Showing Life in Life Church - Essay Example

Showing Life in Life Church The chosen church is the Life Church, which is in Indianapolis. It is a non-controlled church, which is situated on 9101 W. 10th Street. It was built some six years back. The church immediately caught my attention as it had a vigorous life to it. After days of research on the internet, I came across this one church which was unbiased, hence, I felt like I would be received with no conditions attached. There was leniency regarding how one should be dressed at the church. The casual atmosphere made me want to pay it a visit as I myself didn’t want to stand out in the crowd. I was glad that I could go to a church without being noticed. Nevertheless, I paid the church a visit on November 12 and 20. I arrived at the church early and so I had time to look around. The first day I arrived a bit earlier so that I could have a good look around. Since the church was small, I was easily spotted as a new visitor. A young woman recognized me as a visitor and approached me. She introduced herself as Jenna Simons about my visit to the church. I told her that I was new to that place and was visiting the church to do some research on an assignment. She asked about my background and gladly agreed to help. She was a friendly woman who answered my questions patiently. Politely, she invited me to sit with her and asked how I got to know about this church. I explained about my internet research and the assignment which I had to do. She then asked me about my religious beliefs, my perception of Jesus, salvation and the church. I told her that I was a staunch believer of the bible and that, all my beliefs originate from the holy book. We then discussed the concept of salvation. We then decided to pray a short prayer together. She then invited me to visit the church more often. She was glad that she could be of some help to me for my assignment. Moreover, she wholeheartedly asked me to bring my friends along with me the next time, so that they could also get to know about this lively little church. I thanked her for the invitation and said that I would definitely bring my friends if they could make it. The service started with great fervor and I was amazed to see that people were not over dressed, in fact, I saw many people in very casual attires. Even though I had an idea that there was no particular dress code at the church, through my internet research, I did not expect the leaders to be so casually dressed. I quickly registered the reason behind it. One of the main agendas of the church was to ensure uniformity amongst the people. Hence, even the people standing in the front row were dressed like everyone else. I found this refreshing, because it enabled me to blend in with the rest of the crowd. Nevertheless, the prayers started and then proceeded towards singing. After which, there was a short narrative regarding worship and prayers. The singers who led the congregation were amazing at their job. They made me sing along with them. A projector was placed on the front wall which projected lyrics to the songs. This way, people didn’t have to carry song books with them. The crowd seemed to really understand the true meanings of the lyrics as I could see them singing with all their hearts. There were many people who were transported to another world during the singing as their eyes were closed through out. Everyone seemed engrossed in their own singing, their faces looked happy and radiant with faith. The singers were all singing together in a congregational rhythm. They started off with some lively songs and gradually moved towards more subdued melodies. The lively numbers received clapping and joy from the worshipers, however, the slower melodies bowed the head in worship of God. Furthermore, the people were addressed regarding charity and offerings in the form of money. Lastly, a charity bag was passed around the crowd for collection to help the poor and needy The church believes that there is only one God, the one who the Bible speaks about. They are a Bible-believing church who meet together to study the word of God and encourage those who are weary, strengthen the weak through prayers, guide others through counseling and help in whatever way they can according to the needs of those who approach them with their concerns just as the early church professed their faith. They believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary. They believe that He cam to this earth to become the sacrificial Lamb because He was the only one worthy to die for the sins of the world. They believe that He is the only Way as it is written in John 3:16, that Jesus is the only truth and that He is the life. When His blood was she on Calvary, He carried all the sins of the world upon Himself and His Father was not able to look at Him anymore because He was full of sin. They believe that Jesus has conquered death when He resurrected to heaven and that as He commanded the disciples in the New Testament as they have been saved by the grace of God, it is also their duty to share the salvation that they received in Jesus. They believe that they cannot do anything without the Holy Spirit who is now with the people as they continue to live in the world. The Holy Spirit is believed to have been sent after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and is still is with the people nowadays to strengthen them, counsel and teach them in the ways they should go. After the service ended, people greeted each other, stood around in groups chatting with smiles on their faces. The fact that there were so many children in attendance was bewildering as there was no commotion and they all appeared quiet during the whole ordeal. Moreover, I learned that there were separate congregational sessions for children conducted by volunteers. This seemed a brilliant idea to me as the parents could concentrate on their prayers while their children had a separate teaching class. I questioned Miss Simons about the criteria for selecting volunteers for children. She told me that there are interview sessions for that and only volunteers best fit for children are selected for the job because of security reasons. Simons further enlightened me that apart from prayers and the congregation services, the church also offers many other activities to the community. They engage in group meetings such as picnics, lunches at homes and discuss social issues in the light of the bible. Simons then invited me to once such gathering to which I politely refused as I was a bit in a hurry. In addition, Simons also explained that these small gatherings help build faith in people as main beliefs are discussed and the meetings take place on a regular basis. They also read the bible I this meeting, moreover, share their problems in order to seek solutions to them as well. The main belief of Life Church is to serve the main purpose of the bible, enlighten people about God. Their mission is to reach the people of the God, help them through charity and strengthen their belief in God and the bible. Small groups of people are established in order to serve God’s purpose. These groups engage in discussions of issues which people are unable to discuss with people close to them. Furthermore, teachings regarding ethics and moral behavior are also given to children and young adults. Other main activities of the church besides the usual prayers and congregations include charity. The church has a pantry which is used to accept donations in the form of money, clothing, and food for the needy. In addition, I also found out that they offer English as a Second Language lessons to immigrants as well as childcare and preschool. In my opinion, the concentration of the church is on prayer as I observed throughout the services I attended and through the invitation given by Miss Simons Work Cited n.a. Life Church: A Vineyard community. Life Group Resources. 2012. Web. November 7, 2012. < http://www.lifechurchindy.com/guest-site>. Simons, Jenna. Personal interview. November 13, 2012. Read More