Sarah Drury - Church Visit #3

Church name: Lawndale Christian Community Church

Church address: 3827 W. Ogden Chicago, Illinois 60623 

Church category: Different Ethnic/Racial Demographic

Date: March 22, 2015

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

This church visit was very powerful for me. The church is located in a health center that is sponsored by the church and is part of their ministry. The service took place in gym that was set up to accommodate a congregation. The chairs were set up facing each other and were circling around the stage at the center. The service opened with singing as a congregation, then singing from the church choir, then the primary passage of scripture was read, and then the pastor spoke. The layout of the service was very similar to what I am used to. The environment, however, was quit different. The congregation consisted of primarily African American people that were from the surrounding community of Lawndale. My church is primarily White people that come from the surrounding suburbs of Chicago. I really appreciated the lively spirit of the congregation and their thankfulness to be able to worship the Lord on another Sunday.

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

The service was very lively and beaming with energy. There was not a dead moment in the entire service. The people were engaged and praising the Lord every opportunity they got. After the service, we spoke with Dr. Lee about the vision of the church and the different ministries that the church has started or partners with. The church is definitely very mission-oriented. They seek to be an influence in the Lawndale community, and they are doing that in major ways. I found this to be overwhelmingly appealing. The heart of the church is to reach a community in need. They take very practical steps to grow the church body and spread the gospel in a very real way. I was overcome by some of the incredible stories Dr. Lee told as he explained some of the history of the church and how they got to be such a tremendous presence in the community.

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

After speaking with Dr. Lee, I gained some clarity and understanding to the background of the church. Initially, I was surprised by the fact that majority of the congregation was men. Majority of inner-city churches have a higher female population due to the fact that a lot of the men are in prison. Although there were women and children, the largest portion of the congregation consisted of men. Dr. Lee explained that the church partners with a ministry called Hope House, which seeks to bring in men that have recently been released from prison. These men regularly attend the church and get plugged in so that they are able to get themselves grounded before they complete the program. The group I visited with found out that we had actually been sitting in the section that was typically designated for this group of men.

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 thought the most interesting aspect of the church was approaching the sermon through the eyes of the congregation. They live in a very different context than what I am used to. They are surrounded by a rough neighborhood where violence and criminal activity is very present. The pastor spoke about John 14:1-4. He spoke about the trials that will occur for believers, but how we can find hope in the fact that Jesus never leaves us and will never stop loving and caring for us. He gave some different examples of trials that one might face. After each thing he said, there was a resounding “Amen” from the congregation. It was interesting to me because majority of what he listed were very different from the trials I face everyday in the suburban context of Wheaton College. I found it very enlightening that Christians come from all different cultural and social contexts and yet we all are unified in one body of believes and serve the same loving and unchanging God.