Jared Strom--Church Visit #1

Church Name: Warehouse Church

Church Address: 308 E Galena Blvd, Aurora, IL

Date Attended: October 17^th

Church Category: Lower Socioeconomic

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

There were a lot of differences in this worship service at Warehouse church that differed very much from usual church context.  To begin, the church was kind of run down, which was very unusual to me because my regular church context is not like this at all.  It was clear to me that I was in a lower socioeconomic context as soon as I walked into the church and this is also very different from my church.  One thing that I found was similar to my usual context was the worship music that was played.  Although my church sings a lot hymns, we also worship more contemporary music and there were a lot of familiar songs that I heard at this service.  I really enjoyed the similarities and differences that I experienced because it allowed me to see how different styles of worshiping can also be very effective.

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

There were many things that I have interesting and appealing about the worship service at Warehouse church.  One of these aspects is how even people that are struggling in a lower socioeconomic context praise the Lord and give their lives to Him even when they are struggling socioeconomically.  This gave me a lot of perspective and allowed me to realize that there is so much that I need to be more grateful for and to not take what I have for granted.  Another interesting aspect was although the church was a little bit run down, this did not change the passion that the church praised the Lord in.  I thought that despite the shape of the church the praise and sermon were still very interesting and effective and allowed me to realized how God’s word can be spread in a different way.

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

Due to the fact that this was a lower socioeconomic context than I am used to, there were many challenges that I faced throughout the worship service.  To begin, I felt as though I was a bit overdressed at the service and it made me feel like I stuck out too much.  There were also lots of references to hardships with money in the congregation and it really convicted me because I have been fortunate enough to not have to worry about this in my life.  The whole time that I was there from the time I arrived until the time I left I felt like everything I had from my car to my clothes were too different and it made me rethink the way I approach certain aspects of my life.  Overall, these challenges helped me to realize that I need to change certain aspects of my life and not take certain things for granted that I have in the past.

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

The main aspect of scripture and theology that stuck out to me at this church service was how many times it talks about loving the poor. I definitely experience a congregation that was socioeconomically poor, but this did not take away from the passion that the congregation had for Christ and each other, and it almost made the bonds that the congregation had greater because in some instances I felt that God was all that they had to get them through hard times.  In addition, I feel like going to this service put many aspects of my life in perspective and there are many things in my life that I intend to change as a result of attending Warehouse church.