Any Given Sunday


      We're still adjusting to our new normal, which doesn't really have a normal. Sunday's vary, and we never know what to expect. We could be rushing to get more food and print more bulletins, or we could look around wondering where everyone went.
      However, there is a consistency to our Sunday mornings. On any given Sunday, if you stop by our church, you will see our front door with scooters and bikes lined up outside.


     At about 9:30 am, kids start to show up. They love helping set up every Sunday morning. A couple Sundays ago, the district superintendent was here. While I was showing him around the church building, to see the progress we have made with our renovations, one of the kids made coffee, put coffee and hot water in the carafes, brought the breakfast food upstairs, and even remembered to put the milk in an ice bath so it would stay cold. 
      The kids at our church love to serve, they love to be a part of something, and they set their own alarms, and get themselves dressed most Sunday mornings, just to be here to do so. I've learned to never shy from asking "can you clean this up?" "can you fold these bulletins for me?"
      A couple Sundays ago, I asked a 2nd grade girl if she could make sure that everybody had a bulletin and a copy of the song we were singing that morning. This past Sunday, she came up to me, with the bulletins in hand saying "Pastor Robbie, should I make sure everyone has one of these again?" This Sunday, she will probably just do it. 
     If you were to visit our church on a Sunday morning, you won't see crowds, or a power point system. You won't get a praise band, or an elaborate sound system. You won't have the best furniture, or the best preacher (though, I'm not too bad, if I do say so myself). What you will see though, is the kingdom of God in action, where even the youngest are not turned away, but have a place. Not just a place to be babysit, but a place to participate and to serve. They are an integral part of the body of Christ, and they are discovering what that looks like.
     So when the district superintendent looks at me and says "you are raising up the next generation of church here", I am taken aback, and think for a second. That's exactly what we are doing. Sowing seeds with kids, many of whom have never connected with church before, to hear the gospel, and then to take their gifts of kindness, for reading scripture, for passing out bulletins, for singing, and we tell them "you can use those gifts, no matter how small, to be the kingdom of God here". 
    I challenge you, if you've never considered inter-generational worship, and putting children into service positions in your church, do it! They need some training, some mentoring, and they might not do it like an adult would. (many times they'll surprise you, and do it better), and you will truly see the kingdom of God come to life before your eyes. 
     At this point, I can't imagine doing church any other way. 


This entry was posted on Friday, October 30, 2015. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.

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