You are coming for the first time and you do not know what to expect. That is a reasonable thing to be, and most of the people in the building on any given Sunday were once exactly where you are now.
Here is the morning, in order.
Before you leave the house
Wear whatever you have. Some people here dress up because they like to, and some come in jeans. Both are normal and nobody is counting. If you are still thinking about it at the door, wear what you would wear to a friend's house for lunch.
The address is 3330 Skyview Dr, Lakeland, FL 33801. Parking at the church is free. Come a few minutes before eleven and you will have your pick of spaces.
When you walk in
Somebody will greet you at the door. If they ask your name, give it or do not, both are fine. You will be pointed to a seat. Sit anywhere. The middle of the room and the back row are both normal choices for a first visit.
What happens during the service
The service starts at eleven with singing. People stand for it. If you would rather sit, sit. The lyrics are on screens at the front, and most people sing the parts they know and mouth the rest.
Then Dr. HB Holmes teaches from the Bible. The teaching runs somewhere between thirty and forty-five minutes in our experience.
There is an offering during the service. If you are visiting, the offering is not for you. Let the basket pass. That is the normal move and nobody will look twice.
Near the end of the service, the pastor invites anyone who wants prayer to come forward. You can go, you can stay in your seat, you can quietly ask the person next to you to pray with you after the service. If somebody offers to pray for you and you would rather they did not, "no thank you" is a complete answer.
How long does the morning run?
The service starts at eleven. If you need to plan the rest of your day around when it ends, call the church at 863-682-1467 and ask.
Children
If you are bringing a baby or a small child to the eleven o'clock service, call 863-682-1467 before Sunday and tell them the ages. Somebody will meet you at the door and show you where they go that week.
After the service
People talk. That is the part of Sunday that runs longest, and it is the part visitors tend to remember. If you want to be left alone, say so politely. If you want to meet someone, almost anyone in the lobby will do that.
The pastor is usually available after the service if you would like to talk to him directly. The prayer team is the same group you saw at the front, and you can ask any of them to pray with you on the way out.
What if I have a question nobody has answered?
The phone on the current flyer is 863-682-1467. A small church, somebody will give you a straight answer. You can also send us a message and we will write back.
The whole Sunday, including the eight o'clock and nine o'clock parts, is laid out in Sunday morning at Rhema, hour by hour.