Q & A with Pastor Courtney

Q: I know it says 10:30am for worship on Sundays, but realistically, what time should I get there? And can I bring coffee?

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A: (Laughs) Yes to coffee! This is Washington, and I adore coffee myself! We have a Keurig station with a selection of coffee here, so help yourself! Worship starts at 10:30AM on Sundays, but we love to mingle, so there are folks here starting about 20 minutes before that who would love to meet you.

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Q: I have children. Is there programming for kids? Where do I take them?

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A: Bring them into worship service with you! And then prior to the sermon, kids ages 4 through grade 5 are invited to go to our Faith Spot classroom for songs, lessons, crafts & play! Children will remain in service the first Sunday of every month for a special Family Worship session. We also have a Youth Group a couple times a month on Sunday nights. Take a look at our Get Involved page for more information about these programs.

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Q: What is worship service like? Super-formal, or casual, or….?

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A: We are a mix of traditional and contemporary, and we hope you’ll come as you are. Comfy and authentic is my personal dress code.

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Q: What kinds of adult ministry groups or small groups do you have as part of your church that I could join?

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A: We have lots of options! There is a men’s group that meets for brunch every other Wednesday, and we also have a women’s group that attends a retreat each year and meets to chat and craft in a group called Faith, Fiber & Fellowship. It’s a fun place to learn fiber crafts. We also have a Marvelous Monday life group that meets in person and over Zoom, plus a Wednesday Night group. We have more information at our Get Involved page.

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Q: What types of community service groups or partners does your church support or work with?

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A: We host a local AA Meeting on Friday nights, collaborate with Operation Night Watch in Seattle on the first Saturday of every month, and partner with the Chase Lake Elementary Food Pantry. We’d love for you to get involved! And as a congregation, we also support missionaries abroad in Italy, Patrick and Jamie Nachtigall.

 

Q: What kind of beliefs does the church ascribe to? What sort of membership or rules does it have?

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A: We’re a part of a larger global movement called the Church of God based out of Anderson, Indiana, and it goes back over 150 years. The neat thing about our organizational framework is that we’re not a denomination, but a movement that seeks unity among believers regardless of Christian background. That means you’ll encounter a lot of different theological flavors of practice while we all strive to follow Jesus – and find a lot of grace with each other as we recognize those non-essential differences. We don’t technically have formal “membership” in our churches because we’re focused on belonging to God.

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There’s a little longer write-up on our About Us page that talks about the movement itself, and it links to the Church of God page at JesusIsTheSubject.org. I’m also happy to answer your specific questions in person, since I was ordained as part of this movement!

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Q: Thanks, Pastor Courtney. If I have any other questions, how can I reach you?

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A: I'm always checking our email! Go ahead and send me a message at office@edmondschurch.org.