Brooklyn Seventh-day Adventist Visitors Survival Kit

What To Expect: A Visitor’s Survival Guide

The sanctuary is located on the second floor.  To get there, as you enter the church’s front door, make a sharp right turn for the stairs or elevator.

At the entrance to the sanctuary, you will be warmly greeted by a smiling deaconess and ushered to a seat.

Sabbath School begins at 9:15 a.m., and often follows a specific format: a song service, a mission feature on how the gospel work is progressing in foreign lands, and special music, among other items.  Afterward, the congregation is usually separated into small classes, and if you’re visiting, you are welcome to sit in any class you wish.

As it is with all Seventh-day Adventist Churches around the world, we use the Sabbath School Quarterly.  The Quarterly is a day-to-day bible study guide that is produced every three months by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

After Sabbath School, we go straight into our Worship Service which begins at 11 a.m.  Usually our Pastor, ministers to us with a Christ-filled sermon.  On special occasions, a guest speaker or an Elder will preach.

After our service, we retreat to the Fellowship Hall on the ground floor to fellowship over food.  We have a potluck lunch that is open to you; please be our special guest!

Most of the dishes are vegetarian.  Seventh-day Adventists are known to strive for healthy eating habits but this doesn’t mean that every Seventh-day Adventist is a vegetarian, or what we eat is the basis for our faith.  It does mean however that we strive to be health conscious as instructed by the bible.

In the afternoon, we have a provocative bible class where you can share what you know, ask what you don’t know or just sit back and listen.  There’s also a vibrant youth worship program open to everyone, regardless of age.

Special Services

If you’re visiting with us on the fourth Sabbath of the month, you may experience our Communion service.

Every quarter, the Seventh-day Adventist church remembers the death and resurrection of Christ through a Holy Communion Service.  Bread and wine (grape juice), a symbol of the body and blood of Christ, is prayed over by the Pastor and shared by all in attendance.

Before the sharing of the bread and wine, members (or those who wish to participate) take part in a short foot-washing ceremony.  The purpose of the ceremony is to follow in the biblical foot-steps of Christ as He so humbly stooped to wash the feet of His disciple, Peter.

At Brooklyn Church, men and women separate into different rooms – men upstairs, women downstairs – where individual basins and towels are available for each partner.  It is a simple event.  Shoes and socks are removed (however, a woman is not expected to remove her pantyhose); and the feet are simply dipped or sprinkled with water and dried.

Participating in the foot-washing ceremony is not mandatory.  If you are visiting with us today, you are not obligated to take part; you are invited to watch or wait in the sanctuary until everyone convenes again.

Baptism

What a special day for you if you are visiting on the day of someone’s baptism!  Seventh-day Adventists perform baptisms by immersion, meaning that the candidate is fully submerged in water before arising to a new life in Jesus Christ.  Those who are baptized in Christ in the Seventh-day Adventist church have made the conscious decision to accept Christ into their life, so you will see people of all ages getting baptized.

Baby Dedications

Visiting on the day of a baby dedication is equally special.  A dedication is a short ceremony to welcome the arrival of a newborn baby into the family of God.  The ceremony usually consists of a short prayer and blessing from the Pastor, as well as time for pictures.

Special People

Seventh-day Adventists believe that the Lord has especially blessed our Church with the gifts of biblical knowledge and prophecy.

You may attend a service where the Pastor or speaker quotes from a woman named Ellen G. White.  Ellen White and her husband James White were two of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist church.   She’s widely considered a woman gifted in the areas of biblical interpretation and prophecy.  Many believe that her insight into spiritual matters came directly from God.

The best way to satisfy your curiosity about this woman is to read her writings for yourself.

More information can be found on Ellen White and the history of the Adventist church through the White Estate website , or by requesting free literature from our Personal Ministries department.

We look forward to your visit to our church, and pray that your heart be filled with the everlasting love of Jesus Christ!

(Some material adapted from Northbrook (Illinois) Seventh-day Adventist Church)