We are not given the opportunity to invent new ways of worshiping God. In other words, the worship of God is to be determined by the Word of God. It is for this reason that all of the elements found in our worship service are derived from the Bible. In our Sunday gathering, we come to hear God’s Word (in Scripture readings and preaching), sing God’s Word (in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs), see God’s Word (in Communion and Baptism), and praying God’s Word.

The central ministry of a biblical church is the preaching of God’s Word. Powerful preaching is not found in the attempts to be clever or creative but in the accurate and faithful exposition of the Bible. We believe that the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to change lives. Because of this central belief, we simply walk through books of the Bible, passage by passage, seeking to find God’s intended meaning of the passage, drawing from the text any appropriate applications. 

The question that drives our song choices is this: “If all we knew about God came from the songs we sing in worship, what would we know about God?” For this reason, the songs we sing are intentionally Bible-saturated. Not only are these songs Bible-saturated, but we purpose to choose songs that are singable for the entire congregation. WCF seeks to worship in a manner that highlights congregational singing, and we are intentional in protecting against creating a performance or entertainment style of worship.

We understand that we must equip and edify entire families of our church in the worship gathering. At WCF, you’ll find a very family-friendly environment. You’ll find that while we do not have Jr. Church during the worship service, we have many children within our congregation. The worship service can sound like a daycare sometimes, and we think that’s great. Gathered worship should be a major part of the lives of our children, and, while we are happy to provide nursery for ages three and under, we encourage families to remain together in worship for the entire worship service. 

Individual Christians should take their membership within a church very seriously. We are to fellowship and serve and worship and care for one another in a committed way. We understand it to be our responsibility and privilege to look out for one another’s spiritual walk. Beyond this, local church is where we exercise our spiritual and natural gifts for our mutual edification, which is necessary for our continued spiritual growth. 

God takes church membership seriously; he also takes holiness seriously. Because of these two realities, we find the clear teaching of Scripture to emphasize the need, at times, for church discipline. This should not be viewed simply as excommunication, which is only the last step of the three part process. Instead, it should be seen as the loving restoration that happens between Christians following evident sin. Healthy and effective church discipline is rooted in a desire to restore others in love and a spirit of meekness. Restoration, not excommunication, is the goal.

Our church has a plurality of elders who seek to live their lives in submission to the Word of God. The elders seek to minister the Word of God in various times of teaching throughout the week in the life of our church, administer the ordinances, care for our members, counsel, examine all those seeking to join the church, visit the sick, and generally supervise the operation of the church with its various ministries in matters of faith, doctrinal content, discipline, and prayer. We also have deacons who care for the practical needs of the church. Deacons are an indispensable part of the ministry and are constantly seeking to serve around the church building and in the lives of the individual church members.