Openers 

This last Sunday morning at our services we kicked off the service with a great performance of the classic Beatles track "Here Comes the Sun" which our band did fantastically well.

It fitted really well with the theme of our service and the last part of our "In the Meantime" series.

It led me to think about service 'openers' and why we do them and I thought maybe I should explain! We try to start all of our services with some kind of 'opener' after we have welcomed everyone. This is a strategic move on our part and we do them because we want everyone to relax and prepare to enjoy the service. At our morning services we have a huge range of people. We have young people, adults, older people and all ages in between! We also have people who have been Christians for a very long time and those who are just starting their journey of faith and those who wouldn't call themselves Christians but who are keen to find out a bit more about God. We have people who have been going to church for all their lives and people who are at church for the very first time.

A key to helping everyone in all these different groups is to try to generate a common feel or emotion early on in the service that we can all share regardless of our situation. That is why we start with an opener. Sometimes it is a film clip or other video, sometimes it is a drama sketch, sometimes a performance song, sometimes an interactive quiz. The idea is that we can all share in it regardless of whether we are old or young, Christian or non Christian, church goer or first timer. It puts everyone at ease and hopefully sets us up for the rest of the service. We try very hard to have our openers clearly link to the theme of the service as a way of introducing it.

In this last series we have been doing, I think that the range and quality of openers has been the best yet and I am really looking forward to other openers in the future!

God bless
Chris

Hello
Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
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Planning your Visit

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I am New 

Welcome from all of us at Easthampstead Baptist Church!

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about us. As you explore our website, we hope that you catch a broader glimpse of what EBC is all about. It's about people - people just like you - who want to embark on a journey to discover more of God and his will for our lives.
 

What should I expect on a Sunday Morning?

Sometimes going to a church for the first time can be a little daunting. I promise we won't bite! To help ease any uncertainties below are the answers to some common questions people have before attending a Sunday morning.
 
What do I have to wear?
We are a 'come as you are' sort of people and have no formal dress-code for our Sunday services.
We can assure you that we don't have bouncers on the door vetting your attire!
If you are still not sure, feel free to check out our services on YouTube to have an idea.
 
What time do I need to be there?
At the moment we have one Sunday morning service which starts at 10.00am.
 
On the 4th Sunday of the month we run our All-sorts service which starts at 10:00am.

Check out our other services below!
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We would recommend you turn up 10 minutes before the service starts so you have a chance to say hi!
If you have children that need signing in to the children and youth work, they need to be signed in from 9:50am.
 
Parking
There is plenty of parking both out the front and at the back of the building. Just follow the signs!
 
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How safe is my child in your care?
We run separate children and youth work during our 10:00am service, which is run by a group of volunteers who have all been DBS checked.

Children ages 11 and under must be signed in and out by their parent/carer. The youth can sign themselves in and out.
 

For information about our safeguarding policy click here