You're invited to worship God with us! We know new places can feel awkward at first, so we want you to feel comfortable and welcome when visiting with other Christians at the Upstate church. What will be expected of you? Nothing at all! You will not be asked to do anything that will embarrass you. You are welcome to participate, but not obligated. Let us tell you what you can expect when you visit!

The People

What kind of people can you expect to find? Pretty much the same kind of people you would find in similar places. We are a diverse church of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and at different stages of spiritual growth. We don't know everything. We don’t always do everything perfectly. We haven't arrived yet. We are still on the journey. But we hope you will also find people who love God, love one another, and who are thankful for the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Worship God

Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Worship is an opportunity to experience God and encourage one another in love! In worship we endeavour to attain an atmosphere of reverence and rejoicing. Reverence because we are worshipping our awesome God in Heaven. Rejoicing because of the remarkable things God has done for us in our daily lives and eternal salvation.

Singing

As Christians we sing inspirational psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God. We invite everyone to join in this time of singing and praise to God. Singing gives us the opportunity to open our hearts to God and stir up love and good works in one another! We are not concerned about how well people sing, only that our singing is offered to God from thankful and loving hearts (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16).

Preaching

The Bible is the way God speaks and connects to us today. Preaching is an opportunity to hear the words of Jesus. Through listening with open hearts to God’s word we learn about the nature of God, how to daily walk with God, and we are given hope and comfort by knowing the countless promises that God has made to us (Romans 1:16; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Praying 

We pray each time we worship together. Just as preaching from the Bible allows God to speak to us, praying is our way to speak with God as individuals and a church family. God promises to hear our prayers (Matthew 6:9; James 1:5).

Communion

We partake of the Lord’s Supper together each Sunday. This is a special time for us to remember the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and to celebrate the salvation which His death of Calvary’s Cross has accomplished for us (Matthew 26:26-9; Acts 20:7).

Offering

We cheerfully give back to God from the countless blessings He has given us by taking up a collection each Sunday. We take up the offering in order to support God’s work of sharing the “good news” of salvation and grace to our world. We do not solicit from our visitors (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7).

Fellowship

At the Upstate church, the visiting that takes place before and after worship is special! People simply enter the building and begin talking with each other, shaking hands, exchanging hugs and encouraging one another in the Lord. One visit will show that the congregation at Upstate is a place where people from different walks in life, race, economic levels, struggles and spiritual growth can see and experience the love of Jesus Christ.

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