FAQ
Q: What denomination is CityView?
A: While we affiliate with several churches and entities from various denominations, we are a self-governing, independent church, in keeping with the majority of evangelical churches in the United States. Without shame, we partner with other churches and entities that help CityView fulfill it's purpose and vision.
Q: What are your main worship services like?
A: This is a difficult question to answer. Most terms like “contemporary” or even “modern” have lost their meaning or seem to be used in different ways by different churches. Bottom line…we’re just trying to be who we really are, both in life and through our worship gatherings. We’re a group of people, living in the 21st century…and that translates into our services. We’re a younger church—which reflects our community—and that translates into our services. We have a worship pastor that writes music and lyrics that are born out of our church and out of our community...so that flavors our services. We love Jesus with reckless abandon…and that translates into our services. So while we would love to give a complete description, it's probably better that you come and see for yourself!
Q: Who’s in charge? How is CityView led?
A: CityView is led by a plurality of male pastors (also known as elders). Our model of church leadership comes directly from the Bible in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus, chapter one. From these passages (and others), we form our understanding of church leadership and the qualifications for leaders. In addition to pastors, we will have both male and female leaders that manage vital areas that support our ministry. The biblical equivalent of these leaders are called deacons in the New Testament. Unlike the use of the term "deacon" in other churches (which can actually describe the role of an elder or overseer) we use the term "deacons" to describe those that manage specific areas under the oversight of our pastors. To learn more about our views on Deacons, please read this article.
Pastors and ministry leaders are to lead with competence, humility and integrity. Each pastor has particular areas and deacons they oversee. When a pastor leads in an area, the other pastors tend to defer to his authority in the given area, while they collectively share the responsibility for decisions made.
See a list of our current leadership team.
Q: Do you have a youth group or a youth ministry for my teenager?
A: Yes...and No. Per our purpose and vision, we DO desire to serve the children and teens of our community. Therefore, we have a 5th/6th grade lifegroup that meets during our 11am service and are launching a lifegroup for all other teens during the 2010/2011 school year. However, since part of our vision is to empower parents to lead their kids, we do not have a youth ministry in the traditional sense of many churches. To understand what we mean by this and the rationale behind this decision, PLEASE read this article. You should also take a look at this recent article as well. Stay informed as a parent and please realize that you will always be accountable for your children--not a youth pastor, a church or a particular type of youth program.
Q: Do you have Sunday School or something like that?
A: For children, CityView Kids is the closest thing to what’s known as Sunday School. For adults and older children, we utilize Lifegroups for many of the same purposes that Sunday School is used in some churches. While we value many of the principles that have historically been valued in Sunday School, we do not consider any particular program as sacred--Lifegroups included.
Q: Why do you use the ESV translation of the Bible?
A: While every pastor is free to use whichever translation he chooses, we primarily use the ESV because it is probably the most accurate translation of our ancient texts that maintains a high level of readability. If you don’t own an ESV translation, you may take one of our paperback versions located in baskets at the back of our auditorium. When we preach from other translations, we’ll utilize the on-screen projection, so that everyone can follow along without confusion.
Q: Are your services “casual” or “formal”?
A: Both. Chances are, most people will be pretty casual. However, you can come dressed in almost anything you want. If you like ties…bring ‘em. If you like shorts and t-shirts..wear ‘em. The posture of your heart is more important than the fashion of your outer-wear.
Q: What do you believe about Speaking in Tongues?
A: While the pastors of CityView do not believe any of the gifts have ceased, this is not a belief held by all people at CityView Church. We are "open-handed" on this issue and do not hold to a formal all-church statement regarding this matter. While we would never discourage someone from the practice of these gifts, we consider it both unwise and unnecessary to practice the charismatic gifts in public worship (taking our cues from 1 Corinthians 14:5, 21-23). Therefore, we encourage those who believe they have these gifts to practice them in lifegroups (assuming it is done biblically and the group leader is made aware) as it seems appropriate and edifying. This approach also assures accountability for the use of these gift/s.
Q: What’s the difference between serving in ministry and serving as a Sunday morning volunteer?
A: Generally speaking, we consider ministry as any activity that seeks to minister to the people of our city, nation and world in a way that seeks to bring the Gospel to bear first and primarily on individual hearts and secondly, cultural domains. Ministry can be both internal (amongst the people who call CityView their church) or external. In contrast, our incredible serve-team works in roles that are almost exclusively internal. Volunteers do the "family chores" needed to make our weekend services happen and keep the organizational element of CityView Church afloat. While we think it’s both important and a sacred act of worship for someone to run the sound board, pass out weekend updates and and make the coffee, we don’t believe these areas of service should be seen as equivalent with ministry to the poor.
