Every summer, my family and I travel to Carolina Beach, NC, for vacation. We meet my wife’s family and rent a condo right on the beachfront and one of the early highlights of the trip is getting to visit a local church. Like most families, when we’re at home we go to the same church week in and week out…it’s a preacher thing, but at the beach, we don’t have any commitments, so we’re free to roam. Through the years, I’ve learned that North Carolina has a passionate church-planting culture.
One of the first churches we visited met in a middle school auditorium. They had a great band, breakout spaces for Sunday school classes and children’s church, and they had committed volunteers—people who showed up at 6 AM to start setting up for worship. Of course, they had to be committed because this was make-or-break. The area school district wrote a three-year contract with church plants. They could use the space for a low rent, but the church had to show signs they were growing, they had to create a missional impact on the community, and they had to move out by the end of year three. Today, that first church we visited has purchased an old strip mall and they are thriving. They have a vital Sunday ministry, but they also have a child care program and community counseling service through the week. How would your church be different if you had to move out of your building three years from now?
This year, as I was getting dinner on the boardwalk our first night at the beach, I saw a banner advertising, “Church at the Boardwalk.” A local church in town was doing outreach at the beach! Thirty minutes. Worship outside. Go in your swimsuit. I knew this would be an instant hit with my family. So we went.
That morning was rainy and dreary. I knew walking down to the beach that there was a good chance this thing would be canceled and sure enough, it was, but Becky showed up anyway. She was in charge that morning and she explained that with the rain and electronics, they had to call it earlier that morning, but that hadn’t stopped 25 of us from showing up. One boisterous fellow in our group talked her into leading us anyway. No song sheets, no musicians, no prep, nothing formal, just simple prayer, a quick scripture reading, and her thoughts in reflection. All told we were there about 15 minutes and it was the best worship I’ve had in a long time. My boys (7 and 12) loved it! It was Christian community—people coming together in the name of Jesus to celebrate what He’s done for us, share our needs with one another, and encourage each other on to greater acts of service. Isn’t that the whole point?
I was truly humbled and grateful to have seen such a visionary example of the potential for church. Here was a lay person…she had no formal education, no modern church flare, and yet her passion for Jesus shined through. I’m not sure what the future will hold for that church, but I’m confident they could leave their building and be just fine.
What about us? What would it look like if we left our buildings and did church at the park? Or church on the campus quad? Or church at the gym? Or church at the diner? Would we become a healthier connection better connected to our communities?
