Berwyn Church Plant News

A few have been asking me how it went last Sunday in the Church Plant I have been part of in a less hands on way than normal.

Short review. Plant has been underway for about a year. This is my 4th plant of which I have been part. Two including this one are still going. Church planting is brutal business. Not for the timid or faint of heart. But essential. With hundreds of churches in America closing every month, we need bold brave men and women to plant churches that work to replace those that don't.

The church had originally rented space in North Riverside in a movie theater. The city using zoning kicked the church out of it's space. Lots of arm waving. But the Church (denomination) had spent tens of thousands of dollars to publicize this plant via direct mail for it's first official service.

Then a few days before the rug was pulled out. There was no predicting this. No one did anything wrong.

With some radio ads and some phonebacks to people who called we pulled Sunday morning Easter off.

About 70 people showed up. Less than hoped for, more than expected. I can't tell you the difference.

Lots of rocky things in first runs. We were there at 8AM and left about 1PM. I have done this enough to know that church planting is hard work and that work includes hauling stuff in and out.

The service was good.

Pastor Aaron came to town with a smile on his face and a Bible in his hand last January. He just went around and met people and pulled the whole thing together.

Of course every good church needs a good worship team. So, every person he met the conversation eventually drifted toward people who could play an instrument. This impressed me. He knew what it took. Music, Youth, Children, Technical. And of course a space to meet in.

People are attracted and held by a good anointed worship music. It will cause people to come back even if the preaching's poor, or the service is clumsy.

He put together a really good band. Guitar players are fairly easy to find. Keyboards ditto. Drums are harder. So, he looked and looked and found a guy who was a friend of someone he met. He had others. But this guy was interesting.

He played drums in a rock band 20 years ago. Before he met Jesus thru Aaron, the drummer had NEVER been in church. Never. Knew NOTHING. But now he plays drums for Jesus with a smile on his face. I spoke with him and when I heard the story was frankly amazed. He's hungry and growing in God every day. I thought of the Christmas song, he doesn't have much to bring, but he will play his drums for HIM.

Aaron had no Bass player. But he had an eager young man, RENE. Rene said, "I always wanted to learn to play an instrument". So Aaron and Rene met twice a week for several months with a CD player, A bass, and Aaron on guitar (which he also plays). He taught him to play the Bass guitar. From scratch. 6 hours a week for 3 months and now Aaron has a dedicated and competent bass player.

Ditto the keyboards. Esther, Aaron's wife, plays keyboards, but a young man, a son of one of the early core group members had always wanted to learn to play something. So, Ester payed the price. Now they have a decent keyboard.

What makes this interesting to me is none of these people had ever played in a Christian praise band before. NONE. They didn't know any of the canon of Christian music. They only had a CD player and a heart. And the one who could play didn't know Jesus. The drummer. He knows Him now.

There is a church in Sterling IL I know who's whole praise band is people who never played a lick before they came to church. The Pastor's son put it together. Garage band for Jesus he called it. Now they have a CD out. The band is called Final Quest.
I have their CD. They tour. Raw recruits with a pastor's son devoted to pulling together a team of dedicated passionate lovers of Jesus who became musicians.

Their recent CD is all original music.

If you dropped this young man from a helicopter into any city in the world that spoke a language that he could communicate in he would have a decent praise bank put together in 6 months. He would probably have to teach every person how to play and train them how to play together but I know him and I know he could do this.

The opposite of this was a church I was part of in Germany. They couldn't get the band to come together. This was in Heilbronn. Good church but the band never got off the ground. They had music, a piano, occasionally a choir, words on a screen, singers but no band. No one took it upon themselves to say, "give me free reign and I'll get you a Praise Band". So since no one took responsibility nothing happened. I remember one morning they sang for Peggy and I in the service, "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" in English. Let's just put it nicely. Germans have no soul. At least not in Heilbronn.

In Frankfurt at the church we were first part of when we lived there before we moved was not the same situation. I even remember the Music guys name. Peter. He had the full complement. Drums and all. It was loud and proud. I loved it.

What was interesting is many of the praise and worship songs sung in the church today I learned in German. When we came back to the states it was hard to sing them in English. I mean, God hears them in German, Right? Why should He have to translate.

"You are my prince of peace" is not the same as "Du bist mein Friedensfurst"

It must be Easter, I went a long way down that bunny trail.

Back to Berwyn.

The rest of the morning went off well. I did wonder to myself if in today's day and age if we think we think we can even have church without powerpoint or microphones. I know that if you lose power everything seems to go south. We did and it did.

My part was to do the Communion Service. It was very moving. I used no powerpoint. I don't need a mic.

The kids had fun. I would hope Children's church would have meat too.

So all in all I guess I would pronounce it a success. Ephesio 4 Church is up and running. Ephesio is Spanish for Ephesians.

Now, Lord, What's next? How bout something in the Fox Valley area where there is no real move of God, yet. The most unsaved region in Chicagoland. How can we soften this parched and dry land with your living water?