Why I Love Pastoring a Mobile Church (part 1 of 3)

07Aug08

There are two things I am sure of after a little over a year of praying, preparing, pursuing and a lot more praying about starting a new portable campus at Foundry.  I love doing “church in a box” and it is hard work.  Every week our volunteers unload our two 24′ trailers filled with everything from squeaky toys to amplifiers to coffee makers to high-tech intelligent lighting.  It is amazing.   Most weeks I leave thinking, “That was a great morning of hard work for the kingdom…and we get to do it again next week!”  Most pastors that I speak with about what we do think I’m crazy to say that I love this…unless they’ve been part of one.

I think there are a few reasons that some people don’t get excited at the thought of doing church the way that we do it.

1. It is hard work
2. It is unpredictable
3. It is different

I was reflecting recently and realized that these are the precise reasons why I love being the pastor of a portable church.  Over the next week, I want to share why…

1. It is hard work
I know that our volunteers probably often think, “Why did I agree to do this?”  They are there every week.  Some volunteers arrive as early as 5:30 getting the trailers to the theater.  Some of them work nearly a full 8 hours on Sunday.  And I can honestly double their pay each week, because $0 squared is…well, you get the picture.  That is crazy!  But, what happens while they are working together doesn’t happen anywhere else in the life of any church I’ve ever been part of…true community!  Somehow working together is a much more natural way for us to form relationships with people.  I think most people (especially men) bond more quickly and easily over work.  Conversation happens more naturally and people connect with one another.  It’s kind of like being a soldier in the trenches together or teammates on the field or curt together.  I haven’t seen many of my teammates from my ball playing days, but we could pick back up right where we left off if I ran into them on the street.  We are laboring together and while it is a labor of love the outcome is more than just a worship service…it is a connection like no other for those who are working as part of the team.  My wife was recently explaining that we would be going to church with family while on vacation.  He began to drill her with all kinds of questions about her church, “Do they have church in a theater?” “Do they have kid’s church like us?”  He then began to ask what his aunt did.  “Does she teach? Setup? Sing? Ect…  He just couldn’t imagine going to church as most of us think about going to church.  Surely going to church must involve some work right?  I live it that he is growing up with the idea that the church and community is something that Christians create, build and live in rather than just consuming.  I am tired of a consumeristic approach to church, yet I think it is the trapping of Christians in suburban America. I’m glad to be apart of what we are building here in Cypress and my prayer is that we stay focused on building, creating and being the church rather than consuming a worship service.

…check back for part 2 next week

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Tags: church, church in a box, mobile church, multi-site churches, portable church