The Church was started in October 2008 meeting at the home of one of the founders. We have grown and are currently in our new facility at 46 Main St. in Andover, NH.  I was introduced to the church in March of 2009, and I received the very surprising call from the Church community in April that the Church needed a Pastor.  The Church community believed that God had brought my family back home to fill that need. I have been leading since May with abundant grace from both the Church family and the Lord, stepping out in faith knowing that I could not do this unless the Lord went before me supplying all that is needed.

Our service is interactive in nature. We open with worship, both contemporary and traditional; we follow that with our weekly scripture verse and a time to share what God is doing in the lives of the church body. Our message is also interactive with a focus on the practical application of God's Word; We usually have multiple people reading scripture. I try to send out the scripture for Sunday at the beginning of the week so that everyone can be familiar with it for the following Sunday. I also ask the readers to be praying about the scripture they will be reading and encourage them to share anything that God lays on their heart as it pertains to the message. We usually have a few questions during the message and encourage people to share as they are led. We feel that in celebrating our service this way we are exposed to multiple ways that the Lord can speak to us all.

We celebrate communion the first Sunday of every month ending with a pot-luck lunch. During our communion service we allow an extended length of time for us to be meditating and allowing the Lord to prepare our hearts before we partake. This is a time where several verses of scripture are read with time in between each verse to allow us to let God's Word sink in and fill us. Our goal is to let the different verses, with time in between, slowly "walk" us to the table.

We also host a youth group called "Wyldlife". This event is every Monday during the school year and our doors are open to all the youth in the community. We allow time for games, we then provide a full meal for all, and end with a Bible message. The group is usually attended by 20-30 kids and several Adults from the community that help us out.

Our passion is to reach out and work with other churches in the area, breaking down some of the walls between the different denominations. We are also looking for different ways to connect with our community outside the walls of the church and bring church to the people.

I hope this gives you an idea of who we are. Feel free to call or email me anytime with questions: 603-235-4121 or Tom@andoverbiblechurch.com

God Bless

Thomas Bates
Pastor