AuburnChick's Adventures

Sunday morning was a busy one for me.

First, I headed out early to play handbells during the 8am service.  We played to Old Rugged Cross, one of my favorites.  It was even prettier because we accompanied the guitar playing that our worship leader was doing.  I’ll admit that I sang along with the congregation.  😀

We also played to the song Jesu, Jesu.  I’m posting a YouTube link to the second song.  I’d never heard it before.  It’s quite beautiful and fitting given the season of Lent…

After playing the second song, I headed out.

Why?

Because my church was getting ready to branch out in a new direction.

Several months ago and after much prayer, discussion, and more prayer, my church purchased what had been a local indoor sports complex.  The business had gone belly-up when the economy went south.

Volunteers spent hundreds of hours cleaning up the place, which had been left in disrepair by the former owners.  The skate park was dismantled, and the parts carted off by a local businessman.

The large room that the skate park existed in will be converted to a worship center and business offices.

The facility also has indoor basketball courts, volleyball court, and soccer field.  There’s also a fitness area with machines and free weights!  Gym memberships are already being sold, and yes, we bought one, but I haven’t had time to go yet (look for posts about my sore buns in the future)!

The church’s youth program relocated to this new facility, and attendance at weekly youth functions is climbing.

Sunday marked the first morning that a worship service was held in the former skate park.

I was amazed when I got a first look at it…

That’s with the flash off.  The next picture is with my flash on…

The church wasn’t sure how many people would be attending this inaugural service.

They quickly discovered that more chairs were needed.

As the music started, my heart leaped in my chest.

I love contemporary praise music.

Everything, from the music to the sermon was so Christ-centered.

This facility is located across from a local high school and is easily accessible to many people, so there’s a lot of potential to reach large multitudes of people.

It’s an exciting venture, and one I’m honored to be witnessing.

Please pray for those involved in getting things up and running.  There’s a learning curve…creating an “off-campus” location from the home base, but the church is doing as Christ commanded and going out into the world to meet the needs right where people are at.

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: Christianity, church, outreach |