By Rev. Andy Nelms
I’ve had the amazing privilege of participating in many different churches. I grew up in rural Oklahoma worshipping at the local United Methodist Church with total attendance each week of about 50. I’ve also had the privilege of worshipping at the largest United Methodist Church in Leawood, KS, at Church of the Resurrection. I’ve worshipped in schools, I’ve worshipped in homes, I’ve worshipped in churches. Of course, I’ve worshipped with Acts 2 UMC, as well!
Now, I have the amazing opportunity with One Church to move from worshipping on Sundays in a school to Fridays in the Chapel of Acts 2 at 6:30 p.m. This is exciting for many different reasons, 10 to be exact. Here are the top 10 reasons why I am so excited about worshipping on Friday nights and why I think this worshipping community is perfect for you and your family.
10. Sleep! You and I are human beings and human beings need sleep. My guess is that you don’t get enough of this rare commodity. So come to church on Friday nights and sleep in on Sunday mornings.
9. Kids are happier on Friday nights. I know what it’s like to get cranky kids out of bed who were up way too late the night before. I know how stressful it is to roll into church on Sunday morning with no idea what fresh mood swing your child is going to throw out during the children’s moment. Let’s do ourselves a favor and catch One Church on Friday nights and skip this stress-filled situation altogether.
8. Bounce houses. Up until daylight saving time (Nov. 5), we will have bounce houses after worship each night staffed by highly trained and loving workers. This, paired with the amazing children’s programming and awesome snacks, means your kids will love coming to One Church on Friday nights. It also means you will likely be the recipient of some kind of parenting award. Way to go, you!
7. Jesus. Really though, you know how you’ve felt like you need to go to church or go to church more regularly? This is your chance to make that inclination a reality. If Friday nights fit your schedule better because you work or you just like staying in on Sundays, we would love the opportunity to worship with you!
6. Coffee and Cookies. We have coffee from Cafe Evoke! It’s pretty great and is sure to give you the pick-me-up necessary to finish your week strong! We also have Eileen’s Cookies to give you a nice sugar buzz alongside your coffee high. We do all of this for our guests who are new to church! We hope you feel like the red carpet has been rolled out for you!
5. Date night. For those of you who are married and have young kids, I know how hard it is to get away. Try this: come to worship as a family, have the kids participate in our awesome children’s ministry, and consider the next 30 minutes as you sing, read scripture, and listen to the sermon your weekly date night. Grow closer to your spouse as you both develop spiritually!
4. Meet someone you don’t know. A great thing about worshipping on Friday nights is being able to hang out after worship. While the kids play and your family is on the back porch, we’d love for you to meet someone you haven’t yet and get to know them a little better. It’s a great way to make friends and grow closer to God.
3. Live preaching. Preaching is something that I feel called to and I genuinely love to do. I hope you will come each week and hear what I believe God has to say in our community. This includes what God has to say in the Bible as well as what God has to say about the way you parent or the way you balance your work with your family. I hope you will come each week as we learn and grow together!
2. Fun and relaxed. There’s just something about worshipping on Friday nights. I hope you will come and worship on Friday nights and experience it for yourself. Each week we come together as a group of people who have given up faking it. We’ve put all of our facades aside and we are who we are.
1. My favorite thing about worshipping on Friday nights is that there is a spot for you! We’ve worked really hard to make this community open and welcoming to everyone. Whether you’ve never been in a church in your life or you grew up in church, we think you will feel welcomed here. We know that a good fit is hard to find. We hope that you will come to worship and see how Friday nights and One Church fit for you!
