Where does EXP take place?
The primary community gathering of EXP is at 6 pm every Saturday night in Paramount’s Building B, which is located east of the original Paramount Baptist Church building on Western Street. Park in the Blue Parking Lot. Click here for a map.
What is EXP?
EXP is the casual, contemporary, Saturday-night ministry of Paramount. It involves a weekly worship service with progressive music and creative teaching for adults and youth. At EXP, we are very deliberate in trying to love God and love others within a unique atmosphere of worship, community, and relevance to our daily lives.
What does “EXP” mean?
The letters have a couple of connotations for us. First, EXP is an EXtension of Paramount. Second, through EXP, it’s our goal that those who attend EXPerience worship, relevance, and community.
Are “worship, relevance, and community” core values of EXP?
Yes. Worship is our response, in gratitude, to the free grace of God. We want to become the kinds of people who worship God with our entire lives, as Paul describes in Romans 12:1. While we are led by a worship leader and a worship band, we don’t believe the musical aspect of our gatherings is the only way we worship. We worship God through prayer. We worship God through the reading of Scripture. We worship God through the observance of communion. But regardless of the form it takes, we think one of the best ways to worship is to gather together as a community of believers — which we do every Saturday night.
Relevance: Though written more than 2,000 years ago, we believe the Bible to be God’s authoritative communication with us. We believe it is so relevant that we should strive to build our lives upon its principles. At EXP, we try to relate the stories and teachings of the Bible in a creative, culturally meaningful way. However, we realize that a contemporary approach to Christianity is incomplete without acknowledging the vast traditions and history of the Church, from the New Testament up through today. EXP seeks relevance by applying the ancient truths of the Bible—along with the practices and beliefs of historical Christianity—to our lives today.
Community: We were not meant to go through life alone. We believe that we were created to live in community—in relationship with one another. We celebrate and grieve together, we share each other’s burdens, we pray for each other. Simply put, we share our lives. At EXP, this is lived out as we worship and fellowship together every Saturday, and as we learn together in Clusters, our small-group ministry. The Church is not a building or a place that people go. It is the people themselves, on a mission together to love God and love others. This is the goal of the EXP community.
What do kids do during the worship service?
During the Saturday-night worship service, children from 1st-5th grade attend EXP:Kids, a high-energy worship experience designed just for them. Four- and five-year-old kids attend EXP:45, a separate worship and learning time geared for their attention spans. Meanwhile, preschoolers and infants attend EXP:Minikids, which provides a safe, caring environment for them to learn and play while their parents attend the service. You can read more about these options in the sidebar links at left.
What can I expect at EXP?
Our Saturday-night services combine a worshipful atmosphere with a casual environment of anticipation and celebration. The service begins at 6 pm, though many arrive around 5:45 for cookies and coffee in our foyer (you can take the coffee and cookies into the Worship Center). Each service typically features 35 minutes or so of congregational singing, Scripture-reading, and prayer, plus another 30 minutes of teaching. Our services are intimate: We try not to “perform” on stage, and try to keep the barrier between the stage and the congregation as loose as possible. The teaching time is creative, conversational, and never dull. We also work to combine vintage and contemporary worship practices—from video clips to congregational readings, from modern worship songs to ancient creeds. After the service, most attenders hang around for the next hour or so with their families. We eat together every other week (bringing in a simple catered meal for a reasonable price), watch the kids play, talk about our lives and enjoy each other’s company.
What is the relationship of EXP to Paramount Baptist Church?
EXP is a unique ministry of Paramount. It is officially one of four weekend worship services Paramount offers the community, along with the 8:30 am traditional and 11 am contemporary services, plus the 11 am children’s worship time. But due to its location, meeting time, and nontraditional format, it feels and operates like a “church within a church”—a smaller church with all the resources and programs (children’s ministry, etc.) of a larger, more established organization. While you will often see members of Paramount’s Pastoral Leadership Team in attendance at EXP, it is very much its own unique community.
What are Clusters and how can I join one?
Clusters are our small-group ministry that takes the place of traditional Sunday School. For more info about Clusters, click here.