A walk-through for first Sundays, first Saturdays, and first weeks — what to expect, what to wear, where to park, and the four real ways you can plug in by the end of the month.
We get the same first-visit questions every week. Here are the answers in the order people actually ask them — no church-speak, no pamphlet voice.
Whatever you wore yesterday. Some folks wear boots from Saturday’s planting, some wear suits. Both are normal here. We dress for the work and for the weather, not for the room.
Loved, screened-volunteer-supervised, and welcome in the room. We have a kids program for K–5th down the hall and a nursery for infants & toddlers; we don’t mind any noise the babies make in the main room either.
No. We don’t do the “raise your hand if you’re new” thing. There’s a coffee table in the lobby with a host watching for anyone holding a printed map — that’s the only signal we use.
Our community holds together because the work isn’t separate from the worship. Every program here started with people in the same room on a Sunday looking at the same passage and deciding to do something specific about it.
9:00 & 11:00 am
Two identical services, same teaching, both with kids programs. Coffee, bagels, and a bench out front for after-talk.
7:30 am · Oct–Apr
Re-greening days at the Queen Creek wash, mile-marker 3. Breakfast at 7, planting at 8, home by noon. Bring boots.
5:30–7:00 pm
Pantry distribution at the church + two satellite pickup points. Volunteer for prep at 4, distribution at 5:30.
Most of our long-term work happens through small groups (8–12 people, weekly, year-long), and through the four "ministry threads" that meet on weeknights. Pick one and try it for a month. We don’t require a year-one commitment for anything.
Show up Saturday at 7:30, leave at noon with mud on your boots and a small forest in the ground. Beginners welcome — we’ll teach you the technique in 10 minutes.
Greet families in the pickup line, walk them through the week’s offerings, hand-bag produce. Two-shift options: prep crew (4–5:30) or line crew (5:30–7).
Cook a Sunday dinner for one of two arriving Afghan families and drop it at their door before sundown. Light recipe support; the family tells you what they want.
Sit in on a weekly recovery group as a non-leading companion — presence + listening, not advice. Required: 6-week trauma-informed companion training (next cohort Aug 4).
Yes — we’re happy to send the long version, but the short one is: gospel-of-Jesus, scripture-as-trustworthy, baptized-believer-led, generously-orthodox. We’re comfortable with people in the room who are still figuring out what they believe.
Once a week from the front, no pressure on guests. Online giving runs through a vetted platform with itemized receipts. We publish a quarterly financial breakdown showing exactly where every dollar lands.
Not by age. Our small groups mix generations on purpose — most of them have a 20-something and a 70-something in the same room. We think the church needs that more than it needs another twentysomethings group.
Plurality of elders, all of whom hold non-paid jobs in the community. We don’t have a single founder-pastor. Three elders teach on rotation through the year; another four lead operations + counseling + missions.
We don’t use the room for it. Our work crosses every voting pattern in the East Valley and that’s on purpose. If you want to talk politics with a leader over coffee, that conversation is open and welcome.
No registration form, no name tag waiting at the door. Tell us you’re coming if you want a host watching for you — or don’t, and just show up.