When we meet: Our church comes together regularly on the first day of each week. This appears to be the pattern in the New Testament Scriptures, the day Jesus rose from the grave. Please arrive at 9:45 a.m. to settle in, talk with a few people, get some coffee, find the restrooms, etc.

Where we meet:

The DRB Church 3440 Dresden Road

Phase 1a, Participatory Meetings: Our meetings begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. with singing and Spirit-led sharing (see 1 Corinthians 14:25ff). During this phase of our gathering, church members are free to use their verbal spiritual gifts to edify the church.  Everything depends on how the Holy Spirit has prompted various ones to prepare during the previous week. (Spontaneous participation does not preclude prior personal preparation). The goal of all that is said must be to encourage the one another, edify the body of Christ and equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Our elders’ job is to be sure everything is done in a fitting and orderly way. Anything said is liable to public cross examination and judgment. Please note that only church members are permitted to address the church.

Phase 1b, The Lesson: After the participatory phase of our gathering we take a quick break and resume around 11:00 for in-depth teaching, AKA “the sermon.” Our time of teaching is interactive. During this time discussion and questions are encouraged. It is usually led by one of our elders (though any gifted brother may do so). The teacher is scheduled in advance. All teachings are decidedly in alignment with historic Christian orthodoxy and ethics. Inquiring minds will want to know that most of us hold to the doctrines of grace, biblical inerrancy, complementarianism.  Our elders’ favorite statement of faith is the First London Baptist Confession of 1644. You don’t have to hold to these positions to fellowship with us, but don’t be surprised if you will hear these things taught with enthusiasm.

Phase 2, The Lord’s Supper/Agapé Feast (A Holy Meal): The weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper is an integral part of our gathering.  As did the early church, we eat it as an actual meal (see 1 Corinthians 11b). However, it is not simply lunch.  It is a sacred, covenant banquet. Among the food you will notice the one cup and the one loaf, representing the body and blood of our Lord. The fellowship feast begins around 12:00 p.m.

Children: We are a family-integrated fellowship—children stay with their parents/guardians in the meeting.  If a child gets noisy, one of his parents/guardians will take them out until thy calm down (we have a room dedicated for this purpose). If you have young children you may wish to bring along something to keep them happy, such as a drawing pad and crayons or quiet toys. We believe it is the job of the parents, not the church, to teach their children the things of the Lord. Thus, we purposely have no Sunday school nor children’s church.  

Dress: Our dress code is casual and comfortable. Ladies wear anything from comfortable dresses to pants to capris.  Modesty is always in fashion!  Children may end up playing outside after the meeting and therefore wear play clothes. Getting dirty is not uncommon for the kids.

Strategically Small:  The early Church met mostly in private homes (house churches), so the typical New Testament church was necessarily smaller rather than larger. Everything in the New Testament was written to churches where everyone knew everyone else. We believe that churches function best in a smaller setting. Thus, we think the ideal design is for each congregation (wherever it meets) to contain scores of people, not hundreds and certainly not thousands. Excavated Roman homes known to host church meetings could hold 65-70 people. Since the typical American home will not hold as many people as a Roman villa, we are open to creative alternatives. One factor the Romans did not have to worry about was where to park all the cars that it takes to bring 70 people to church!

You can find out more about New Testament church life at NTRF.org.