What To Expect At ECBC's 1st Service

First of all, thank you for your interest in visiting our church!

ECBC's 1st Service (also known as the English Service) is held every Sunday starting at 8:45am. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by friendly ushers and welcomers who will direct you to the sanctuary where the service is held.

Many people are nervous about going to church as they're unsure of what to expect for their first visit. What do I bring? What to wear? Where do I park? We want you to feel comfortable during your visit, so here are a few tips on what to expect...

Logistical Details

If you have a Bible, you can bring it to church. If not, you can request for a complimentary New Testament Bible from one of the ushers at the door. We also try our best to print out references to the Bible on our multimedia screen to help you follow along during the service.

Feel free to dress comfortably. You'll notice some people do come in their "Sunday bests" while others will arrive in their jeans. There is no specific "dress code" for our service... The key is -- just come as you are, we'd love to meet you!

We have plenty of parking space at our church. Our 1st service attendees generally find a lot of spaces to park in. However to make sure that your car will not be blocked by people who will arrive for the 2nd service, we invite you to park at either the outside small lot (before the gate) or the back lot behind the church building.

What is the service like?

ECBC's 1st Service is filled with a good mix of contemporary music as well as traditional hymns, and relevant Biblical messages by our various pastors. The service is conducted completely in English. On the rare occasion when the pastor preaches in Chinese, the sermon will be clearly translated into English. A typical service lasts about 90 minutes.

Towards the end of the service, we often like to take a little time to recognize new comers among us by asking them to stand up and introduce themselves. This is to make sure we can warmly welcome you. However we don't want to pressure you into doing anything you don't want to do. So if you're shy and you don't wish to stand up, please feel free to relax in your seat and remain inconspicuous. After the service, we have prepared a room for all the new comers to meet with our pastors and some members of our church. We welcome you to join us and allow us to introduce you better to our church.

What about the children?

Full children's programs are also available for children preK to grade 7. The children will stay with their parents during the worship singing in the beginning of the service. They will then be dismissed to their Sunday School classes afterwards. Classes are divided by grades in order to cater the class programs to age appropriate activities. If it is your first time visiting our church, you may take your children down to the Sunday School office in room 108 to find out where their assigned classroom is.

We welcome younger babies and toddlers to stay inside the sanctuary with their parents. However, if you need a quieter place for them, the nursery rooms are also available for your use. These rooms are located on the west side of the sanctuary and are hooked up with live video output of the on-going service so you won't have to miss what's going on in the service while you attend to your children.

The service is over... Is that it?

You'll probably hear an announcement at the end of the service inviting you to join us at the "10-Forward Caf?quot;. This is what we call our gym after the 1st service each Sunday. Everyone is welcome to mingle in our gym (in the basement) where we have some coffee and refreshments. Be sure you let the refreshment team know that it's your first time visiting - your coffee and refreshment is on us!

We hope you will enjoy visiting us. We look forward to meeting you this coming Sunday!

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to send us a note.