What to Expect
If you are visiting our congregation today for the first time, we want you to know how glad we are to have you with us. We also want to take this opportunity to explain our worship service to you, so that you will feel right at home.
Our congregation follows a “liturgical” order of service. This means that there is a basic structure in our service.
The orders of service that we follow are from the front part of The Lutheran Hymnal. For your convenience, the entire text of the service – with the exception of the hymns – is printed in our worship folder.
We hope and pray that you will be blessed by the ministry of God’s Word during your time at Living Water. We hope that you will come and worship with us often. You will always be most welcome in our midst, in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ!
Our music is taken from the best that the Christian Church has to offer from its nearly 2,000 year history. There are songs that we sing whose lyrics have their origins in the first five centuries of the church; but there are also songs we sing that were written and sung only in the past ten years; and there's everything in between.
The Lord accepts us in His grace and love no matter what we wear; but it's in our knowledge of and trust in His love, that we want to come before into the presence of our Lord in our "Sunday best." "Sunday best" means different things to different people. For some it can mean suits/sport coats and ties or dresses; for others it can mean the nicest pair of jeans we own. Either way, we recognize that coming to church means coming into God's presence, and that it's special.
The parking lot is in front of the church. The center spots closest to the doors are reserved for those requiring handicapped access. If you are elderly, have small children or just have difficulty getting around, by all means please make use of the carport. The ushers would be happy to assist you. If you need it, they'll even park your car for you and retrieve it for you following the service!
Kids need to hear God's Word too. So that's why we encourage families to worship together. Our worship service is designed so that even young children can still receive benefits from it, especially when families worship regularly. We have "busy bags" in the narthex with pencils and coloring pages for younger children who get a little wiggly if they have nothing to do while sitting in church. If you feel your child is becoming a distraction, we have a "parents' room" in the back of the sanctuary where you can take your child for a few minutes. The room is wired for sound so you won't miss any of the service.
Our church practices close communion, which means we commune only confirmed members of Christ the King, as well as visitors from other churches with whom we are in fellowship (share the same beliefs and teachings). Right now those churches are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), and other church bodies of the worldwide Conference of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (CELC). Scripture tells us that the Lord's Supper is not just a matter between the individual and the Lord, but that when someone communes, they profess to be of "one loaf" with everyone else who communes. In other words, by taking communion you're expressing total agreement with all of our beliefs and practices.
If you would like to commune, please speak with pastor or one of the elders prior to the start of the worship service.
If you would like to know more about becoming a member of Christ the King, please speak to Pastor Heyn.
Thank you for your courteous respect of our beliefs and practices.