What To Expect

Time and time again, we come together in brotherly love, desiring to be a habitation of the Spirit, as we believe and attempt to practice the truth. My experience on any given Sunday at Angier Primitive Baptist Church cannot be altogether expressed in words. I will, however, make an attempt to describe it. For those of you who have never stepped foot in our church, allow me to take you on a tour of our Sunday morning worship service and Wednesday evening Bible study.

A Warm Reception and Simple Worship

You should not have too much trouble finding us. We are located on one of the main highways here in Angier. If you are at the center of town, head east on Highway 210. Our quaint brick building sits just beyond the cemetery on the left. Feel free to park wherever you can find a spot. The front door will be open. Come on in!

You will be greeted by warm smiles and extended hands ready to shake your own. As you make your way through the crowd, you will hear things like, Good morning. So glad you could be with us. You may wonder how total strangers could be so happy to see you, but I can personally vouch for their sincerity. We’re thankful for your visit and we hope you will feel right at home.

You’ll probably wonder where you should sit. Well, I’ll be sitting in the front, left pew. It’s what we jokingly call the “amen corner.” Just about everyone has their usual spots, but I doubt anyone will be upset if you sit in theirs. There’s plenty of seats for everyone. If you feel more comfortable sitting towards the back, feel free.

As the start time approaches, Brother Gerald (one of our fine deacons) will make his way to the front of the sanctuary. He will soon call out a hymn number for everyone to hear. If you follow the lead of others, you’ll pull an Old School Hymnal songbook from the pew in front of you and turn to the number that was called. Brother Gerald will get the song started for us. After about five or six words, the entire room will fill up with the voices of the brothers and sisters who are there. Sometimes you’ll hear the sweetest harmony you’ve ever heard. Sometimes we struggle through an unfamiliar song. Either way, if you could see the faces of everyone from where I sit, you’d see the joy in their hearts radiating from them. We try our best to sing well, but we try even harder to make a joyful noise.

We’ll sing song after song for nearly half an hour before I finally approach the lectern. As the last song ends, the volume dissolves into almost silence. I’ll acknowledge my thankfulness for the great day the Lord has given us, for allowing us to meet with one another again, and for you, our visitor.

After asking everyone for any special prayer requests they would like to make and saying a prayer on our behalf, I will begin to preach. I will encourage everyone who has their Bibles with them to read along with me as I read and comment on any particular text. As I present my discourse, you may find yourself reacting in a number of ways. There may be parts in which you thoroughly enjoy. You may also hear things you’ve never thought about before. It is even likely you will hear some things that strike you as strange. You might wonder, What exactly do these Primitive Baptists believe? If your questions remain unanswered at the end of the sermon, I welcome to you ask me after the service.

I may preach approximately forty minutes or maybe I’ll preach an hour. You may be intrigued and listening intently the entire time or you may be thinking about other things. You may see a wave of head-nodding throughout the room or maybe all will be still. You may feel a strong presence of the Spirit among us or maybe you’ll feel nothing. Regardless of what the first experience is like for you, I hope you’ll understand that every visit is different. I only pray that your first impression of us is of a faithful group of people striving to worship God as He has directed. Our way is often different than what visitors are used to, but what is more important, I believe, is that we always seek to glorify God.

Once I have finished preaching, I will step down and we will sing one last song together. As we sing, we’ll walk through the room, shaking hands with one another. Sometimes we just can’t help but embrace one another in hugs. If you are not comfortable with following the crowd, you are more than welcome to stay where you are and we’ll come around to you. Finally, after one more prayer, we’ll dismiss.

If you do not already have plans, we’ll have lunch together in the fellowship hall behind the church. We invite you to stay. It’s a wonderful time of fellowship and a free home-cooked meal.

Wednesday Evening Bible Study

Wednesday evening is a difficult time for many people to get to church. That is something we completely understand. While the crowd is typically slimmer on Wednesdays, we do have wonderful fellowship and Bible discussions.

If you plan to visit us during our Bible study, do not worry about what you are wearing. Some people are forced to come straight from work and do not have time to change. Again, we understand. I encourage everyone to come with the same sincerity and devotion as they would on any given Sunday, but trying to get all dressed up is not something we worry too much about.

When we meet for Bible study, we do so in the fellowship hall (the white building behind the church). Come on in and help yourself to the coffee or any drinks we have available. We begin by singing a couple of hymns and having a prayer. Then we move on to the Bible study itself.

Each week, the group chooses a study topic or text from the Bible. We then spend the week reading and studying the subject and making notes as we each have time. The next week, we come together to discuss what we have learned. You may find yourself most impressed by the involvement of our young people. Many of them sit closest to the front and often answer more questions than the adults. It’s not that the adults are incapable, but we love to encourage the young people in their learning and discipleship.

The discussions we have are very open and casual. Feel free to make any comments or ask any questions that may come to your mind. We even appreciate kind dissent. The Bible study is an opportunity to learn and grow as we enjoy fellowship with one another. It is our policy to leave no question unanswered if at all possible.

I try to dismiss the group with prayer around 8:30. At that time, those who need to get home to perhaps put their children to bed are able to do so. However, most of us spend the next thirty minutes or more eating snacks some of the women have brought and talking to one another. The children usually end up playing outside.

I hope to see you soon. May God bless!

- Jeremy E. Sarber, pastor