church is provided during part of the worship service for children 4- 8 years old.

Sunday school classes are provided for all ages in which the Word is systematically taught.

New Hope also has active junior high and high school youth groups that meet twice a month on Saturday afternoons or evenings for a time of fellowship and teaching. The plan special times of fellowship, minister to or serve members of the congregation in need, seek to reach out to unbelieving friends, attend occasional conferences, concerts, and retreats, and plan an annual missions trip.

Our nursery is very safe. It is always staffed by at least two by responsible loving adults. We have worked hard to put in place safe rules and standards for our nursery so that parents can be comfortable leaving their children in the care of nursery workers. Children must be picked up by the parents who dropped them off. Pagers are provided for parents. You can, of course, check on your child at any time.

You do not need to have any prior church experience, or any special knowledge of the Bible or Jesus Christ to visit us. We exist to welcome those who are completely new, and help them as they seek real answers to the hard questions of life. You will not shock us. We are not “cardboard saints”—all of us have also struggled deeply, but we have found real hope and help in Jesus.

We wear a variety of clothes. Some dress very casually, others dress up a bit more. You need not worry about what you wear! Wear what you have and are comfortable in. We turn no one away because they violate any “dress code”!

We sing a variety of songs. We sing traditional hymns, and many contemporary praise and worship songs that have Biblically sound lyrics with solid content. We sometimes sing brand new songs that were written that week.

The music is uplifting and reflects a variety of instruments and presentation from the simplicity and beauty of keyboard or piano alone to praise band with electronic keyboard and guitars and drums to classical music and hymns by a string ensemble with trumpet and combinations thereof. Age span of members on the three worship teams also represents the diversity of the body from high school and college to adults with young and/or grown children with an almost even number of both men and women. We are grateful for the mentoring process which allows us to train and enjoy the gifts of the younger generation of worshippers, adding a vital and vibrant dimension to our worship at New Hope.

The words of one worship team leader reflect the desire New Hope has to both please God in worship and to invite the congregation to experience the Lord in worship:

“God has placed and nurtured in my heart a desire to glorify Him through song and a similar desire to lead his people in doing so. Other than my calling as a husband and father, there is no stronger tug on my heart than this . . . It brings me great joy to be a musician and to serve this way in the body of Christ. Producing excellent music that glorifies our Father is a passion for me and it is my desire he would continue to enable me to help lead all of you in the passionate worship of our God . . .”

If you are worshipping with us at New Hope and have musical gifts we would love to have you share them with us. Please visit the worship team page and let our worship team leaders know of your interest. Come and join us as we worship Him through song!

If the songs and hymns are unfamiliar, feel very free to just listen and enjoy. You won’t be asked to sing any impromptu solos!

We do “take an offering” towards the end of each service, but you absolutely do not have to put anything in it. If you are new, we encourage you to fill out a simple form telling us who you are and if we can serve you in any way. But even this is optional.