From Once A Year To Once A Week.

[Friends, I am awaiting a copy of Sunday's sermon to review for the blogs. In the meantime, while I'm waiting, the blogs will be general commentaries on the offsite experience.]

This past Sunday, Bronx Bethany held its first "offsite" Easter service. We rented space in a local high school, we rented audio equipment, and we appealed to our congregants to give generously towards defraying the costs of the offsite service.

Because the auditorium was large, we were able to hold just one service- a big difference from the past two years, where our leaders conducted three services to accomodate the Easter crowds. (I should mention here that I'm only referring to the English-speaking congregation for the high school: our Latino Ministries simultaneously held one service for Easter, in our own Bronx Bethany sanctuary.)

I missed both the English and Spanish sermons because I was with my husband at a different church (his other part-time church job): the start time of the services were too close together, and there was no way we could be in three places at one time. I got back to the high school just in time to experience the altar call.

As I stood in the back of the high school auditorium, I marvelled at seeing over a thousand people gathered in one place for worship. As Pastor Sam prayed, I and others prayed along with him: though we are already Christian, we long for more of Jesus. And that's when I started feeling the holy discontent ("Holy Discontent" is the title of a book by Bill Hybels- you might want to read it if you haven't already).

There are churches in the world that have tens of thousands of members, and they might find it laughable that I am sitting here brooding about our comparatively tiny band of one thousand. But I am brooding.

What if it was like that every week?

We pray for revival, we pray for the transformation of the community, we are embarking on a campaign for one thousand new converts in the neighborhood. We are doing this believing God for the space and resources to serve higher numbers of people.

What will we do when they come before we've gotten our new space?

It reminds me of a fisherman whose boat wasn't strong enough to handle the catch of fish, and who had to call to his fellow fishermen for help (see Luke 5:4-11). Are our ushers able to withstand the pressure of serving each Sunday? I mean, in a crowd of a thousand they wouldn't have the privilege of being on rotation: it would be all hands on deck every week.

When we call for help, who will help us? Who are "the partners in the other boat"?

After the service, I and about four other people walked through each row of the high school auditorium. We picked up candy wrappers; gum; water bottles; crushed cookies; straw wrappers; used facial tissues; and yes, even a few bulletins. Seems some of our sheep were hungry and messy. And that's okay, because in a crowd of a thousand these things happen. But how do we sustain our joy in the midst of their messiness?

At Bronx Bethany, we've gotten used to serving between 300 and 400 congregants per service. Can we, together, begin to pray for the strength to serve 1000 to 1200 per service?

It's not so far away.