Church in the Park part1/3

August 4, 2014 1:30 pm by Tony

Sunday 3 Aug

As Sunday approached, I had been beginning to lack confidence over Church in the Park… cancelling our standard service and just saying meet in a park with no PA, electric or anything else was taking a risk.

It was easy to big it up the weeks before. After all, it was necessary to give us a rest and a break from the incessant and very complicated rota. Doing two services for two years was hard work and the core of the church was getting a little weary.

But despite all this, when it came to it, I wasn’t so sure. So many uncertainties… who would come, how it would come over, whether people would be comfortable singing outside etc etc.

Half an hour before the service,  there I was on the bank on my own strumming my guitar- well that was definitely less stressful than a usual Sunday!

Eventually 50 people came, singing was great and I have never felt so real speaking the words of Jesus, “look at the birds of the air… do not worry”. He never spoke those words in a building. It worked for me and I think for the other 50 people too. How good was it to be out in the sun, praising God in the middle of his creation and sharing lunch together.

The biggest bonus came at the end when someone who was invited along made the prayer of commitment and became a Christian.

Yep… today stripping Church back to just people meeting together to worship God and share his word worked.

Sure, it can’t always be like this, but maybe in the Autumn, we can look at simplifying the complicated and building in some breaks as we push on to see His Kingdom come…