What to Expect
When are your services?
Sundays at 9:30am for our worship service and 5:00pm for our catechism service.
Where?
In the sanctuary of our building at 8405 Alexander Street, Schererville, IN.
What should I do with my kids?
We welcome and encourage parents to keep their children with them in worship. Perhaps this seems out of the ordinary. But for Community, this is not a matter of tradition, this is our commitment. We consider our children living members of Jesus’ church and our desire is that they share in the worship of the church. For young children and infants, a volunteer-staffed nursery is always provided in our two nurseries located in the south wing of our building.
What should I wear?
We hope you’ll wear whatever makes you comfortable. You’ll find plenty of people dressed casually (because we are comfortable together as a family) and others dressed a little snazzier (because we are reverent as we worship the living God). Just come as you are.
What is a worship service like?
The liturgy at Community is historically rooted, following patterns established by the early church. We move from God’s call (because we’re here for His glory, at His invitation) to a time of confession (because in His holy presence, we see just how sinful we still are) to a time of cleansing (we are reminded of the grace we’re given in Jesus) to a time of communion (we pray to God as our Father, we sing joyfully as His children, we hear from His Word, and we eat at His table), ending with a time of commissioning (we are sent out as missionary servants to a waiting world, but we don’t go alone. We leave with God’s smile and blessing upon us).
What is a catechism service like?
Our evening service follows a similar liturgy to the morning service, but is more focused on our formation as a community of faith. So we read, pray, and sing through the biblical Psalms together. And together, we study the Heidelberg Catechism, a document that works through the content of our biblical faith in a systematic and orderly manner. When the tradition of catechism services was started (in the 1600’s), it was meant to be a time for families to learn the basics of faith together. This is a time for us build ourselves up in “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) and to live out the call of Jude 20-21, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”
What’s the music like?
At Community, we want our singing to be focused on God’s glory, not our own entertainment. But we also recognize that God’s gifts of music and beauty should be celebrated in our worship. So our worship music consists of a variety of hymns, some written by the early church (like “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” written in the 400’s) and some written within the last few years (like “O Church of Christ Invincible” written in 2014). And of course, we sing many classics from all the years in between (some of our favorites are “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” “Come Thou Fount,” and “Holy, Holy, Holy”).
We also make a point of singing the biblical psalms, set to a variety of ancient and contemporary tunes. We believe that the Psalms are God’s inspired hymnbook, reflecting the highs and lows of the life of faith. They are meant to be taken on believers’ lips so that they can shape believer’s hearts. The same Spirit who inspired the people who wrote these poems can and does inspire His people today when we sing them together as a community of faith – united across history and geography in our common dependance on God as our Shepherd and Refuge.