I know it’s not easy visiting a new church for the first time.

As pastor, I want to make visiting The Bridge Community Church an enjoyable experience, easy, stress-free, and relaxing. If I were visiting a new church for the first time, I’d like to know what to expect, so here’s a brief overview.

 When You Arrive

When you arrive at the Windermere Center, you’ll park in the large shopping center parking lot. Our church is located in the corner, a few doors to the right of Casa Garcia’s Restaurant. At the door, there should be some friendly people (“greeters”) to say hello, hand you a bulletin and answer any questions you have. If you have children, the greeters can point you to the check-in areas for the nursery and/or children’s ministry. BridgeKids children’s service is for K-5^th grade. If your kids are shy, they’re welcome to attend the adult service with you, but most kids really enjoy BridgeKids.

You’ll notice that everyone is dressed comfortably, in anything from “office casual” to jeans (shorts are welcome) and sneakers. If you arrive early, you’re welcome to have a donut & a cup of coffee (served in the lobby).

During The Service

The service usually begins with an invitation to worship with some upbeat music. After worship I will offer a prayer. On the seats you will notice an offering envelope and information card, which we would invite you to complete and drop into one the offering bags. We want you to feel welcome as our guest, with no pressure to give.

Then I will begin the message. I do my best to make the messages interesting, enjoyable, and relevant to daily life. The message will be based on the Bible, and I will often include interesting quotes from contemporary people, songs, or movies. If I do my job right, you’ll hear solid Christian theology in intelligent, understandable, relevant terms. And hopefully, you’ll laugh at times and maybe feel a tug at your heart too. I’ll close the service about 12:15 (and believe it or not, the time will fly).

After The Service

After the service, you’ll pick up your kids from the nursery or BridgeKids and we hope you’ll stay around and meet some people. I hope you’ll come up and introduce yourself to me, I would love to meet ya.

Church is about God and worship, but it’s also about community and friendship, so we hope people really experience warmth and friendliness at The Bridge.

David McLain — Lead Pastor