What Will Thursdays at The Redemption Movement Look Like?
In keeping with our values, we want to keep things simple and relational. Here’s the breakdown of what this weekly rhythm will look like:- We’ll meet at our storefront at 148 River Street at 6pm.
- We’ll have a meal together, followed by a study/group discussion.
- The meal will be coordinated by those who regularly attend and those who tell us ahead time that they’ll be there (first-time visitors shouldn’t feel obligated to bring anything).
- Childcare will be provided. Children will join us for the meal and then be dismissed with a babysitter to a separate part of the building or property. Depending on the ages of the children and who’s watching them, we may have a Bible lesson prepared for the kids.
- Worship: Each gathering will offer some way to worship the Lord together, like music, prayer, communion, etc.
We Finally Feel Like a Family When We Come Together!
This is an exciting time for us because we haven’t offered public gatherings or worship services since last November.Instead, we’ve been investing exclusively in small-group discipleship. The idea here is that, for years, our worship services felt inadequate. Like, RM just didn’t feel like a family that was totally committed to each other (which is how the New Testament describes church).
Therefore, we made it a point to stop doing casual church events so we could better invest in one another through small, discipleship-driven groups. It should also be noted how, in the spirit of church unity, we spent this time attending worship services of other local churches.
Blog further explaining RM's hiatus from public gatherings. |
We called these small discipleship groups “Movement Meals,” and we kept them private so that a new person couldn’t come into the small group and disrupt the progress of community-building that was being made, i.e., getting to know each other and building trust.
Monday Night Movement Meal Group, Spring 2017. |
After taking all of this time to invest in each other, it’s my hope that, when you visit The Redemption Movement, it won’t feel like just another social event. Instead, may you sense how committed we are to each other, and how we love one another like a family--this despite our church being made up of a rather diverse bunch. And, may this witness of community, togetherness, and unity speak louder than any sermon that’s preached, be more insightful than any Bible study that’s taught, and be more impactful than any performance by a worship band (which are all great things BTW).
Realistically, we’re expecting to start off small with just those who’ve been built up in our recent discipleship meals, along with their friends. Should Thursday evenings at RM grow into something more than what our dining room table or storefront can accommodate, well, I guess we’ll just have to come up with an entirely new plan!
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