Invitation to Worship
I love the idea of youth Sundays where the youth get to lead the church worship service. As a youth minister, I like to give students freedom in how they want to run the service. Even then, there still is an understanding of boundaries and a certain standard of worship. What if during youth Sundays we gave them 100% freedom to do what they feel led by the Spirit to do? I think it would be a beautiful transformational mess. I think lives would be changed, minds would be blown, and everyone's picture of church would be totally flipped upside down. I think Jesus would be jumping up and down yelling..."Do something different! Let's get weird! Hallelujah!"
I think this way because I have seen God show up tangibly through teenagers at NFUMC. They are so open minded letting the Holy Spirit work in a variety of ways. They are not afraid of what God is going to do when He shows up. They are just waiting, expectantly, for God to show up. They simply ask God to show up and He does. They pray this prayer through song...
"We have come to give you praise. We have come to give you glory. You're welcome in this place! Have your way!"
And then God accepts their invitation and shows up.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.- Jeremiah 29:13
The first Sunday of every month from 6-7pm everyone is welcome to join us in worship in the Sanctuary. This is not your typical church service. The only thing planned are a few songs from the youth praise band. People are invited to worship however they choose to. You may sit in a corner, dance with arms wide open, or fall on your face at the alter. There are no rules, boundaries, or structure.. Sometimes we pray. Sometimes we sit in silence. Sometimes people get up and share testimonies, sermons, poetry, solos, Bible verses, confessions, etc. We don't know what is going to happen but we do expect God to show up, and He has never rejected our invitation.
If you are the kind of person that thinks church is boring... try something different. Don't limit your view of what church is.
" I don't validate my faith with a church attendance scorecard. I think of church as a vibrant community of people consisting of two or more varied backgrounds gathering around Jesus. Sometimes they are at a place that might have a steeple, or auditorium seating. But it's just as likely that church happens elsewhere, like coffee shops or on the edge of a glacier or in the bush in Uganda. All of these places work just fine I suppose. When it's a matter of the heart, the place doesn't matter. For me, it's Jesus plus nothing- not even a building." - Bob Goff, Author of "Love Does".
I think this way because I have seen God show up tangibly through teenagers at NFUMC. They are so open minded letting the Holy Spirit work in a variety of ways. They are not afraid of what God is going to do when He shows up. They are just waiting, expectantly, for God to show up. They simply ask God to show up and He does. They pray this prayer through song...
"We have come to give you praise. We have come to give you glory. You're welcome in this place! Have your way!"And then God accepts their invitation and shows up.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.- Jeremiah 29:13
The first Sunday of every month from 6-7pm everyone is welcome to join us in worship in the Sanctuary. This is not your typical church service. The only thing planned are a few songs from the youth praise band. People are invited to worship however they choose to. You may sit in a corner, dance with arms wide open, or fall on your face at the alter. There are no rules, boundaries, or structure.. Sometimes we pray. Sometimes we sit in silence. Sometimes people get up and share testimonies, sermons, poetry, solos, Bible verses, confessions, etc. We don't know what is going to happen but we do expect God to show up, and He has never rejected our invitation.
If you are the kind of person that thinks church is boring... try something different. Don't limit your view of what church is.
" I don't validate my faith with a church attendance scorecard. I think of church as a vibrant community of people consisting of two or more varied backgrounds gathering around Jesus. Sometimes they are at a place that might have a steeple, or auditorium seating. But it's just as likely that church happens elsewhere, like coffee shops or on the edge of a glacier or in the bush in Uganda. All of these places work just fine I suppose. When it's a matter of the heart, the place doesn't matter. For me, it's Jesus plus nothing- not even a building." - Bob Goff, Author of "Love Does".
SWEET PEA, Hurrah for you with this refreshing, up-beat of what is church? I think Jesus likes to smile rather than being so somber all the time. I know he's smiling now.
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