It can take courage to visit a church for the first time. Thanks for thinking about it. If you’re worried about coming along, please don’t be! Here at Emmanuel you’ll find there are people from all sorts of backgrounds, ages, countries, with different personalities and a variety of faith-backgrounds. You don’t even have to be Christian to come along! We’d love to welcome you.
There’s no dress-code – come in whatever you feel comfortable wearing. Most people are pretty casual.
As you arrive, you’ll be given a welcome and everything you need for the gathering. There will be some prayers, a Bible reading, a talk, usually something for the children, and various songs along the way. If you arrive late, it’s OK. We aim to start on time but we always leave seats at the back for latecomers.
You’re not expected to bring any money with you and there won’t be an offering plate passed around. Our regulars do contribute to church funds, but visitors are our guests.
Refreshments are served after the gathering – and they’re also free. You can slip off after the formal close of the gathering if you like, but lots of people choose to stay and chat over drinks and biscuits.
We hope it goes without saying that it’s fine to bring children – and please don’t worry if they misbehave. We’re a ‘Shhh’-free church! You can always wander in and out if they’re proving challenging. We provide creche and Sunday Club for under-11s. See below for more info.
A typical morning service will last about an hour and a quarter. This will include a talk which lasts around 30 minutes.
We call it “Breaking Bread” or “The Lord’s Table” and we celebrate it on the first Sunday of the month at the end of the morning service and the third Sunday of the month in the evening service. This is for those who profess the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The bread and the wine (non-alcoholic) are served to the congregation in their seats. You are free to decline this without any embarrassment at all.
We recognize that not everyone is at the same point in their journey to God and you may be wrestling with questions, doubts, objections and scepticism about the Christian faith. May we assure you that we were all there once! At Emmanuel we welcome both believers and sceptics and would encourage you to come along on a Sunday and find out more about what it means to believe in Jesus Christ.
From time to time we put on small discussion groups to explore the Christian faith and provide an opportunity to discover more and ask questions in an informal setting with no pressure to believe.
In the meantime, here are some resources you may find helpful:
On Sundays we meet together as a whole church family to worship God, hear a message from the Bible and encourage one another.
As part of the service there are groups for babies, pre-schoolers and primary aged children. Please ask for details about Sunday evening and mid-week community groups.
10.30am
Emmanuel Church Leftwich
In our morning service we sing together, listen to prayers, read from the Bible, and listen to a talk based on it. Songs and Bible readings are displayed on a large screen. Part of the service is devoted to children and, before the main talk, children up to the age of 11 years leave for their own programme or creche. More details below. If you prefer to keep your children in the service, then that isn’t a problem, but we think they will enjoy Sunday Club more! Tea and coffee are served in our café area after the meeting. Parking is available at the rear and side of the church building off Kenmare Bank.
6.00pm
Emmanuel Church Leftwich
This is an informal gathering with a more varied programme which might include: interviews, training, discussion, praying in small groups, celebrating the Lord’s Table, and a guest speaker from another church or Christian organisation.
We do not meet at 6pm in August and at certain other times during the year. Please contact us to confirm.
Children on Sunday
We love children at Emmanuel! They are an important part of our church family life and it is a privilege to have them join us Sunday by Sunday. We try to make church the high point of their week and to do all we can to help them learn about God.
On Sunday mornings our service begins with the whole church together. We understand that bringing children to church can be stressful but please don’t let that put you off! We are used to the noise of children during the service and see it very much as being part of the church family. We find it helps to sit with your children and to talk to them about what’s going on so that they learn and experience for themselves what a great place church is to be.
After about 30 minutes the children depart for Creche (birth to preschool, 0-4) and two Sunday Club groups (primary school aged children, 4-11). They sing, play games, make things, and get to grips with what the Bible teaches. Children are collected from their classes by parents at the end of the service.
