Here's the thing about being part of a young church with no building: Sometimes you have to improvise.
About two and-a-half weeks ago, I was notified by the hotel where we normally hold our weekend services that we would need to find a different place to meet on January 25. I should say right away that the hotel (the DFW Marriott near Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth) is a phenomenal venue, and their staff is terrific. So please don't read this as a complaint about our regular hosts. They really are the best. It's just that the nature of the hotel business is such that every once in a while they cannot accommodate us because of other commitments. No big deal.
So anyway, we had two weeks to come up with an alternate plan for our Sunday services. Thanks to a specific family in our church (John and Michelle Graham, if you must know), we secured the HOA Clubhouse in one of the local neighborhoods. We decided that we would have our normal gathering times, but we would shorten the length of each service in order to make time for a brunch in between services (the brunch was organized by Julie Le, if you must know).
While the Clubhouse came with its own set of challenges--not the least of which being that we only had one room for children's ministry, so our elementary-age kids joined us in the services--we had a great Sunday. People who normally attend one service were able to mingle with people who attend the other. The older kids were able to be part of our adult services, which I think is helpful in reminding us all that those kids are part of our church, too.
So sure, needing to change venues and improvise can be stressful and inconvenient, but it can also remind us that what we are doing is supposed to be fun and exciting. It reminds us that our community is not dependent on a building or a set routine; it is dependent on the people within it and the community we are all trying to build.
It reminds us that we are part of something that matters.
So once again, I am overcome with gratitude for this group of people who call Collective Church their home. I never imagined that church could be this much fun.