What happens at a Sunday service?

You have looked up the address twice and you still have not gone. Not because you do not want to, but because you do not know what happens once you are inside, and nobody wants to be the person who stands when everyone else sits. This page is about exactly that, in order, so that nothing on Sunday is a surprise.

What actually happens in a service?

Worship for about forty-five minutes, a message from the Bible for about fifty, testimonies, announcements, and prayer — including prayer for anyone who is unwell.

The worship is led from the front and the words are on a screen. Some people raise their hands, most do not, and both are completely normal. Then Rev. Brian teaches from a passage of the Bible, which is the main part of the morning.

There is a time when people tell the church what God has done for them, and a time when anyone who is unwell, or carrying something, can be prayed for. Nobody is called out and nobody is pointed at — people come forward if they want to, and a great many stay in their seats.

You will not be asked to do anything. You can sit through the entire service without speaking to a single person, and nobody will think it strange.

How long does it take?

That depends which one you come to, and the difference is large enough to plan around.

• 9:00 AM, English — one hour, ending at 10:00. No meal afterwards.
• 10:00 AM, Hindi and English — the main service. It runs until about 2:00 and ends with the church eating together.
• 4:00 PM, Chandigarh — two hours, ending at 6:00.

If four hours is more than you want for a first visit, come at 9:00. It is a full service in an hour, and nobody will think less of you for choosing it.

And if you have somewhere to be, sit near the back and near the aisle, and leave when you need to. People come and go for all sorts of reasons — a baby, a shift, a bus. It is not rude and it will not be noticed.

What do people wear?

Whatever you own, dressed modestly. People arrive in jeans, in salwar kameez, in shirts and in sarees, on foot and on scooters.

There is no dress code and nobody is checking what you have on. We only ask that you dress modestly, the way you would for anyone’s home, because children and grandparents are in the room and it is a place of worship. Beyond that, come in what you wore that morning.

Where do I sit if I do not know anyone?

Anywhere. The back is a perfectly good place to start, and there is no seat that belongs to somebody else.

If you would rather be met at the door than walk in alone, tell us you are coming and somebody will look out for you. If you would rather not be met at all, say that instead and nobody will approach you.

Will anybody notice that I am new?

Yes, and we mean to. Somebody will welcome you, and you will be offered a short form in case there is anything you would like us to pray about.

We would rather greet you than pretend we had not seen you. A church where a new person can come and go entirely unnoticed is not being kind, it is being indifferent, and we would not want that for you.

The form is the one thing we will hand you. It asks whether there is anything you would like the church to pray for. You do not have to write anything on it, you do not have to give your name or a number, and nobody checks who handed one back. It is there because people often arrive carrying something and would rather write it down than say it out loud.

If you would like to talk to somebody afterwards, there are people who would be glad to. If you would rather slip out at the end, that is completely fine too, and it happens every week.

Do I have to give money?

No. Tithes and offerings are received during the service, and that is how the church is funded, but visitors are not expected to give and nobody is watching who does.

Nothing here — prayer, teaching, a meal, a welcome — has ever depended on it. If you want to know how the money is used, that is written down on our giving page.

This week

• Pick one Sunday and put it in your phone: 9:00 for the short English service, 10:00 for the main one.
• If walking in alone is the hard part, ask a friend to come with you, or tell us and we will meet you at the door.
• If you come at 10:00, stay and eat at the end. That is where you actually meet people.

May the God who prepares a table for His people make room for you at ours, and may your first Sunday be an easy one.