WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU VISIT OUR SHILLINGTON FAMILY?


1. You will be loved and accepted as you are and not judged. We are not a “dress-up” church!

 2. You can expect that not everyone has it all together nor is anyone perfect, but we are all sinners in need of grace. “The church is a hospital for sinners not a hotel for saints!”


 3. No one will ask you to stand up or give a speech just because you are a visitor nor will we draw attention to you….if you would like prayer about anything, please ask!


 4. You can expect to be treated like a guest rather than a “visitor”; we want you to feel welcome in our church family!


5.  You can expect ordinary people gathering to worship an extraordinary God – expect God to move and speak in your heart and life! We worship an Awesome God!


 6. You will not be pressured or expected to give any money when the collection is done; your gift is your presence and you are our honored guest. We have a box at the back of the auditorium if you feel compelled by the Spirit to do so.


 7. You can expect a service that has simple worship (acapella singing, weekly communion, prayer) &  a service that lasts approximately 1 hour 30 minutes.


 8. Preaching unashamedly the Bible, the Word of God, and teaching in a practical and simple way to understand; a message that is NOT boring; something that is relevant for your everyday life!


 9. You can expect, if you become part of our family, to learn how you and your family fit in God’s plan and purpose for your life! We want you to discover your spiritual gifts and how you can use those for the glory of God!


 10. You can expect something for your entire family; our Bible classes are practical and appropriate for every age group.


 11. You can expect to walk out feeling like you belong, that you are loved, and that you feel “connected” with our church family.

WHO ARE THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST?

1. The churches of Christ have their roots in the Restoration Movement of the early 1800’s where there was a strong call from denominational preachers to get back to the simplicity of the early church and New Testament Christianity. They called for unity and the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the first century church of the New Testament that was begun in 30 A.D. in Acts 2. Christian churches and Disciples of Christ have their roots in this same movement. We are not affiliated in anyway with United churches of Christ

2. We unashamedly believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, declaring Him LORD and Savior of all, and in the beautiful mystery of the Godhead, the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (more in depth on our AWESOME, NEW REVISED, website, www.shillingtonchurch.org)

3. Churches of Christ believe the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments, to be the 100% inspired Word of God, uncorruptible, and perfect in all its ways. (1 Peter 1:20,21) Since Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection ushered in a New Testament, we understand we are not under the Old Testament (Hebrews 8:13) so our focus is on Jesus and His teachings along with the 27 letters of the New Testament. But, as lovers of God, we do seek to understand the story of God, His incredible plan and purpose, from Genesis to Revelation, as it is all beneficial and useful for knowing Him and His heart and learning what pleases Him (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

4. Churches of Christ have no creeds and no hierarchies of clergy like Pope, Bishop, Pastor, Father, or Priest. As Jesus taught, we are simply brothers and sisters (Matthew 23:8).

5. We believe in that the church’s purpose is to: glorify God by making Him look good by being the body of Christ to a broken world (Revelation 4:11); reach the lost of all nations with the good news of Jesus (Mark 16:15); make disciples that make disciples (Matthew 28:19); to know God and make Him known (John 17:3); to equip every believer to serve & identify their spiritual gifts in order to edify the church (Ephesians 4:11-13) and to help every believer grow into maturity (Ephesians 4:14) Churches of Christ are non-denominational with the Bible alone being the final authority in all matters.

6. We are a church devoted to loving one another (John 13:34,35), a hospital for sinners where broken people, beggars tell other beggars where to find the Bread of Life (Jesus)

7. Following the New Testament model for leadership, there is a plurality of elders over each congregation that meet the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. They are chosen by the local Christians and work together to guide, shepherd, and take care of God.

8. Each church of Christ is autonomous, independent, self-supporting, and self-governing just like the churches in the New Testament. For that reason, there are no Headquarters, Dioceses or councils. Just like the church in the first century, we simply call ourselves, “Christians” (Acts 11:26) but do not believe we are the “only Christians” (judging is God’s department) – therefore, we seek to build unity with other churches by finding what we have in common first (faith in Jesus) rather than our differences.

9. We believe to begin a relationship with God and to receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life, the New Testament teaches us what we need to do:

   1) JESUS, the importance of falling in love with Jesus first and understanding who He is, to come to faith that He is the Son of God whom we can trust in to save us from our sins (Acts 16:30,31).

  2) admitting that we are truly lost sinners and cannot save ourselves by our own goodness, but by fully trusting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 10:9,10).

  3) repentance (Acts 3:19) which means making a decision in our minds to make a “180,” running to the loving arms of the Father, and desiring to change our ways.

  4) not only trusting in Jesus as Savior, but seeking to make Him LORD of our lives daily in a relationship (Luke 9:23-26) – connected intimately to Him through the Holy Spirit.


  5) being spiritually re-born again on the inside through adult believer’s baptism by immersion where we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and forgiveness of sins, beginning our relationship with God (there is no infant baptism in the Bible; instead, we dedicate children to the LORD) – (Matthew 28:18-19; John 3:3-5; Acts 2:38; 8:36-38; 16:30-33).6) GOAL: daily transformed into Christlikeness by the power of the Spirit (1 Thess 4:3)


10. After baptism, growing in our walk with God and being discipled by an older believer who can help us mature in our faith, learning how to read the Bible for ourselves, prayer, etc.

11. Weekly worship is simple and patterned after the early church involving prayer, fellowship, Lord’s Supper, teaching, singing, and giving (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 16:1,2; Colossians 3:16)

12. Weekly observance of the Lord's Supper to celebrate the cross of Jesus (Acts 20:7) and the practice of  A cappella singing just like the early church did (Ephesians 5:8-19; Hebrews 13:15) In 2022 in the USA, there were 1.1 million members in 11,776 congregations Internationally, while God alone knows, best estimates there are over 3 million members and 60,000 congregations in Africa, South America, Asia, Australia, Canada, and Europe. There are 29 colleges, 37 preacher training schools, & hundreds of various ministries.

Would you like to speak with someone from the church?
Do you want to talk with someone or have any questions or immediate prayer requests?

If you would like someone to contact you, please scan the QR code  OR click the CONTACT FORM button below and fill out the contact form.   One of our leaders, ministry leaders, or staff will reach out to you soon.  You may also call the church office and leave a message. 

CONTACT FORM