frequent questions

Q – What kind of church is MapleGrove?

A – MapleGrove is an independent Christian church with biblical values like truth, integrity and cultural relevance. You can read more about this here

Q – How long are services?

A – We normally keep the total weekend service times to between 60 and 90 minutes including worship music.  You are free to move about during the service, and can listen (and soon watch) the services from our lobby areas if that is more comfortable for you.

Q – What kind of music do you use in worship?

A – Our music is chosen to reflect the culture of the people that we hope to minister to.  This means that the “style” is similar to that of our community’s cultural preferences.  While some people believe that “traditional” hymns and organs are the only way to worship in song, we believe that the “style” of the music is not mandated anywhere in God's instruction to us. And since there is nothing against using any specific “style” of music, we choose to use the music that helps us do the most good.

Our worship band usually consists of acoustic guitar, percussion, base guitar, keyboard, and various vocals.

Q – Do you make people stand up during worship music?
                                                                                      
A – We don’t believe that it is necessary to stand to worship God.  We encourage all to sit, stand, go down on your knees, raise your hands, or not ... whatever helps you connect with God in worship as long as it doesn’t conflict with God’s requirements for worship.

God gives us only three requirements for worship. It must be authentic and accurate (in spirit and truth, as Jesus tells us in John 4:19-24). Paul also tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that it should be done in an orderly fashion. Beyond that, God gives us freedom.

Q – Do you have an alter call?
                       
A – We believe that any person can pray and/or make personal commitments to God without having to “come forward” or kneel at an alter.  The Bible tells us that we (church leaders) should not attach religious requirements that are not founded in Biblical mandates.

Q – Do you have a safety plan for me and/or my children while we are at MapleGrove?

A – Yes, while you are on-site at MapleGrove your safety is very important.  We have a team of trained volunteers, many with military and/or law enforcement backgrounds on site.  While we can not (for security reasons) go into more details in this document, we do take your safety very seriously and if you have additional questions, please feel free to ask one of our team members for more information.

Q –  If this is a Christian church, where’s the cross?

A –  MapleGrove is a Christian church.  Christianity is centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as depicted in the New Testament of the Bible. Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, and that the New Testament records the good news that was revealed by Jesus.

You can read more about our beliefs here;

http://maplegrovechurch.org/about/believe/

While the cross is one of the most ancient of human symbols, and has been used by many religions – not just Christians – there is no biblical reference to having a “cross” in a worship service, or focusing your prayers toward a cross.

Even though the cross is one of the most widely recognized symbols in the world, it was not commonly used as a symbol of Christianity until recently.

Q – Do you take an offering?  How can I support MapleGrove?

A –  MapleGrove is a registered 501(c) (3) Christian ministry and your gifts are greatly appreciated.  It takes money to operate a church and the ministries here at MapleGrove, so it depends on the support of it’s people.

We do receive offerings – we just don’t pass a plate during our weekend services.

You can put an offering in the offering boxes by the auditorium doors any time you are at the church, you can mail your offerings, or you can give on our secure website.

We also have a list of needs posted on our website that you can give toward.

Q - Are the facilities available for use by people outside of the MapleGrove family?

A - We consider requests for use of our facilities on a case by case basis. There are usually costs involved with using the facility depending on what you need.

MapleGrove only hosts weddings at our facility for people who are currently part of the MapleGrove Church body and have successfully completed our pre-marital workshop. The workshop takes about twelve weeks to complete. If you do not have a church home and are thinking about getting married, we highly recommend you become part of a church and learn more about what God has to say about marriage before making this life changing commitment.

Other Questions?