Worship

We have two different styles of Worship Celebrations here at First United Methodist of Bentonville.

Our Traditional Sanctuary Celebrations are at 8:45AM and 11:00AM in our Sanctuary on the corner of West Central and "A" Street.

Our Contemporary Celebration is at 8:45AM at the Old High Middle School Auditorium west of our church at NW 2nd and "D" Street. (Parking lot and convenient entrances on "D" Street.)

Nursery for all services is provided in our Children's Wing. Our church owned parking lot is located on the west side of our building between 2nd and West Central Street. From there, go through the middle entrance doors and the nursery check-in is just down the hall. The facilities are excellent and we have adult supervised and teenage assisted childcare for all worship services and events. We also have vibrating pagers that parents can take with them for peace of mind.

What are our services like?

Traditional Sanctuary Celebration: Services in our Sanctuary usually last about an hour. They include hymns accompanied by organ and piano. Our twenty five member choir provides anthems and assist in congregational singing. Occasionally, we have strings and brass accompaniment as well. We follow the church seasons with appropriate calls to worship and prayers of confession and creeds. The sermon may follow the lectionary, but is often a series of sermons around a common theme. Communion is served every week and open to all worshipers, including children and visitors. We use the intinction method (dipping the bread into the cup). As is common in our denomination, the "wine" is grape juice. Our local church normally uses Hawaiian bread for the common loaf. The choir and ministers wear robes. The congregation for these services are more inclined to wear suits and dresses (except in the summer) and yet business casual is not uncommon. Before the service, church announcements are projected onto the screen.

Contemporary Celebration: This praise service is referred to as "contemporary" because it utilizes praise music sung by our Praise Band with keyboard, guitars, and drums. Our style is somewhat "blended" as it incorporates some traditional elements such as the Lord's Prayer, creeds, and a monthly communion service. Words to the (mainly praise) songs are projected on a screen, and occasional video clips are shown. Dress is casual year round, although suits and dresses are not uncommon.