Sundays at Merland Rise Church

Yes, we have a car park around the back of the church. If you park there, you can walk through the back entrance to the church rather than having to head all the way round the front.

You’ll be greeted by a member of our Welcome Team. If you arrive before 10.15am there’s also a chance to grab a hot drink in our café area before you head into the main hall.

We have a countdown to the start of our service so people know to take their seats. Throughout the service our Pastor Richard and service hosts will explain what is happening when. Our services are friendly and informal.

Normally in our services there is a welcome, followed by some notices about events coming up at church. There will be a time of worship and then Richard, our pastor, or other speakers, will give a bible-based message. There may be a bit more worship after the talk and then an opportunity for people to be prayed with at the end.

We have age specific kids groups for our children at Merland Rise. The children join us for the start of our service in the main hall. Then they will be invited to go to their groups, after about 15-20 minutes. A service host will announce this and direct children to the right adults and the right rooms. TFC (ages 1-4) stay downstairs in our creche room, and KFC (ages 5-11) and G-Unit (ages 11-16) head upstairs for their groups. At the end of the service, parents/carers go and collect their children from their groups. If you’re new and bringing children along for the first time, you are welcome to arrive early and say hello to Karen, our Children’s Ministry Lead. Just ask a Welcome Team member to point her out to you.

We have a live band and singers at the front and the lyrics to the songs will appear on large screens, so it’s easy to sing along if you would like to. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard the songs before!

This is a talk with a message, based on Bible passages. We usually have sermon series which focus on a particular topic or part of the bible, over a period of a few weeks. Messages will touch on everyday life and hopefully be relevant and inspiring to you.

Each week we take up a collection, where people can give money to support the work of the church, as well as the work of charity organisations we support. It is completely optional to give and there is no pressure to do so.

Our pastor Richard, or a service host will usually end the service in prayer. There will be an opportunity for people to pray with members of our prayer team, if they would like. Everyone is welcome to be prayed with, but there is no pressure. Our prayer team are trained and experienced in listening to God and praying with people.

Look out for one of our Welcome Team, they are there to answer questions and help you. Our Welcome Team wear blue lanyards so they are hopefully easier to spot!