Well last week at Momentum, they said they were helping a new church over on the east side of Cleveland get started and get moving. They needed volunteers. They needed a Reverend who was prone to wander. Well, what better way to kill two birds with one stone? I'd get to check out a new place and get my service on. Bring on Velocity!
The first challenge is distance. I live in southwest Akron (K-TOWN!). They are on the far east side of Cleveland. 55 minutes away according to Google maps. Oh, and the work starts at 7:30 AM. So the Rev was up at 6am to shower, shave, shinola and hit the road. Who knew the sun was up at 6am? Most certainly not me.
The new church is tucked way back in a neighborhood off of Mayfair Road and they meet in an old school (not old like creepy, Scooby Doo villian hangout old, but no longer a functioning school old). A daycare now owns the building and they rent from them. Again, just like Momentum, not an actual church building, and again, a great asset. The place has a nice gym that they use for the main worship and then use the fully stocked classrooms for their youth classes.
I got to work helping unload chairs, set up signs, and other miscellaneous tasks. Remember the drawback to not having a building? You regular readers should know! It's having to set up and tear down every single Sunday. It being 85 degrees at 7:30 in the morning makes this all the more fun. However, they had quite a few good workers, and as they old saying goes, many hands make for light work.
The guy I was working mostly with was named Scott Pugh, the preacher. He was a young-ish dude who is actually from my hometown area. He knew of both Southwest and Kenmore Church of Christ. A real top knotch guy who really had a heart for this place. His sermon was based on the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). A great sermon for Father's Day, as it shows how a good father can be.
Bonus! He said he knows the people that might be helping with the new plant in Kenmore Church of Christ and as far as he has heard, it's a done deal. Oh snap!
The worship style was very similar to Momentum, that is, they rocketh. Sounded great, played great songs, and just generally rocked the Casbah. And since I got there super early, I got to talk some of them and they are really cool people.
After the first service, I was up to help with the 3, 4, and 5 year old kids during the second service. Being a former youth leader, this was no problem. And the young lady I worked with, Stacy, was great.
With kids these little, you can't really have a big lesson. Tell them a little about Jesus and then play with them. Kids were fun and cool. Our only incident was the alleged theft of two quarters from one little boy. The accused didn't admit to the crime and we were left with an open case. I have devoted the rest of my life now to bringing down the accused!!! I will not rest until justice is served! . . . eh, not really. I'm too lazy.
Oh, and we got to play Duck Duck Goose. I love that game.
After that, I helped a little with putting back chairs, but there were so many people helping, I went ahead and slipped out the door and headed back to the A-K.
All in all, a great experience. It takes a special person and a certain mindset to be a part of a church plant. And after getting to spend some time with these people, I can already tell that this place is going to succeed. They are great folks.
I remembered how much I miss doing crazy church work and working with kids. Velocity, while only 11 weeks old, is a great church and if I have any readers on the east side of Cleveland (I doubt it!), I highly recommend it.
Verily Verily Yours,
Revvin' and Wanderin'
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