Timaru Assembly of God
Location: Church Street, Timaru; now in
Trinity Hall.
Denomination: Assembly of God
Website:
www.agnz.org
Church Services: Sunday 10:00 am, 6:00 pm
Groups: Home groups, youth groups, men’s group.
My own visit
Date: 7 November 2004Service: 10:00 am Celebration Service
The building: Until 2004 AOG used the old Methodist Sunday School building. It is an imposing grey concrete building. It has a high ornate frontage close to the street. The white wooden window frames stand out against the grey. A concrete and iron fence separates the building from the street. See the sermon and my reflection on what the church has planned concerning buildings. Now (2005), the church has actually moved to Trinity Hall in College Road.
The décor: Inside there is a big hall with lots of doors leading away from the main room. The walls are painted a (darkish) white and stylised light yellow columns add a bit of class. Patterns adorn the high white ceiling. There are only a few small windows so that electric lights are needed. A big banner at the front of the church declares:
- A place to belong
- A people to build
- A purpose to bless
Smiling face at the door: I was handed a bulletin at the door, with a nearly absent-minded smile as the person had to discuss something important with the man entering before me.
Start of service: There was quite some noise in the church. The worship leader had to ask people to find a seat, so that they could get started. They then had worship songs and notices. This lasted for about 45 minutes.
Congregation (approx) 0-12: 20 ;13-20: 10 20-40: 22 ;40-60: 20 60+: 12
Liturgy: none used
Music: Worship songs were used (all except one new to me), usually with two verses, a chorus and a bridge. These were sung through several times in varying order. Towards the end of worship time it turned into a basic two chords, over which people could sing their own words, a few people also read words from the Bible or prayed aloud. There were plenty of raised hands and people swinging. One lady also started to dance.
Instruments: drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, amplified acoustic guitar, three song leaders.
Children’s Talk: No children’s talk. The younger children went out pretty early, the older ones after worship time.
Sermon:
-Length: 40 mins, apparently a bit longer than usual (30mins)
-Method: The pastor stood among the congregation
beside the front few seats. He is a very charismatic and free speaker,
walking around the place and gesticulating, like a lawyer in those
American legal films.
This sermon was more about a vision for the congregation now,
rather than preaching on a Bible passage, which apparently is more the usual focus.
-Bible reading: Matthew 9:14-17
-Content:
Jesus was doing ministry in a brand new way.
For example, he offered forgiveness of sins by faith, not
by sacrifice. He touched a dead body; he didn’t withdraw form
the woman with the haemorrhage, but speaks his blessing into her life. Jesus
is out on the street, not in buildings or the temple. The heart of the
gospel, God’s message to his people had not changed, but the way of ministry
had changed.
Methods change, but not the message. We now think about our own church.
Timaru AOG is unique. Some points to consider when thinking about new wine-skins:
1. This is a place to belong. The old system was that
first one had to change one’s belief system, then one’s behaviour and finally one can then belong. The order in the old churches was: catechism – holy life – baptism.
We rub shoulders with those who do not yet believe in Jesus. This is a safe
place to belong.
2. A church without walls. The old style of church just doesn’t fit with
society today. Out there, ably supported by the media, church is seen as boring and
full of hypocrites. We could advertise as much as we like, people still won’t come to
church.
But we can take church to others. One example is taking church to children
at school. In this group kids have fun and learn about Jesus. We are not trying
to get them to church on Sunday. Sunday is their family day. They have church
on Thursday.
There’s a follow-on youth group on Friday. That is their church. As they are
older they get more mobile and then can often come to the Sunday night church.
3. Particular calling to reach children and youth with the gospel. D.L. Moody once said that there were 2 ˝ conversions one night. “2 adults and 1 child” it was implied. “No”, he said, “2 children and 1 adult. The adult already has lived halve his life, the children have their full life to give.” Sunday school changed the face of a nation. Around 1700 there was a complete social breakdown in England, with the industrial revolution arriving. Some people started teaching young street kids in Gloucester on Sunday. And so the Sunday school movement was born. It redeemed the nation and saved England from the horrors of the Revolution. But it then also released missionaries to all corners of the earth. Of course it takes money to reach kids, and that’s were we need to put our resources.
4. We are going to invest in the future in living stones, not in mortars and bricks. Time is short. They approached Trinity Church who has facilities that are underused. And after long discussions it seems as if they can now move to this new home. This will also bring the church more into the community rather than being in the city centre. The space is much more adequate. As they are followers of Jesus as well, the rent is affordable, and it will enable them to work together with another church.
5. In the past every church used to do their own thing and stay apart from the others. We have to work in partnership with other churches. The Easter Fest is an example. We’re not investing in money, but in trust.
Other Highlights: Prayer for mission. They showed pictures of mission work in Thailand. There were photos of kids holding little booklets telling them about Jesus. Various members of the congregation then prayed for mission work in Thailand and one missionary in particular, connected with the congregation. The pastor and other members agreed with loud cries of “Yes”, “Amen” and “Do it, Lord”.
Wrap-up: A song was sung and the congregation reminded of the evening service.
After the service: I spoke with a few people and stayed for morning tea. The pastor approached me and we had a good talk.
Quality of morning tea: There was Milo! One could help oneself to whatever one liked and then give the disposable cup to a nice helper who filled it with water. No sign of any biscuits, though the children were all chewing on jelly lollies.
Reflection: Good to be there when they talked about the vision of the church. It is so important that churches work together today, as different as they may be in their outlook. It is a bold step to give up one’s own building and go to that of another church, but it surely must be the way of the future. There is of course the concern, that as mainstream churches are slowly dying, they only become the property owners for other more dynamic churches. But that does not need to be a bad thing – better than turning church space over to another purpose. I like church buildings, especially old ones, but the resources of a church should not be tied up in buildings. Co-operating so that they are used by several congregations is a wise move.
There is a clear need for churches to work together. As a result of different worship styles and different theologies, there will always be different denominations and congregations, but we can combine in certain activities, get to know the people who go to the church up the road.
When looking around the congregation, I could not help but think about Paul’s comments in 1. Corinthians 1:26 ff: “Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were influential: not many were of noble birth.” Of course appearances can deceive and they certainly seemed to be a friendly and enthusiastic lot.
4 questions:
Definitely b). Also c) to e), though they are not the main reasons. Not a).
Yes, definitely. But we live through grace, not works. Only through the power of Jesus can we hope to live up to the commandments. If we try by our own strength we will fail.
The board and Senior Pastor are elected by the membership. Other ministries are mainly team ministries, which people undertake because they have a gift in that area.
No