The other evening we were invited to attend an outreach meeting. Located in a place that has no evangelical influence for a 15 mile radius, we were encouraged to hear that the monthly service was drawing around 30 people. But when we walked in the door, it became clear to me that we had stepped into a different time. It was this nation’s interpretation of a good, old-fashioned tent revival. And it couldn’t be more out of place.
At first I thought that maybe I was being too judgmental or too quick to think, “Hey, church isn’t done this way anymore”. God forbid that I was trying to push current ministry or worship trend for trend’s sake. Seriously, that not me. But then I realised that it wasn’t that they weren’t modern, it was that they were speaking in the voice of another generation (the oldest generation, mind you), yet they hoped to engage the young generation, most of whom have never heard the Gospel. Ever. What I was witnessing was a generation gap.
As we were introduced to people before the service, it became obvious that the room was filled with people further afield from the general village or area (actually, there were people from the next county in attendance). Perhaps three or four lived in the village. It also became apparent that all attendees were believers and church attenders in their home area. With the average age of 70 (and I’m being really, really polite here), we were some of the only “youngsters” in attendance, and, since we’re already saved, I believe that there were no non-Christians in the room. » Read the rest of this entry «
