what to expect

When people visit a church for the first time, they usually have questions about the church and about what goes on on a Sunday morning… Well, hopefully, this page answers just a few of those questions! You can always contact the church office with any further questions, and as always, we hope to see you at a worship service soon!

 

501 W. Golf Road

Des Plaines, IL   60016

847-364-0530

Parking

We have a full parking lot at the front of our building as well as an extended parking lot on the west side of the building. We also have a few handicap spaces at the front of the church for your convenience – in other words, there’s more than enough space to park if you drive here!

Where to Go
Where Do My Kids Go?

When you first enter the church from the front doors or the back doors, you’ll be welcomed by one of our greeters. Don’t worry, they aren’t there to make sure you’re dressed a certain way; they only want to welcome you and make sure you know where you’re going! If you have young children age 3 and under, you can bring them directly to the nursery and have them registered with our awesome Little Friends Nursery Team! Kids ages 4 through the 4th grade will be dismissed to Children’s Church right before the sermon! If you have any questions, just ask one of our greeters for help.

Lobby

When you arrive, you can hang out in the lobby for a few minutes, enjoy a cup of free coffee or tea if you like, or go straight into the sanctuary. For your convenience, there are bathrooms located right in the lobby area as well as in the hallways around the corner.

Clothing

You may be thinking “What do I wear??” While we encourage everyone to dress modestly and respectfully for church, we know that dress styles are very subjective. The most important to us is that you’re here and worshiping with us!

Style of Worship

A lot of people wonder if they’ll know any of the songs or if they’ll know what to do during the service when they first visit a church. The music portion of the worship service is comprised of both hymns as well as newer, contemporary worship songs. The lyrics to the songs are projected onto a large screen above at the front of the sanctuary for everyone to see. You will be encouraged to stand at different times in the service which will be directed by the worship leader or pastor. We will also pray in the service and listen to a message from the Bible.

Giving/Tithing

You may also be wondering, “Am I obligated to give in the offering time?” Not at all! The Bible says that tithing is supposed to be something that is from the gratitude of our heart and usually from someone that has committed their life to Jesus Christ. If you’re just visiting, there’s no pressure to give, just pass the plate on to the next person! If you’d like to give, though, there’s nothing wrong with that either – the money we receive goes directly to ministry in this church and missions causes in our community and worldwide.

Getting To Know You

At Golf Road Baptist Church, we have a “Connection Card” in the seat pockets in front of each chair. These are for newcomers to fill out so that we can learn about how you came to know about our church and just so that we can pray for you throughout the week. If you’d like to, we’d love for you to fill one of these out and put it in the offering plate as it goes by, but if you’d like to stay anonymous, there’s no pressure to do so! Also, if you’d like a free welcome gift packet, you can give your Connection Card to a Greeter on your way out of the service and they’ll be sure to give you one! We’re just glad you’re here and we’re praying for you either way!