It’s a cold-by-California-standards night in December and people are just beginning to roll into our new space on Main St. on the heels of the fog that had rolled out only a few hours earlier. The dimly lit building, still smelling of the mold and mildew that had been trapped in the 50,000 articles the previous tenants packed into this now wide open space, is almost heaving and swelling with new breath as each person enters. No one sees the crumbling plaster on the inside as being unkempt, rather it’s seen as adding “character”. It excites us because it reveals the 100-year brick that supports one of the oldest buildings in our city and the place from which we expect to launch a renaissance of the entire community. Old wealthy men and poor young women walk in together virtually arm in arm. Pillars of the faith and those who are holding onto theirs by a shred make their way with wide smiles into the room who responds with “Ayyys!” and “Woooohooos,” as virtually everyone crosses the threshold. The timidity that accompanies most first-time church visitors, is left at the door, as though it had been wiped off of their feet at the doormat before entering.
This is our Thursday night Church event. Some may call it our second or mid-week service. We just call it church. Virtually every week our lives have the opportunity to rub shoulders with new lives—those who are far from God. And it seems each week more people become regulars though you might call them members. People from a half-dozen or so other local churches come too; a rare expression of church unity today and a privilege that is never taken for granted. Some unabashedly announce that this is more their community than their home church; sharing that if they ever need anything, these are the people they will, and in many cases have turned to. But we’re not all believers. Some people are still searching, even a little mocking because of the pain they’ve been through, too many, at the hands of other churches.
The actual service doesn’t look much different than any other church service, Brethren or otherwise. We welcome people, make a few announcements, have some teaching and preaching, and then an extended incredibly robust time of fellowship. The service takes two hours, and we usually have to kick people out 30-40 minutes after that.
So encouraging to hear how God is at work through your ministry! I love hearing about new approaches to ministry that reach those who are hurting that would not dream of walking through the doors of the typical church.