As the pastor, I want to make visiting the Syracuse Vineyard an enjoyable experience that is stress
free and relaxing. Many of the folks here at the Vineyard were in the same place as you not long ago, a first time
visitor. I'd like you to know what to expect, so here's a brief overview.
When you arrive at the Vineyard (at 312 Lakeside Road, near exit 5 of Route 690 in Lakeland) for our 9:45 and 11:30
a.m. services, you will park in our main lot and use the main entrance into our building.
Upon entering there should be some friendly people (we call them "hosts") to say hello, answer any questions you have,
and direct you to the sanctuary. If you have kids, they can point you to the children's worship room, nursery or
toddler/kindergarten rooms (which are also well-marked with clear signs.) If your kids are more comfortable,
they're welcome to attend the adult service with you, but most kids really enjoy children's worship. We also
have an exciting youth class for middle school kids during the sermon portion of the service. Senior High youth
stay with the adults during the entire service. My three kids really enjoy their time in their age appropriate classes.
You'll notice that everyone is dressed comfortably, in anything from "office casual" to jeans and sneakers.
We want everyone to come as they are, so dress however you feel comfortable.
Once you come in the front door you enter a lobby area. Here you'll find a guest table with lots of information
about our church and the different programs we offer. You can also pick up a free music CD from Vineyard Music
and a Vineyard Vision CD (a recording by me telling you what our vision as a church is.) Also in the lobby is a
coffee table with free coffee and donut holes to enjoy before or after the service.
When you come in the sanctuary, you'll be given a copy of "the bulletin" which has the week's announcements and
future events.
The service usually begins with about 25 minutes of contemporary music from our worship band. During this time
the will congregation sing along with the band. This is a time where you are free to just sing or you can lift
and clap your hands. This is followed by a welcome and announcements. Then, I (or another speaker) will begin
the message. I usually speak for about 30-40 minutes, and I do my best to make the messages interesting,
enjoyable and relevant to daily life. The message will based on the Bible, and I will often include interesting
quotes from contemporary people, songs or movies. If I do my job right, you'll hear timeless truths from the Bible
that make sense for today's world. And hopefully, you'll laugh at times and maybe feel a tug at your heart too.
I'll close the service about 75 minutes after it began (and believe it or not, the time will fly.) I hope you'
ll come up and introduce yourself to me afterwards.
After the service, you'll pick up your kids from their classrooms, and then we hope you'll stay around, meet some
people and enjoy some coffee. Church is about God and worship, but it's also about community and compassion, so
we hope people really experience warmth and friendliness at the Vineyard.
That's about it. People constantly tell me that they really felt comfortable. "At home" are the words I hear most
frequently. I hope you'll stop by this Sunday. And if you do, please come down and say hi, and tell me that you
found out about the Vineyard on the Internet.
John Elmer
Syracuse Vineyard Church
