I've just got back from a two-hour long service at Grace family Church in Liverpool, which I have to say was a truly inspiring experience. I went with a friend of mine who is involved with Voice Ministries, and from the moment we arrived we noticed the difference. First of all we were welcomed with such a warm welcome, not by one 'Greeter' but constantly by everyone we saw, right up to and after we were shown to our seats. There's certainly a lesson that many churches would benefit from learning there!
Lots of young people, but we certainly never felt like fish-out-of-water! The church is based in a revamped cinema building, and on a raised area where the screen once was, there were musicians and singers ready to lead the worship and praise. There were screens on which could be projected the words of the worship songs or brief clips of film. The church notices were given by means of a video of several of the young people announcing what was to be on in the following week, etc.
The message, delivered by a visiting pastor, was based on Matthew 24, and instead of the usual method of the preacher only speaking, there was an exchange between him and the congregation. A good learning experience for people. I was delighted to see that people had their Bibles with them, sadly not something that you see in the majority of our churches today. The things that I took away from the service were the welcome attitudes and a great sense of the joy of worship which was engendered there. I hope to have the opportunity to go there to another service in the future when I have another day off!
No comments:
Post a Comment