We’ve always thought that church should be as “userfriendly” as possible. Many times churches have their our language, inside jokes and other nuances that, unfortunately, can make it uncomfortable if it is your first time. We wanted to make it as easy as possible to connect and feel at home. So, here are with some terms and subjects we use frequently to help you become more familiar with Restoration Church.
Follower of Jesus
A follower of Jesus is someone who is starting to model their life after the life and teachings of Jesus in order to become more like Him. Jesus’ first words to His followers were, “Come and follow me.”
Discipleship
This is the process of becoming more like Jesus. We do not see discipleship as a class rather it is teaching coupled with relationship as modeled by Jesus and His disciples.
Sin
This means to miss the mark of what God originally intended. Anytime we do anything that is contrary to what God originally intended we are missing the mark. Sin has a penalty and that penalty is death.
Salvation
Jesus taught that in order to be His followers we must be reborn or born again. Salvation is the process of being reborn and “saved” from what we really deserve because of our sin – eternal hell. We do not believe that we can do anything in our own power to deserve salvation but we are forgiven by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Worship
This means to give an expression of reverence or honor where honor is due. We only believe that God is worthy of our worship and we express that in many ways during our weekend experience. A few examples are music (singing songs in order to honor God), communion (taking the Lord’s Supper to remember Jesus’ death on the cross and forgiveness of our sins through his resurrection), giving (we believe everything we own belongs to God and provide a time during worship for people to give financially should they so choose), and baptism (this symbolizes the rebirth of salvation and encourage everyone who is a follower of Jesus to be baptized as a public sign of their salvation).
Weekend Experience
At Restoration Church our weekends are the main thing. This is where we gather in a life-giving environment to honor God shoulder to shoulder. Our weekend environment is tailored for our first time attenders. If you’ve had any interaction with church before, it may be helpful to know that we don’t have “services” or “mass” we have experiences. The reason is simple: We want EVERYONE to experience the presence of God and the life-changing experience of salvation (or life with Jesus).
Next Steps
We want to encourage every person at Restoration Church to ask themselves three questions about their spiritual life: 1) Where am I now? 2) Where am I going? 3) What is my next step? Our Next Steps Class is designed as our “next step” for first time attenders. This will include a four step process starting with discovering who we are as a church, then teaching the basics of what it means to follow Jesus, identifying unique gifts and strengths, and finally finding a place to make a difference through leadership.
Check-In
This is our system for integrating safety measures for Restoration Kid’s. We want to make sure that not only is our children’s area fun and exciting but also safe and secure. When you come we will walk you through the process to check-in your children.
Life Groups
This is our attempt to make our larger room smaller. We understand that there are benefits to our Weekend Experience but there are also drawbacks. Life Groups are smaller gatherings based around similar interests. We have groups that meet through sports, bible studies, community projects and outreach and many other shared interests.
Leaders
We don’t have volunteers, we have servant leaders. Each person that makes Restoration Church happen is a leader. We simply believe that every single person has a unique, God-given, purpose and mission. Our goal is to provide opportunities for leaders to develop their purpose and tie into something that will have an impact on a larger scale.