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 What is worship like at The Way?What should I wear? What about my children? How did Church of The Way start? What about the name & logo? What is the church’s mission & vision? What does Church of The Way believe? About Baptism About Communion I want to know more about Carter Is Church of The Way part of a denomination? How can I get connected? How may I become a member? How can I be involved financially? FAQs What is worship like at The Way? We worship every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. @ the brand new Archer High School, beginning January 3rd. Get directions to Archer High School. We think worship should be dynamic and relevant. Deep inside our hearts, we know that we all long to connect with God. Therefore, we feel that worship should help us experience God in our lives, and we believe that it can be fun, too. You’ll recognize some of our music. We have a high energy rock band, and they play relevant and popular songs you’ve heard on your favorite radio station. All of our music is upbeat and dynamic, and if you grew up in church, you’ll probably hear some songs you recognize from there as well. listen to our band here. Our eyes help us experience the world, so we use videos, movie clips, art, and PowerPoint to demonstrate the theme of the worship. We add drama and candles, and use our sense of touch to help us understand what God is trying to say to us. We believe the Bible has relevant messages for our daily lives. Our messages address everyday issues because we think God cares about the struggles we have with work, family, friends, money, health, and all the rest of life. We believe that God meant for us to have a relationship with Jesus that will change our lives for the better. Our worship seeks to help us make that happen. listen to a message here. What should I wear? We’re pretty casual at worship. You might see our pastor in blue jeans. You might see a few folks dressed in their “Sunday clothes”. You’ll see several dressed like they’re going to the grocery store. You are encouraged to wear what makes you comfortable. We’ll have lots of great snacks, coffee, and soft drinks in The Way Cafe before worship. Most of all, we want our atmosphere of worship to be laid back so that you can experience God just as you are. What about my children? We have Wonder Way, for birth thru kindergarten age children, and includes paid nursery staff. Find out more about Wonder Way (click here). We also have an awesome separate Children’s Worship called Discovery Way, just for kids 1st thru 5th grade. They have their own message, music, games, and activities that help them apply God to their daily lives. We feel this is the best way for both you and your children to experience God. (click here) to learn more about Discovery Way. How did Church of The Way start? The United Methodist Church of The Way began as a dream. While serving on the staff at First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville, Lead Pastor Carter McInnis began to feel God calling him to start a new church. He assumed the new church would be somewhere else in North Georgia. However, FUMC of Lawrenceville had in its Long Range Vision a dream to reach out to people in the community who were not connected to any church. The leadership figured the best way to do that would be to start a new worship service that offered an alternative to the traditional way of doing things. As the staff and leadership of FUMC began to pray about these two dreams, a new vision arose: Why not start a brand new church from the existing congregation? God had already called Carter to the mission; pursuing such an undertaking here in Gwinnett, a community with which he was already familiar, simply made sense. The Office of Church Development of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church agreed to support, endorse, and help fund this new endeavor. In October 2004, Davis Chappell, Senior Minister of FUMC of Lawrenceville, announced the church’s vision to invite people from FUMC to join Carter on the Launch Team to start Church of The Way. Those folks, along with a few more from other churches or no church at all, jumped on board to help plan, support, and launch a brand new church. While we are a completely different church from FUMC of Lawrenceville, their congregants have become committed members, financial backers, and spiritual supporters. Check out what’s going on at our Mother Church at www.fumclv.org. What about the name & logo? Our official name is The United Methodist Church of The Way. But you’ll hear us refer often to the church as The Church of The Way or just The Way. Our name has its roots in the Book of Acts in the Bible. The earliest Christians were called followers of “The Way.” Their movement changed the course of history. That’s what we want to do—start a movement that will change the course of history. In the Bible, Jesus said, “I am The Way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). We want to be people of The Way, and we want to be a Church of The Way. We are also part of the United Methodist Church, a denomination that stretches all across the globe. Our name is kind of different, but we’re a different kind of church. Being unique fits us pretty well. Our logo is really about what we're about. Pointing people the right way...the way to Jesus. Our hope is to connect people to Jesus, and we hope to be a place that is pointing people in the right direction to get there. And besides, it looks cool:) What is the church’s mission & vision? Our Mission is Simple: Connecting People to Jesus. We simply want to connect people to Jesus...at every level and in every way. Though we knew we were starting a church, our goal was to create an environment. We believe that plenty of people out there want to connect with God but just don’t know how. For whatever reason, they don’t feel a bond when they attend other churches. We want to be the place that delivers the connection they’ve been missing. That’s the vision behind Church of The Way. We don’t have all the answers, but we’re searching for them just like you. But we are different. We want to be a place where anyone, no matter their background, can connect with God and learn that Jesus is crazy about them. And we believe that tie to God flows from our everyday lives. Yeah, that’s why we have the rock music. That’s why we wear blue jeans. That’s why we drink soft drinks at 10 in the morning…because that’s who we are, and we believe that’s who many of us are. We want to changeThe Way you think about church. The United Methodist Church of The Way is a church committed to helping people become connected to God. We’re a group of people much like you. We’re not perfect, and we don’t pretend to be. We’d like to get to know you because we’ve learned that our journeys aren’t that different. We’re all trying to find The Way to God, and the Church of The Way is a place people can come as they try to find The Way on this journey called life. Church of The Way is a place where you are welcome, just as you are. Here you can learn how God wants to move in you, our community, and in our world. It's a place you can find you passions and serve by working in the areas you're most passionat about. No matter where you are in life, we think you’ll find a place to fit in at Church of The Way. What does Church of The Way believe? Core Values: Our Core Values are the elements that drive everything we do. They are the most basic beliefs that shape our lives, our church, and our decisions. Everything we do in ministry stems from our strong belief in these values. No one value is more important than another. Rather, they all work together to shape the ministry at Church of The Way. Our Core Values are: 1. Salvation through Jesus is for Everybody. God’s love is available to all people, and God desires for all people to be saved through a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We believe that salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. 2. The Bible tells us who God is and who we are to be. The Bible is the authoritative Word of God, and it proclaims the One True God and Creator, Who has been fully revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and is active in our lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. An active Bible study and prayer life is a necessity to live out God’s plan for our lives and become disciples of Jesus. 3. People who are not connected to Jesus or church matter to God. People not connected to Jesus or church are not outsiders to God. They are of utmost importance to God. Therefore, the church has the responsibility to do anything and everything possible in keeping with the integrity of Scripture—to make the Gospel relevant in order to reach those who are not connected with Jesus with the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We aim to help the unconnected become connected and the disconnected become reconnected. Every ministry of the church should grow the Kingdom of God by bringing new people to faith in Christ and in spirit by ministering to the whole person of the believer. 4. Gifts are meant to be used for the Kingdom and the Community. Every individual has God-given spiritual gifts and talents that are expected to be used for Kingdom work, just as the church is called to witness to God’s love through transforming the community and world. Many times these gifts are tied to our passions. We believe God wants us to work and move through the things we are most passionate about. 5. Excellence is expected. We expect excellence in every area of ministry, and will only seek to do a ministry if we feel we can do it with precision and excellence. For we feel that God deserves our ultimate best. About Baptism Baptism is not salvation. We believe baptism is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. More importantly, we believe baptism is something that God does for us. The water is important, but it is merely a symbol of what God has done and is doing in us on the inside. Christ died for all, so we believe all have the promise of love and grace from Jesus. Because of this, we believe the amount of water in baptism doesn’t matter. If it’s all about God, then the water is just a symbol anyway. For that reason, we baptize people using all three historic forms of baptism—pouring, sprinkling, and immersion. Typically, we use the method of immersion for older children, teens, and adults during our Worship Experiences. Our belief about baptism means a couple of things: If we believe God is the one Who does the “baptizing,” then why would we baptize someone twice? We may not have meant it the first time, but we’re sure God did. Therefore, no matter what Christian denomination you were baptized in or how you were baptized, we celebrate with you that God was part of your life during that time. If you’d like to find a way to remember that baptism as a way to get your life back on track, we’d love to help you find a way to do that. This also means that we baptize babies. Why wouldn’t we? Baptism is from God, not us! Hasn’t Christ died for every baby who’s born? Of course, baptism for infants is just a beginning for them. It is crucial and necessary that they are raised in the faith an make the decision to follow Jesus for themselves. If not, then the water sprinkled on their head will be only water. We believe children have to grow up and claim that baptism for themselves. About Communion Maybe you call it The Lord’s Supper or The Eucharist. Whatever you call it, we believe Communion is a means of grace through which God works in us. It represents the incredible gift that God gave the world in Jesus’ death on the cross. Consequently, everyone is welcome to take Communion at The Way. No matter your background or denominational affiliation, The Lord’s Table at The Way is open to all who seek life in Jesus and repent of their sins. Yeah, we’ve got a rock band and wear blue jeans, but we still have Communion about once a month. Besides, it’s cool and it’s free bread and juice…not to mention God’s free love! I want to know more about Carter. Rev. Carter McInnis is the founding pastor of Church of The Way. He came to Gwinnett County in 2002. He and his wife, Emily, live in Lawrenceville, with their 4 sons, Morgan, Tanner, Walker & Brooks. Carter has a passion to change The Way people think about church and to help others find The Way to God. He just wants to live out our mission to connect people to Jesus. His passion eventually served as a driving force behind the launch of Church of The Way in September 2005. He is willing to do anything and everything to help people connect with God’s love. Church has always been part of Carter’s faith background. Raised in the Southern Baptist Church in South Carolina, he was part of several non-denominational ministries in college, and became a part of the United Methodist Church around the same time. Before launching Church of The Way, Carter was involved in youth ministry for a number of years. He also served as Pastor of Rutledge & Pennington United Methodist Churches in Morgan County, GA, and was Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville, GA. Carter received his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Georgia with a focus in Broadcast News. He then received his Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. He is an Ordained Elder in the North Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Is Church of The Way part of a denomination? Anybody and everybody is welcome to worship and grow in their relationship with God at The Way, no matter your background. Our goal is to provide an environment in which people from various backgrounds, including no church at all, can find The Way to God. Church of The Way is part of the worldwide denomination of the United Methodist Church (www.umc.org). Locally, that means we are part of the North Georgia Conference of the UMC (www.ngumc.org) and the Atlanta-Emory District. We believe that God is moving in all denominations, but we are proud to be a part of this historic denomination. How can I get connected? The best way to get connected is through LIFE Groups (click here), Serve Teams (click here), and Upcoming Events (click here). Also, feel free to contact any of our staff . We’d be delighted to help you find the place to plug in. How may I become a member? Membership at Church of The Way is a little different. First of all, you don’t have to become a member to participate in any ministry. Anyone and everyone is invited to participate in any manner at The Way. Still, we take membership seriously because we believe membership means we are making a commitment to God within a specific church community. We recognize that this kind of commitment isn’t for everyone. The first step is to take part in MC2, our Membership Covenant Class. At MC2, you’ll learn about the membership covenant, our church’s history, and all the different ministries at The Way. Plus, you’ll have an opportunity to ask any questions you want. We then ask all members to make a covenant to worship regularly, serve on a Serve Team, be a part of a LIFE Group, and give 10% of your income to God through The Way. This covenant is made officially in front of the whole church on a Sunday morning. If you’d like more info on membership, or if you want to know when the next MC2 is, contact Carter McInnis at carter@ifoundtheway.com. How can I be involved financially? We believe something kind of crazy at Church of The Way: Everything we have belongs to God. And we believe that it feels really good when we give what we have back to God—it’s His anyway. We figured out a long time ago that God doesn’t need our money to do what He wants to do. Rather, We desperately need to give to God in order to be exactly who we were created to be. It’s extraordinary that God can use our resources to reach people with His amazing love. We think everyone, deep down, wants to be involved in something that incredible. God’s gift of love is free, and our church exists to give that love and itself to the community and world. We don’t expect people to give to something they’re not sure of yet. But if you are sure of it, we invite you to be involved in this incredible mission. Please mail your contribution to the following address: Church of The Way P.O. Box 2111 Lawrenceville, GA 30046 |
