Worship

The Oakmont Church family seeks to be a missional congregation, being Christ's presence wherever we go and whatever we do.  We emphasize being the church outside the congregational walls rather than going to a church service held inside a building.  We focus on telling the story of God in history as revealed through the biblical narratives, and becoming a mature follower of Jesus.  Both of our Sunday morning worship gatherings use a variety of artistic, music, prayer, video, drama, and spoken ways of accomplishing these aims - proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, worshiping God authentically, and helping people move from a consumer Christian mentality to that of mature discipleship to Jesus.  

The aesthetic environment can aid one's experience of God during a time of worship.  We work to create a sacred space in both worship gatherings using crosses, candles, banners, communion symbols, artwork, visual creations for scriptures and prayers, and visual images projected on the screen.  We hope that a multi-sensory approach to the worship gathering involving seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, and experiencing allows you to experience the mystery of God's presence when His people gather to worship Him.   

While we have no dress requirements for either of our worship gatherings, our 11:00 Emerge Worship Gathering does tend to have a more casual dress look.  However, feel free to dress in more formal wear (suits and ties, dresses, etc.) or as casual as you'd like for either of our two worship gatherings.   

Expect to be warmly greeted by greeters, ushers, church staff, and Oakmont members before, during, and following our worship gatherings.  We want you to feel as if you have arrived at "home," and we will be disappointed if we don't get to speak to you and know you better.  So come by and speak to one of our ministers following the worship gathering so we can begin to connect with you in a more personal way.   

We will also invite you to share an address for the sole purpose of sending you our newsletter, Connections which is published monthly.  In addition, our Sunday worship bulletin has weekly updates and information about upcoming ministries and activities.  If you are open to learning more about the Oakmont Church family, then give us any appropriate mailing information and we'll let you know more about Oakmont and something of our missional activities locally and around the world.     

9:40 a.m.

Traditional/ Blended Worship Gathering   

Our 9:40 a.m. worship gathering incorporates a variety of artistic, music, prayer, video, and dramatic acts of worship to proclaim the good news of Jesus and offer genuine worship to God.  This worship gathering includes:    

 

  • Congregational singing featuring traditional hymns and contemporary songs played with organ, piano, and orchestra accompaniment.  We use both our hymnals and words projected on our screens for the words to the music. 
  • Anthems by our Chancel Choir, and occasional music by our ladies ensemble, Joyful Sounds, our mixed ensemble, Highest Praise, and our Handbell Choir. 
  • A Children's Worship Time during the worship gathering for preschool and younger elementary children. 
  • A sermon based upon biblical texts presented by our pastor or other ministerial staff.
  • A time of response in which a hymn or other Christian music is sung and individuals may profess their faith in Christ as Lord and Savior or join Oakmont after completing the Oakmont 101 class by sharing these decisions with the minister standing at the front of the sanctuary, or by moving to a prayer station.  Each prayer station features the opportunity of writing a prayer request and placing it in a container (our staff will pray for these requests the following week), lighting a prayer candle to symbolize that prayer request, and/or praying with one of our ministers for any concern or need.

 

In addition, Oakmont observes the Lord's Supper, or Communion, on the first Sunday of each month during the 9:40 a.m. worship gathering and a special offering is taken for the Greenville Community Shelters (homeless individuals and families), the Pitt County Council on Aging, and our own Benevolent Fund.  The Lord's Supper is observed at other times during the year, such as on Maundy Thursday during Holy Week, and during our Christmas Eve services.

Our ministers wear robes and stoles on the first Sunday of the month when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, as well as during special seasons of the church year such as Advent and Lent.   If you are a guest, we do not expect you to participate in the weekly receiving of God's tithes and our offerings.  However, if you are an Oakmont member or call Oakmont home, then we would invite you to be a part of Oakmont's local, state, national, and global missional ministries by participating in this act of worship.     

11:00 a.m.

Emerge Worship Experience

The Emerge Worship Experience features an emerging style of worship that seeks to move away from a spectator type of gathering and be even more participatory in nature than our 9:40 a.m. traditional/blended worship gathering.   This worship gathering also incorporates a variety of artistic, music, prayer, video, and dramatic acts of worship to proclaim the good news of Jesus and offer genuine worship to God.  This worship gathering is divided into four sections which include:  

 

  • The Gathering - This time opens our worship celebration by welcome, prayer, and greeting interspersed with music led by our Emerge band and musicians.  This music is primarily Christian contemporary music, but usually includes at least one hymn.  The words are projected on the screens.
  • The Proclamation - This portion of our worship often features video clips, placing a strong emphasis on prayer in worship (plenty of time is given for people to slow down, sit in quietness and silence, or experience ways of prayer used by the ancient church), and sometimes a testimony by one of our members concerning a ministry in which that person is involved.  Our pastor or one of our ministerial staff also leads in the reading of the scripture (as the congregation stands in honor and reverence of the Bible) and a time of teaching and learning through the sermon.
  • The Response - Following the sermon, some reflection questions are offered on the screen that invites people to reflect and consider how the Holy Spirit is inviting them to respond to the Biblical text and sermon for about two minutes.  Sometimes the reflection time is done in silence.  Our Emerge worship team and musicians then come to lead us in additional singing.  During that time, we encourage freedom of movement in worship as people bring their offering, move to three stations to receive the Lord's Supper (Communion) and, as in our 9:40 a.m. worship gathering, move to a prayer station.  Each prayer station features the opportunity of writing a prayer request and placing it in a container (our staff will pray for these requests the following week), lighting a prayer candle to symbolize that prayer request, and praying with one of our ministers for any concern or need.  Individuals also may profess their faith in Christ as Lord and Savior or join the Oakmont after completing the Oakmont 101 class by speaking to a minister at one of the prayer stations.
  • The Dismissal - As we close our worship gathering, we often remind people of upcoming events at Oakmont, share any decisions people have made to become a new Christian or join Oakmont, and recognize any individuals or teams from Oakmont leaving on an upcoming Mission Trip.  Then, following the pastoral blessing and benediction, we depart, ready to become God's church in our daily lives once again.