Opportunities
A church is a family. Families are made up of people of different ages, interests, and needs. But they are held together with a common thread. At First EPC that common thread is Jesus. There are many opportunities at First EPC to serve and to be served; to teach and to be taught. But mostly it's about sharing our lives.
Music: Worshiping Christ through
music is a very important part of First EPC's worship time and with
two different styles of worship that we currently offer usually
provides something for everyone.
At our 8:30 am worship service we have a 6-member praise band that
leads the congregation in worshipping God in a more casual worship
setting through popular praise songs of today as well as from the
past. Praise band members play a variety of instruments including
acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, and percussion.
At our more traditional 11:00am worship service we have an over-30
member choir that leads the congregation to a closer relationship
with Christ in singing hymns and special music. Instruments used to
accompany the choir include pipe organ, piano, flute, and trumpet.
David Cosby, First EPC Choir Director, is always looking for anyone
interested in joining choir, on a short-term seasonal basis, or for
the longer term. There are also opportunities to share musical
talents in special music during the prelude or offeratory.
Missions: Although, through our Missions Committee, First EPC supports several missionaries throughout the world financially and with encouragement, we also seek to demonstrate the love of Christ locally, and in short-term trips to Mexico, the Gulf Coast, inner-city St. Louis, and others. You may read more about First EPC Missions on the Missions page.
Discipleship: As a church
evangelism, introducing people to Christ and sharing His love with
them, is important. But at First EPC, we take the discipleship of
believers very seriously and devote a lot of time and effort
providing discipleship opportunities for folks of all ages.
Sunday School is a large part of those efforts. We offer Sunday
School classes for nursery-age kids through senior adults. You may
find out more about our Sunday School offerings by clicking
here.
In addition to Sunday School, there are other opportunities for
discipleship. Age appropriate ministries for children and youth meet
at various times and offer fun activities and teaching throughout
the year. Specific groups for women, men, and couples also have a
place at First EPC. Check out the
Ministries page for more
information.
Community/Church
Based Programs: At First EPC we believe that there are a
myriad of resources available to help and instruct, that we didn't
necessarily come up with ourselves. We offer a variety of programs,
developed by other wonderful folks, that we welcome the community to
participate in. Here are some examples:
Financial Peace University - a practical program that helps
families gain a handle on God's perspective for handling money. You
can find more information at the website of FPU founder, author, and
radio-personality Dave Ramsey -
http://www.daveramsey.com.
ALPHA - a course designed to investigate the claims of
Jesus Christ in a fun, relaxed environment. You can find more
information at
http://www.alphausa.org.
Additionally our Easter and Christmas programs are
also a welcomed part of the church community.