A Bar and a Strip Club

I know, I know. Not many of you ever expected to read something written by me with a title like "A Bar and a Strip Club." But you know what, it happens. Let me explain...

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to go on a MANDATE trip to Cincinnati. MANDATE is a campus ministry here at "The Naz," where we go to urban areas such as Columbus, Washington DC, Indianapolis, or Cincinnati. What do we do? We live in a church for the weekend, and we serve God by serving the community we are in through community service.

This past weekend (April 25-27, 2008) we had the privilege of going to Covenant Church of the Nazarene in Northside, Cincinnati. Talk about the hood. Talk about the Ghetto. This was it. Pastor Abe showed us a video of when he was giving the sermon, and you can hear gun shots in the background! That is where we lived for the weekend, and guess what? I loved every second of it.

Now would probably be a good time to explain the title of this article. The church was a store front church which basically means it used to be a store, but is now a church. This particular store-front church used to be a bar and strip club, complete with the bar and stage still in.

The sanctuary? Beautiful. Couches and chairs everywhere ranging from the 1960's to the 80's. It was amazing. There were candles everywhere, and the church was decorated with artwork created by the members ranging from infant to elderly. It was beautiful.

On Saturday we had the privilege of being able to help a wonderful woman repair her home. Some of us worked in her bathroom (spackling), some worked in her bedroom (fixing the ceiling and mantle), and others painted her hallway. After that we went to this elderly couples home. Apparently the city sent them an official letter telling them that they had to paint their porch and window trims. They were elderly, and they could not afford to paint it, or could not actually paint due to their age and frailty. It was so sad that a city can do this sort of thing. So we painted their porch and window trims. After that, a group of us went back to the church to clean up and fix the food pantry. You see, they have this mouse problem and they lost most of the food in their pantry due to that. So we helped organize what food they had left, and put them into large Rubbermaid tubs. Later in the afternoon, all of us went out with Abe and Joni (his wife) and passed out popsicles to the neighborhood kids, and played at the playground with them. It was beautiful seeing this kids play together, without a worry in the world.

The service on Sunday morning was amazing. Pastor Abe came in wearing a band tee shirt and ripped jeans. The service was more of a discussion than the regular church service. Everyone had a part, we just sat around and talked and worshipped God.

This weekend had a very profound impact on me. I cannot even describe how I feel right now. I just know that God is definitely with Abe and Joni at Covenant Church of the Nazarene. They are celebrating their one year in ministry this coming Sunday, May 4. Abe and Joni started this church a year ago, and it is evident that God has ordained every step of the way! It is beautiful. What is so beautiful is something that Abe told me. He said "Here at Covenant, we are not about religion at all. We are about community. Our focus is not church on Sunday morning, it is simply going out into the community and getting to know the people." How's that for profound?

A church and A ministry...

A Bar and a Strip Club...