Juggling with Jelly

A new church

I went to church for the first time in nine months last night! No, not what you think.

As a congregation we have been refurbishing the church building for nine months so we have met as smaller groups in various locations. There simply wasn't room for us to continue meeting in the building. Much of it was a hard-hat area for all those months. The chapel, which seats about 40 and wasn't being refurbish, would not have been large enough. The church hall is/was used by the children's church so even if we could have crammed upwards of 600 adults in there where would the 100+ under 12s have gone?

We did met as a body once a month in a local school but even that wasn't really large enough for the entire church and the many visitors we get to congregate together. So out we went into the communities around us. 18 groups ranging in size from a half-dozen to 100+. Each one with its own common vision be it age-group, geographic area, theological interest, shared language, personal responsibilities or some other bond.

Before closing the church building our net annual growth had been an average of one person. Transfers out as people moved away, transfers in as people came to the area, new converts. Balanced. During our nine months without a building the net growth has been over 100 (yes one hundred). And that's just counting new converts. We have well-known evangelists amongst the congregation. They had little to do with these local converts being off elsewhere in the world.

After nine months a "new" church has been born.

posted by Trevor Jenkins @ 7:53 am