On Line at Nine

On-Line @ 9 is a lively service of praise and interactive worship for all ages. There is a particular emphasis on making worship accessible to all ages without losing its power. As its name suggests, it starts at 9:00am and finishes at about 9:50am, leaving much of the day for other family activities.

Each service is led by one of five teams of worship leaders and provides an informal and welcoming approach to worship. Our minister is a member of one of the teams.

The singing is lively: it is led by a small music group with a variety of instruments, anchored by a drum kit, but there is always room to include others – musicians take note!

Teaching is based on Roots for Churches material. This is a joint Churches venture based on the Revised Common Lectionary (a three year plan of bible readings), and is adapted to make it suitable for all ages.

Themes are often introduced with a short sketch or dramatised reading before the children and young people go to their individual groups (3-4, 5-7, 8-10, 11-13, 14+). Each children's group has a set of dedicated leaders who know the children well and aim to relate the message of the service specifically to the children. There is a crèche for very young children (0-2) within the Sanctuary, allowing parents to partake fully in adult groups whilst keeping an ear on their children!

Adults most usually also go into Group Discussion Time to further explore the theme. This generally lasts for about 20 minutes of the 50 minute service, although On-Line is a flexible service and arrangements can change if the leaders think it more appropriate.

Occasionally, communion is celebrated when particularly fitting to the theme. Baptisms can be integrated into the service if requested.

Projection software is used, with screens showing the words for songs and prayers, and appropriate images to enhance worship. This can include short video clips.

After worship all are welcome to stay for fellowship and refreshments in the Coffee Centre, where visitors also have a chance to find out more about us.

On-Line was launched in 2001 with a congregation of 40, including a handful of children. Over the years we have grown so that an average Sunday sees 70 adults and 30 children (from a congegation of over 120 adults and 50 children). You can read about the background to On-Line@9, how we started and what we did.