What do you get when you put a Wah-pedal guitar riff, a Fat Albert video, a sick and broken man who has been made whole again, a nation released from generations of slavery, a Passover lamb, communion, and a Josh Turner song together?
Answer: Church at Branches yesterday.
But that was just the subject matter and the presentation. There were also the conversations with families wanting to be baptized. There were conversations with the families that are dealing with aging parents. There were conversations about using para-like helpers in kid’s church and what that would look like. There were conversations about funding an upcoming conference for training. There were conversations about scheduling. All this before the service even started…and that was just me, not to mention everyone else who was busy building the environment for church that day!
There is so much more that goes into a morning of setting up a portable church than just renting the space with good intentions. I thought I would share a little about what a typical Sunday morning looks like from my perspective.
On Saturday evenings I start going into Sunday morning mode. I’m thinking through all the things we’ve been putting together all week. Is there anything I forgot? Is there anything I need to do out of the ordinary routine in the morning? What is the weather supposed to be like overnight? Will the person(s) responsible for clean sidewalks and parking have it all ready for us? Will anyone get sick who is on for the set-up crew or music or kids or hospitality? These are some of the things that we have to be prepared for on the fly. It affects what we put into the content and presentation of each and every service.
There is a saying that goes, “Never take anything on a boat that you’re not willing to lose.” The same philosophy goes into preparing each Sunday service in a portable church setting; never put anything into it that you are not willing to do yourself or could do without.
Adaptable and intentional; that’s the key.
That is why our leaders and volunteers are so important and valued! It takes a team to set up chairs to creatively handle the numbers we are at in the space we’ve got. There is a team for bringing in food and setting up hospitality table(s) for hanging out and fellowship during the pre-service time. The kid’s ministry has a crew for secure registration. They have to set up with sound and video in rooms for big kids, little kids, nursery kids. We need the sound and video set up each week in the main area too. We bring this stuff with us every week in boxes. We have guest information to be set out and greeters to welcome each person into this new church space we create out of a school. We need communion set up and distribution and ushers to help with seating and information.
As all this is going on though, people are connecting with each other. It’s actually quite rewarding to jump in and be a part of these teams. Solomon observed that it was a good and pleasant thing to watch when people work together in unity. The little bit that each person does is adding to the whole of Branches Church being real. People who visit Branches often use the word "real" to describe what they have experienced. It’s affirming to know that as a church we are on the original track of what our vision and mission are.
Our goal is to be a safe place where people can share their life journey. A place where being real doesn’t scare anyone away or bring in the “Bible police” mentality in order to fix everyone or unify their behaviors under a common theology of a narrowly defined right and wrong. A place where the Bible can be explained in everyday context and everyday application. A place where we all can grow in our faith by learning what it is that God has been up to since the beginning. A place where Jesus is taught. A place where grace is taught. A place where acceptance isn’t just a religious word but an act. A place where real people can share their real life in a gathering of real people who know the real Jesus and let Him work in all of us.
So, next Saturday we'll start thinking about all we have to do, we'll show up and set it up, we'll encourage each other, strengthen our faith, apply God's Word, share our stories, and take it all down again.
Pastor Mike
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