Daniel Phelps - Church Visit #3

Church name: Iglesia Cristiana Community Christian Church
Church address: 76 S. LaSalle Street Aurora, IL 60505
Date attended: 10/11/15
Church category: significantly lower socioeconomic demographic

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

I unknowingly attended a service that was dedicated to generosity and giving, so the usual structure and order of the service was different. There was basically just a time for worship followed by a brief message, communion, and then a description of the four different organizations or ministries that you could give to. The church that I currently go to has a normal structure, but is more than willing to changing it up on the spot according to the Spirit's guidance. I liked that at this church it was actually planned in to have this kind of a special service dedicated to giving. During the service there was also some time spent reflecting on how this particular church tradition started.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

As I mentioned earlier, I loved the fact that the church was more than willing to change up the service and that there were only a few parts that seemed 'necessary' - worship, communion, couple points of a sermon. The focus was totally on the giving and generosity for that particular day. It connected the church to it's darker times in previous years when they were going through hard times financially and felt called to increase giving. I really liked that the focus of the sermon was not on teaching, but rather on living. The opportunity to give and to participate in ministry throughout the world was put in the forefront rather than doctrine or instruction. In this way, I think the church was able to better facilitate Christian living and community.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

I found that it was a little uncomfortable not really knowing what was happening next. A lot of the service was spent simply watching a video feed from a projector, so it was easy to stop paying attention and lose track of what was going on. In addition to this, since there was a mix of economic classes in one room, it seemed odd to make giving the center of attention since obviously some are far more capable of giving than others. However, the giving itself was done in concealed envelopes, which helped alleviate that tension. Finding the room to meet was also a challenge, since it was not in a church building but rather just a rented room near downtown Aurora. In one sense it felt very tucked away from the rest of the world, which was exceptionally quiet on that Sunday morning.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

I mentioned this earlier, but I think that seeing the body of Christ really put the action forward rather the teaching was something that was surprising to me. There was no real teaching or encouragement for people to give because I think that everyone knows that it is good to be generous. Instead, the focus was on the ministries and the impact they were having locally and globally. For someone like me who generally is very stingy and very skeptic about various ministries, it took my mind off of what I personally wanted with my money and helped me focus on where and what I could put my attention to.