Don't let myths or misunderstandings steal your blessing

Many times, we let other things stand in our way of truly being blessed. Listed
below are some common myths and misunderstandings that people have which
stop them from attending a worship service. We want you to be able to make a
well-informed decision to worship with us, so don't let these excuses stand in the way of your blessing.

• Because I am visiting, I will be forced to stand up and introduce myself.
  • We want you to feel welcome, and we definitely will not ask you to
    stand up or say anything to make you feel uncomfortable. Our
    desire is that you will feel like family and that your spiritual needs
    will be met while you are with us for worship.
• I will feel out of place.
  • Of course, it is intimidating to walk in somewhere new and unfamiliar, whether it be a church, a restaurant, a school, an airport, etc. We
    hope that this visitor's guide has helped to ease your mind, but if
    you have a question, please ask someone for help. We want you to feel at home at Abilene and are willing to help you in any way we
    can. Our prayer is that you will feel like family before you leave.
• I just want to watch at first, but I know they will try to get me involved or
  sign me up for something.
  • Being pressured to do something is an unpleasant experience for anyone, especially in a group of unfamiliar people. We will not
    pressure you into joining our church or involvement in ways that you
    do not desire. We include visitor registration forms in our bulletins; however, no one will force you to fill out a form if you are not ready
    to do so. We come together to worship God in spirit and in truth as
    a body of believers, and we invite you to worship with us. While you would be a welcomed guest, our most precious and coveted guest
    is the Holy Spirit, and we do not want to disrupt His presence by pressuring you.
• People will judge me if I don't want to use the church child care and my
  children get noisy.
  • Children are a special blessing, and we invite you to keep them with
    you during worship, if you so desire. The age of our congregation ranges from tiny to ninety, and we are delighted to have your family worship with us.
• I'm afraid that I'll say or do something wrong.
  • Most of us feel this way when we are in a new place or situation. The people of Abilene are ordinary people like yourself. We believe that
    if the Holy Spirit leads you to do or say something, then that is what
    you should do, and no one will judge you for following His guidance.
• I don't know that much about the Bible.
  • Our church family is made up of a variety of people, some who have more knowledge of the Bible than others. We do not want you to feel that you have to be a Bible scholar to study with us as we are all on
    a journey of digging deeper into God's Word to learn and grow in our relationship with Him. Abilene Bible study groups meet on Sundays at 10:00 am and other times as announced in the church calendar. We would be delighted for you to join us for Bible study.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact us, and we will try
to make your experience amazing. To go back to the Visitor page, click here.