What about … ?
For many people church is a strange environment, singing songs together and praying, listening to someone give a message from the Bible. These are not comfortable activities for most people unless they are regular church goers.
In this section we attempt to answer some of the more common questions people ask about church.
Why doesn't your church meet in a, um ... church?
Well it just so happens that we don’t actually own a church! But the building itself doesn’t matter at all – it is the people, not the building who make up God’s church. So we are happy to use any building – like the village hall – and one day, we may buy our own building. Who knows?!
Do you have to go to church to be a Christian?
No, you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian. Going to church is not what makes you a Christian.
Jesus said that we should love God first and also love other people. Having a relationship with Jesus is what makes you a Christian. But just going to church does not make you a Christian.
Why do Christians go to church?
Wow that’s a big question! Becoming a Christian is something everyone has to decide for themselves, but living as a Christian can be hard. We need backup!
The Bible talks a lot about how important we are to one another, and church is our backup. It is where we learn more about who Jesus is and what He did for us. It’s also where we worship Him and mix with other Christians. It helps our faith to grow.
It’s also the place where we can find friendship, support prayer when we have problems.
Why is Church on a Sunday?
Traditionally Sunday is the FIRST day of the week, not Monday! We worship on Sunday because that’s what the first disciples did, and that is because Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week.
Also the Bible says that we should have a day of rest and we should keep the Sabbath day holy. So Sunday was “set aside” for that purpose and is actually the reason most people aren’t at work on that day. You have Christianity to thank for a day off a week as before the influence of Christianity, most people had to work 7 days a week without rest.
But God is not with us only on Sundays, He’s here all the time and you can talk to Him whenever you want to. Sometimes there are midweek meetings and other morning or evening meetings. Christians meet together at different times and the Bible tells us that whenever we meet together, God is always there too.
Isn't Church a bit boring?
There are all sorts of church with all sorts of style, so it is a good idea to find one that you feel welcome and comfortable in. People sometimes say that church is boring because they don’t understand what is going on and why certain activities are happening. When you accept Jesus into your life, church becomes much more interesting — and even exciting!
What time do you start?
Our meeting formally starts at 11am and finishes sometime between 12 and 12.30. People do arrive up to 20 minutes early and grab a coffee before the meeting starts and often will mingle over another coffee afterwards.
Do I have to wear smart clothes?
In a word … NO
We all dress in normal everyday clothes. Julian tends to wear jeans and a shirt, and may just occasionally wear a tie, but mostly we wear what we feel comfortable in.
We would ask though that if you wear a t shirt with a picture on it that any picture or words are not offensive!
I have children - is that a problem?
Not at all. The hall doesn’t have seperate rooms we can use for children’s work, so they will need to stay in the main hall with us. However.
We know kids can get restless, so are quite relaxed about noise as long it’s not too disruptive and if you ping us a message that you will be coming, we will endeavour to bring some resources for you to keep them occupied.
Do you take an offering?
No we don’t
Julian pastors without salary from the church, and other costs such as hall rental and licences are covered by the giving of those who consider the Seed is their church.
You won’t be asked to contribute!
If, however you really would like to contribute to the work of The Seed, we put a small offering basket on the table at the back so that you can.
What if I don't want to sing?
Don’t!
Hymns are songs about the splendour and majesty of God. When you love the Lord, you want to praise Him. that’s why people sing!
Sometimes we sing some of the lovely old hymns, but usually we sing more modern songs which have been written by contemporary, Christian composers.
What is Communion?
This is when we share some bread and wine – like Jesus did at the Last Supper.He broke some bread, gave thanks to God and then shared it with his disciples. He then took a cup of wine and did the same thing. He said we should do this whenever we meet in remembrance of Him. It reminds us of what Jesus did on the cross and how He has saved us. If you love the Lord you are welcome to join in.
What's the point of praying - it doesn't work, does it?
Jesus said that God hears every prayer, in fact He knows what’s on your mind before you even say it.
But sometimes we ask for things that are not in God’s plans for us. We have to accept that He knows better than we do but we should continue to pray in the knowledge that He hears us every time we pray and He always wants what’s best for us.
I was baptised as a baby, so I'm a Christian, right?
At a Christening or Baptism, your parents and Godparents make promises to bring you up to know what it means to be a Christian. But it is a decision you must make for yourself. You don’t become a Christian until you ask Jesus to come into your heart. No-one can make that choice for you. It is between you and God.
Many new Christians go on to have a total immersion baptism – just like Jesus did in the Bible. It is a way to show everyone your new faith. It signifies your change of lifestyle – washing away the old life and emerging from the water — as a new creation.
I’m a good person — so I'll go to Heaven, won't I?
Jesus said that no-one can go to the Father except through Him. so it doesn’t matter how many good turns you do, how polite you are, or how nice you are to others, the bottom line is that you can’t go to Heaven unless you know Jesus and He knows you.
Why do you believe the Bible? It’s a bunch of fairy stories - isn’t it?
Actually, No it’s not!
The Bible is a collection of 66 different writings, it contains legal documents, poems, histories, prophecies and letters written in different languages by many authors over many hundreds of years. The authors cannot possibly have collaborated with one another and yet it is surprisingly cohesive in its message.
There is a way of assessing the accuracy of ancient documents called textual criticism and no other document even comes close to the Bible in accuracy. The evidence that what we read today in the Bible is what the original authors wrote down is overwhelming. We have pieces of the gospels dating back almost to within the lifetime of those who witnessed the events they describe.
We can say with confidence that the Bible is “a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses and they report supernatural events that took place in fulfilment of specific prophecy and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.”
See: Luke 1:1-4; John 21:24,25; Acts 1:1; 1 John 1:1-3; 2 Peter 1:16