Faith Worship Center

An all brick, quaint, small church right in the middle of our neighborhood. It’s located a half mile from our house and very convenient to where we live so we decided to check it out. The service started at 10 and when we pulled into the parking lot at 9:55 and only saw 2 other cars, we wondered if we got our times wrong. Well, we got the time right….. In the service that day there were a total of 17 people which included all the children, adults, praise team, pastor, sound guy…everyone. The sanctuary time warped us back to the early 80’s in its design and decorating. I can’t remember the last time I saw so many fake fichus trees in one place. Mixed in with the fluorescent lights, the painted stencil on the wall of a very large vine with grapes…and bam!…..1985…we’re back!

The band was surprisingly very good. It was made up with youth group members…or should I say the entire youth group. They had a great sound and were very inspiring in their worship.

The message was also very sincere and you could tell the pastor had a genuine heart for the Lord and for the people. I couldn’t understand why there were only 17 people there that day. Talking with the pastor after the service, I found out he has been at the church for almost 30 years, as the head pastor for 14 of them. This church really has so much potential. It’s location, the people there. I think some new vision and direction would really take them a long way.

These days, churches located right in the middle of neighborhoods are few and far between. As churches grow and become bigger, they usually look for cheap land and space to build which usually means an industrial park or commercial zoned property that’s off the beaten path. I really do think it’s a shame that more churches aren’t located smack in the middle of neighborhoods. If churches are really serious about serving their community and meeting those needs, they would make sure that they are located in those communities. The problem is that churches these days try to make themselves a destination. They spend millions of dollars on building projects to create everything from gymnasiums, to high tech sanctuaries, to multipurpose recreation halls. It’s all about the latest and the greatest. The most modern sound system or comfortable seating.

How radical would it be for a church to use its resources to directly help the community they’re in? Sure still maintain a meeting place, but look for ways to spend resources by physically reaching out to their community. Every neighborhood is different with varying needs. For example, a middle class neighborhood might need a dynamic sports league to bring families together. Maybe a coffee shop/book store as a gathering place for folks. A poorer neighborhood might need a mentoring program for kids in single parent homes, or a tutoring program for students. Instead of a church putting resources into its own facilities to make itself a destination, wouldn’t it be amazing to pour those extra resources directly into these types of programs that would bring more people together than what they could do on their property? I truly believe that holding weekly tutoring programs would affect more people’s lives than a once a year big dollar high tech Christmas cantata.

Now before you start…. I’m not saying that churches need to sell their buildings and give all the money away. I’m just saying that there is a difference between being functional and comfortable and being the latest and greatest when it comes to church meeting places. And as for these community programs, I’m sure you’re also thinking, “that sounds great Brian, but how do you actually manage and administer something like that.” Again, every situation is different, but if a church can raise funds and build a new gymnasium that typically gets used 2-3 times a week, they can surely find a way to reach out to people by being more actively involved in their local community. Would we need many of these government social programs if the church was really committing resources to helping people’s lives instead of capital intensive building projects?