So, if this morning’s church was the biggest so far, then this evenings was without a doubt the loudest. Big Church currently meets on Sunday evenings in the Barrie Free Methodist building on Cundles Road. The service is energetic, lively, and long, clocking in at around 2 hours.
This evening I also took another undercover agent with me, as my daughter volunteered to scope out the children’s program while I attended the service. Her biggest complaint in other churches has been that they don’t take her questions seriously enough, but apparently Big Church scores well in this regard; she reported that she’d participated in a lively discussion of Revelations, Elisha and faith.
After my experience this morning, I was glad to be at a service that included communion with no restrictions. I tend to think that a church service isn’t really a church service if it doesn’t include communion. I may not understand it completely, but there is something very important in our shared remembrance of Christ and his love for us.
Afterwards I got to chat with various members of the church, and ask my usual questions. Who are you? Why are you here? What is God doing in the city? For the first time in this journey, I actually got a cohesive answer to that last question.
“God is breaking down walls between churches, calling them to complete one another rather than compete with one another. Just as the members of the Trinity are distinct and yet work together in perfect union, so should the churches of Barrie complement each other in living out God’s love for the city.”
That’s an answer I’m thrilled to hear. I shall keep asking this question as I continue my journey.