When you ask people for the Sunday service times at Vine Community Church, the most likely answer will be “9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.” While those are the times the actual worship services start, Sunday service at Vine starts much earlier. In fact people start serving hours before the actual service ever starts.

In fact, the serving begins as early as 5:45 a.m. That’s when members of the facility team first arrive at the church. First, the doors of both buildings are unlocked. Then lights throughout the facilities are turned on and the team checks for bulbs that need to be replaced and any other maintenance issues. Rows of chairs in the auditorium are straightened and everything is double-checked to make sure the church building is ready. members of the Sunday morning cleaning team arrive. They begin by washing windows, making sure countertops and tables are clean and taking vacuums to the church carpeting.

At 6:45 volunteers arrive at the Walmart bakery, where they carefully load nearly a dozen large boxes of doughnuts and bagels into their cars. After transporting to the church, the boxes are unloaded and placed on large platters for the first service. Other platters are prepared and covered, tucked away in the Vine’s kitchen to be enjoyed following the 11 a.m. service.

By 7 a.m., members of Sunday’s worship team arrive and begin rehearsal of the day’s worship set. They work on such items as harmonies, the musical bridges between songs and prayerfully set about making sure that the attention of the music is not themselves, but rather God. The team consists not only of the musicians and singers on stage, but also a sound board operator and a video projection technician in the audio/video booth at the back of the sanctuary, both of whom also arrive at 7 a.m. to make sure their portion of the worship service goes smoothly.

As the worship team arrives, the aroma of freshly roasted coffee begins to fill the air in the building, as members of the church’s coffee teams also arrive at 7 a.m. and begin the task of brewing nearly 30 pots of coffee for the morning services—a task that takes just over an hour. While the coffee brews, a second java team—this one the coffee set up team—works to make sure those attending the services will find plenty of cups, creamer and sugar and all of the other items necessary for a perfect cup of coffee.

About 7:35 members of a second worship team arrives at the church and begin taking their places on the stage of the North Building. This team will handle worship for the youth worship services that take place at the same time as the regular services in the auditorium. Like their peers, the youth worship group practices songs and transitions, focusing on giving glory to Jesus.

By 8 a.m., a small group of people meets in the lobby or the auditorium, spending time in prayer for the days’ services, the teaching, the worship and for all who will be in attendance in the coming hours. A few minutes later, the video technician makes certain that all of the video monitors in the lobby and the cry rooms are turned on and that each is showing a loop of announcements and information important to churchgoers.

As the clock approaches 8:30, the building is practically spotless, the bands and technicians are prepared, the coffee and doughnuts are ready for attenders and plenty of prayers have been lifted to God for the day. Members of the parking lot team don their reflective vests to welcome and assist drivers find a place to park safely. Inside, the hospitality team welcomes individuals and families to worship, answering questions and distributing programs. Volunteers in the Kids’ Program area have readied each Adventureland room and await the arrival of eager children. Then once the serving is complete, it’s time for the service to begin.