Sam Bennett - Church Visit #1

Church Visits for BITH 376

Sam Bennett Church Visit #1

ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All) Goodnews Church Chicago

Gage Park

8/28/2016

Lower Socio-Economic Status

Lower Socio-Economic Status

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

After a warm welcome by everyone in the church, we had Sunday school with the women of the congregation. It was an hour-long time of prayer and confession. After that, we had the regular worship service with the whole congregation. The congregation is probably around 50 people, at least today’s service was, and everyone knows each other and calls one another “brother,” “sister,” “auntie,” or “grandma,” regardless of relation. We spent a lot of time in prayer, worship, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, and greeting one another. In all, the service lasted 2 hours plus another hour for Sunday school. This church is very different from my church growing up in many ways. First of all, it’s a Nigerian church plant so all of the members are of Nigerian descent. Also, the style of dress is very elegant and ornate and the worship involved a lot more clapping and interaction with the message. I felt very aware of my race being in this church, but at no point did I feel uncomfortable. I felt very welcomed and loved. Because the church is incredibly small and the style of dress was different from that of my home church, I would associate this congregation as a lower socio-economic class.

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

This church reminds me of the church my aunt and uncle attend in rural Minnesota where everyone knows each other and is like family. I really enjoy the small-town congregation where there’s more intentionality and fewer but closer relationships with the people in your community. I felt involved and included in this church even though I was just visiting. Being greeted by a firm hug and a handshake and having someone say “You’re welcome here” really hits home. I also appreciated how scripture-based the worship service was. There is a heavy reliance on the Word of God to guide this community throughout their lives, as well as a commitment to prayer and calling upon the Holy Spirit. Before the regular worship service we had an hour-long time of prayer with the women in the church and it was very powerful. There are some might prayer warriors at ECWA and their hearts for each other, Chicago, and love for Jesus shone through clearly with how they treated one another and supported each other overall.

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

Other than the fact that I clearly stood out because of my skin color and how I dressed, but that I didn’t feel unwanted, I would say not knowing how the worship service traditionally goes was a bit disorienting. Sure, I had a bulletin so in theory I knew what was going on. However, I was a visitor in the church and didn’t know how long the service goes, how to celebrate the birthdays in the congregation, or even how most of the worship songs went. Just simply not knowing was a little tough for me. I had to follow the lead of Ulyssia, a friend Aafke and I made this past week, to guide us during the service. Another thing I want to mention is that when we arrived at Sunday school before the worship service we all went around the circle and prayed fervently a prayer of confession, and felt the presence of the Spirit so strongly because of how passionately the women were crying out. Also, when it came time for the tithe, everyone gave some amount. Not to assume that this church was explicitly lower socio-economic status, but I was reminded of the woman in Mark 12 who gave her last even though she didn’t have much.

4.     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 theme verse for the church this year has been from an Old Testament passage in Ezekiel, and we reflected on a different text in Ezekiel during Sunday school. So, at first I was interested to see how the church looked at New Testament literature. The sermon was drawn from a passage in 2 Corinthians 4 and talked about the message and the messenger. I appreciated how the church combined both Old and New Testament scripture into the message overall and how well-versed and familiar with the Bible they all are. Similarly, the pastor broke down each individual verse from a whole chapter in the book of 2 Corinthians, which is different from my church. Generally, my church chooses a few verses and really flushed them out, which I really learn from. This church was more piece-by-piece instead of big picture themes and stories for the congregation to learn from. Each style is valuable and reaches a different audience, but personally it challenges my focus when it’s so broken down.