Our Sunday morning church consists of singing, prayer, testimonies, and the preaching of the Word of God. We believe worship should not be formalistic, but respectful, reverent, fervent, and scripturally spiritual. According to the words of Christ, "they that worship must worship in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him". The preaching is sometimes a Bible lesson, sometimes doctrinal, sometimes evangelistic.
Thursday nights are for group prayer, a time of Bible memorization, and Bible Study. We open our Bible studies to questions and answers and invite you to come.
The next fellowship meeting will be the second Sunday in October at 6:30 PM.
The Old Paths Bible Church is in fellowship with a group of assemblies of Christians around the world who recognize Christ as the only head of his church. As Christians, we welcome interaction with all other Christians. If you are new to the area, or have never come, we welcome you!
We are aspiring to honor God by reflecting His holiness in obedience to his Word. Our first-Sunday pm meetings are open meetings held for fellowship between all Christians, a type of community service. The Lord has blessed us to have friends from both Missouri and Illinois in attendance and every meeting has been a blessing. Some have been mostly singing, some have been mostly personal testimonies of God's help, and a few have been lots of preaching! Prayer and worship are always a part as our gathering together is for the purpose of magnifying the LORD and growing in our knowledge of Him.
Please note: The Old Paths Bible Church is part of the body of Christ, and as such we uphold the standards of conduct found in Scripture. Visitors are welcome to come and participate in the fellowship meetings as long as their clothing is modest and gender appropriate (i.e. dresses for ladies, pants for men), and their presentation is respectful and edifying to the church. All doctrines presented will be subject to question by the ministry present. Any spiritual gift or manifestation will be scrutinized. I Corinthians 14
These meetings are structured to give God the opportunity to build up His church by participation from whichever members of the body that He chooses.
The midweek service on Thursday, September 19th it's canceled. Be with us this Sunday morning for a special missionary service with brother Georges from Haiti.
Currently the Northeast Missouri Shape Note Singers are meeting on the second Saturday of every month from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. At noon we break for a picnic lunch. The exception to this is the month of March as our annual Missouri Shape Note Singing Convention is held in Warren County at this time. Our next singing is scheduled for Saturday, September 14. For information on the singing convention, go to stlfasola.org.
PLEASE NOTE: Singings are held depending on the schedule of singers! It is best to call to confirm the actual date. TH E NEXT SINGING is scheduled for Monday, Memorial Day at 10:00 a.m..
Please also note that our May singing is always held on Memorial Day, and it is an all day singing with dinner on the grounds. In October, our singing is cancelled to attend the annual singing in Dripping Springs, MO. This is a non-commercial, informal event in which both participators and spectators are welcome. You are welcome to arrive or leave at any time, as this is common and does not disrupt the singing whatsoever. During good weather, the church-yard will be full of children playing frisbee, football, or tag during the breaks.
If you are an out of towner coming to sing with us, please call ahead so that we can accommodate you and give you good directions! Anyone can call with questions and we will be glad to help!
Shape-note singing is best described as four-part harmony in a primitive fashion. We sing from the Sacred Harp, 1991 Edition (Denson Book) and the Missouri Harmony. We sit in four sections facing the "hollow square" and read our respective notation to determine the parts. This tradition is tracable to the early reformation, at least and is a wonderful way to learn note reading, harmony, historical hymnody, give glory to God and enjoy fellowship all at one time. An advantage to learning this acapella type of singing is that it trains one to determine the melody of a song when musical instruments are not available. This is especially advantageous in a family setting during devotional time, while travelling, or spontanaeously as the need or desire arises. As one song exhorts us, "let all inspired with godly mirth sing solemn hymns of praise".
We sing what is known as "fa-so-la" or four shape music. Come and enjoy an historic, edifying, and religiously educational experience! To listen to shape note singing in other locations, see stlfasola.org.
PLEASE NOTE: As this type of music is acapella, or sung without musical accompanyment, we do not usually use these books in our normal church worship. It is our practice to employ all types of acoustic musical instruments in joyful and reverent praise to God!
The word "scriptorium" means "a room for writing". Through the centuries, scriptoriums were places where God's Word was preserved and re-written for the coming generations. Our scriptorium is an event where the Bible is preserved by memorization.
We are in the planning stages of our 2024 Scriptorium. The date of this event will be sometime this summer. If you are interested in participating, please contact us with the number of potential scripture reciters.
This year we are allowing people to choose any passage of scripture that they would like to memorize. So far we have these people committed to memorizing the following passages:
Natheniel Patlan Romans 12
Abigail Schultz Psalm 5
Donna Schultz Luke 2
Jairus Schultz Psalm 103
Jedidiah Schultz Proverbs 9
Psalm11
Levi Shaw Proverbs 9
Lillian Shaw Psalm 46
Psalm 91
Psalm 121
Hayden Shaw Proverbs 6
Sam Shaw Ezra 5
Theophilus Schultz Psalm 1
Psalm 2
Psalm 3
Psalm 4
Titus Schultz. Jonah 1
Tommy Schultz Ecclesiastes 11
Robert Cassaday. Psalm 100