Frequently Asked Questions
What should I expect when I visit the church?
Can I just come to check things out?
What should I do with my children while visiting?
How did the church get its name?
What should I wear to church?
How long have you been in this building?
Is there someone at the church that could pray for me or help me with some questions?
What does the church believe about worship?
Why do you include responsive activities (i.e. what the congregation says after the Bible is read) in your worship services?
Why do you have the Lord’s Supper every week?
When is my child ready to participate in the Lord’s Supper?
Your worship is fairly liturgical, can you explain the different parts of the service?
Do I have to believe in things like predestination, Presbyterianism, or infant baptism to become a member of King of Kings Church?
What is “Calvinism” and why does your church believe in it?
What does it mean that your church is Presbyterian?
Why does your church baptize babies?
I notice that there is alcohol at some of your church functions. What is your church’s position on Christians & alcohol?
Why does your pastor wear a robe?
What does a pastor do during the week?
Do you have a question not addressed here? To submit a question, please contact the office.
Questions about Visiting:
What should I expect when I visit the church?
You should expect to meet a friendly group of people from all types of backgrounds and in various stages of life. Many of us are convinced of the truthfulness of Christianity, others are just checking things out. We are normal people who take our beliefs seriously.
More importantly, you should expect to meet with God, the triune God of Scripture who has made all things and for whom all things exist. We believe that we encounter this God in worship–through his word, sacrament, and people–and that he is doing something wonderful in our midst. Expect that.
Can I just come to check things out?
Of course! It’s easy to pay us a visit; signs indicate where pretty much everything is, you won’t get spammed, asked for money, or made to stand up to introduce yourself, etc. We aim to be a place where people can feel open to ask questions, consider things, and express their struggles, so please come as yourself.
What should I do with my children while visiting?
We love kids and believe that God wants our little ones to know him and worship him just like adults. We invite your children to join us in the worship service and encourage parents to use this time to teach their children how to worship: how to say they are sorry for their sin, to pray and say “Amen,” to praise God with song, and to listen to the Bible. As a help for parents we supply a children’s bulletins for ages 3-6. We are not bothered by an occasional squeal, laugh, or tear. If you choose, we also provide a nursery for ages 0-4 that you may use for part or all of the service.
How did the church get its name?
As a church we wanted our name to say something of the content of our beliefs. Most basically we believe that that Jesus is the Christ, the King, the Lord (Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 12:3), and that in him and through his work God is reclaiming the world and bringing about his kingdom.
Some of our folks wear flip-flops and shorts, others are more on the business-casual side of things. What you wear isn’t the most important thing, but it can say something about what you believe happens at church.
How long have we been in this building?
God has blessed us with an amazing piece of property and an equally amazing building. Our first service was March 20, 2016.
Is there someone at the church that could pray for me or help me with some questions?
Absolutely. Please don’t hesitate to approach our minister or any of our leaders (they will be up front and are listed in the bulletin) with any questions you have. They would love to be of service to you. If you would rather you can simply list your contact info on a tear-off section of the bulletin and leave it in the collection plate which will allow us to get back with you and interact more fully. Finally, every week after the service the elders pray for those who have particular needs or prayer requests. If you would like to be prayed for simply go to the conference room just past the bathrooms and you will met by a few of our leaders who would be delighted to pray for you.
Questions about Worship:
What does the church believe about worship?
We believe that worship is at the heart of the church’s calling and that it is the most important thing that any of us do all week. Notice what we say about worship in our Core Values.
“The greatness of the King evokes whole-hearted worship—worship that reverently celebrates the glory of God.” We believe that worship should be centered on God. When we recognize who God is and what he has done the correct response is to happily acknowledge his worthiness. We hope to do so with all that we are—all of our heart, mind, and strength. This kind of worship is a celebration, but unlike many “celebrations” there is good reason to rejoice: Christ the King has come! Also, this celebration should always maintain an attitude of humility and reverence. The God of the universe is the audience so we are never playful in this most serious business of the church.
Second, God is both present and active in worship through the reading & preaching of the Scriptures, prayer, the singing of his praises, the mysteries of baptism & the Lord’s Supper, and the fellowship of the congregation to transform people into the image of his son. We are convinced that when the church enters into worship as God would have us to do, (as mentioned above) God is at work in a direct and powerful way to communicate himself and to radically change people.
Why do you include responsive activities (i.e. what the congregation says after the Bible is read) in your worship services?
Our rationale is two-fold. First, these corporate responses follow the pattern we see in Scripture. The worship that we see in the Bible is fully congregational. In other words, all of the people are participants, and often respond to God together by using established expressions (Deut 27:11-26; Psalm 136; 1 Cor 14:16; Rev 4:8, etc. ).
Second, responsive activities (such as the Apostle’s and Nicene Creeds) supply the church with a language of response that is both beautiful and theologically rich. Thomas Howard says it well, “Antiphony [responsive elements] deepen the shallow pool of our personal resources and set us free from the prison of our own meager capacity to respond adequately in a given situation.” No words can guarantee that worshipers offer their heart, mind, soul, and strength to God, but some words do aid us in this process.
Why do you have the Lord’s Supper every week?
First, we celebrate communion weekly because of what we read in the Bible. When we look at the passages which describe the gatherings of the early church it’s clear that the Lord’s Supper was a regular part of the church’s worship (Acts 2:42; 20:7; I Cor. 11:17-20; cf. 14:26). As New Testament scholar Oscar Cullman, notes, “in the book of Acts instruction, preaching, prayer and breaking of bread are mentioned, and mentioned in such a way as clearly to show that these elements were from the beginning, the foundation of all worship life in the Christian community. We know now the basis of early Christian worship: Sermon, prayer, and supper.” In keeping with these observations, weekly communion has been the practice of many churches and Christians throughout the ages (John Calvin, Martin Luther, & Charles Spurgeon, just to name a few).
Second, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper weekly because of what we believe about the meal. We believe that communion is a ‘means of grace’ through which the Lord blesses us. We believe it is not just a remembering of the work of Christ, but a present communion with Christ himself (I Cor. 10:16), where we find strength, renewal, and spiritual nourishment. In this meal God meets with us and applies all of the benefits of Christ’s redemption to believers as they feed on him by faith. To be sure, this is mysterious, but it is so in a soul-satisfying way, something we should crave each week.
When is my child ready to participate in the Lord’s Supper?
In order for your child to participate in communion he or she needs to have been baptized and possess an ability to articulate the gospel (in an age-appropriate way). Whenever parents think that their children are ready they should set up a time with the pastor and/or elders to speak about these things and be admitted to the table by the leadership of the church. Ideally, these requirements will be met in all of our children when they are still very young, though this assumes that parents take the initiative in training their children. The pastor and elders are always available to help parents in this endeavor as well as to speak with children. For more information, please click here for a document on Children and the Lord’s Supper.
Your worship is fairly liturgical, can you explain the different parts of the service?
- Greeting & Announcements – This includes announcements of events, time for members to greet each other, and a few minutes for quiet preparation to meet with God.
- God Calls Us to Worship – Scripture is read that encourages a dialogue of worship between God and His people.
- We Pray for God’s Presence – Time for giving thanks to God in prayer and by asking that he would aid us by his Spirit in meeting with him
- We Confess our Sins & Receive God’s Forgiveness – Through Scripture, we take time to ask God forgiveness for our sins.
- We Praise God in Song – Having received God’s grace following our confession of sin, we rejoice in praising God for His goodness and mercy through singing.
- We Confess Our Faith – We continue to praise God, this time with the help of great creeds and confessions such as the Nicene Creed, Apostle’s Creed and Westminster Confession of Faith.
- We Offer Our Gifts to God – One way we display our faith is by giving through our finances. The Bible commands that we honor God with all of our money so He may use our finances to support the work of the church and the spread of the gospel.
- We Pray for the Church & the World – We continue our worship by seeking God in prayer, specifically, we ask for his work within and his blessing upon his church as well as the world.
- We Praise God in Song – Now that we’ve affirmed our faith, practiced it in giving, and sought God in prayer, we rise again to continue to sing God’s praise.
- God Speaks to Us in the Preaching of His Word – This is the center and high point of worship and the way we hear from God most directly through the reading of Scripture and preaching of His Word.
- Song of Response – We sing a song that aids us in responding to God with thanks, praise, and obedience.
- We Commune with God in the Lord’s Supper – We remember the life-giving work of Jesus Christ, especially his death and resurrection, and as we believe and partake of this holy meal.
- Closing Song – After the Lord’s Supper we briefly and triumphantly sing of God’s glory.
- God Sends Us into the World with His Blessing – God concludes the conversation of worship by sending his people out into the world to live for him with his blessing.
If you are interested, please see a sample of our Order of Worship.
Questions about our Beliefs:
Do I have to believe in things like predestination, Presbyterianism, or infant baptism to become a member of King of Kings Church?
No, you don’t. Our church thinks that the Bible teaches these things and hopes that in time you will come to share these convictions, but understands them to be of secondary importance to the gospel. All that is necessary for membership is to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ (example: The Apostles’ & Nicene Creeds, Romans 10:9, etc. ).
What is “Calvinism” and why does your church believe in it?
“Calvinism,” as it’s popularly known, is a theological position on God’s sovereignty in salvation. It is one of the most widely recognized beliefs of Presbyterians. Usually, people summarize Calvinism’s five points (actually these five points are from the Synod of Dort, when the church responded to the five points of the Remonstrants, who were the followers of Jacob Arminius) by means of an acronym, ‘TULIP. ’ Robert Reymond explains the points as follows:
- Total Depravity: Both because of original sin and their own acts of sin, all mankind, excepting Christ, in their natural state are thoroughly corrupt and completely evil, though they are restrained from living out their corruptness in its fullness by the instrumentalities of God’s common grace. Accordingly they are completely incapable of saving themselves.
- Unconditional Election: Before the creation of the world, out of his mere free grace and love, God elected many undeserving sinners to complete and final salvation without any foresight of faith or good works or any other thing in them as conditions or causes which moved him to choose them. That is to say, the ground of their election is not in them but in him.
- Limited Atonement: Christ died efficaciously, that is, truly savingly, only for the elect, although the infinite sufficiency of his atonement and the divine summons to all to repent and trust in Christ provide the warrant for the universal proclamation of the gospel to all men. I personally prefer the terms “definite atonement,” “particular atonement,” or efficacious atonement” over “limited atonement,” both because of possible misunderstanding of the word “limited” and because every evangelical “limits” the atonement either in its design (the Calvinist) or in its power to accomplish its purpose (the Arminian).
- Irresistible Grace: The doctrine does not mean that the nonelect will find God’s grace irresistible; indeed, God’s saving grace is not even extended to them, for even the elect may resist his overtures toward them for a time. What it does mean is that the elect are incapable of resisting forever God’s gracious overtures toward them. At this appointed time, God draws the elect, one by one, to himself by removing their hostility and opposition to him and his Christ making them willing to embrace his Son.
- Perseverance of the Saints: The elect are eternally secure in Christ, who preserves his own and enables them to persevere in him unto the end. Those professing Christians who have apostatized from the faith (1 Tim 4:1), as John states, “went out from us, but then did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 Jn 2:19).
As to why our church believes in this high view of God’s work to save, we believe this is the teaching of Scripture. The Bible regularly presents God as a great King who does whatsoever he wishes. He does all his will all the time. Only the doctrine termed ‘Calvinism’ gives the God of the Bible the supreme glory that he deserves.
Many of you may want a further explanation than that, so we encourage you to ask questions at church, to get involved with others in the church who are studying the Bible, and read J.I. Packer’s Introduction to John Owen’s classic defense of Calvinism’s most debated point, namely limited atonement, in The Death of Death in the Death of Christ.
What does it mean that your church is Presbyterian?
The word “Presbyterian” is meant to describe our form of church government where a group of elders who are elected by the congregation represent the body and lead the church. Click here for more information about our denomination.
Why does your church baptize babies?
We practice infant baptism because we believe this is what God commands in Scripture. We believe that God’s covenant promises extend to those who believe in him and their children as well. To provide a more in depth explanation, please see Jones To You and Your Children, written by Pastor David Jones. Also included is a link a prior Men’s Forum study focusing on infant baptism. Feel free to contact the Pastor or one of the elders so discuss this further.
Questions about our Practice:
I notice that there is alcohol at some of your church functions. What is your church’s position on Christians & alcohol?
For our thoughts on the place of alcohol in the Christian life read this position paper on Alcohol and the Christian (1)
Why does your pastor wear a robe?
We believe that the robe helps convey some of our Christian convictions. It reminds us that worship, while a celebration, is an encounter with a holy God. It also reminds us that the pastor, while only a man, is God’s messenger, set apart by the Lord to minister his holy word. In Scripture we see that when God’s priests acted in their official capacity they wore special garments just as a judge or policeman does in our own culture.
What does a pastor do during the week?
The short answer is that a pastor should do four types of things: Preach, pray, pastor, & prepare for these things (there are, of course, a number of administrative duties as well). A longer answer is provided in “A Philosophy of Pastoral Ministry”.
