You Thought It Was Hard to Get Ready for Church!

Day 2 of Sabbatical started in church. Okay, it started a little before that, you know, getting ready for church. But church today is a little different from Sunday morning UBC, a lot like Saturday night UBC. And, church today is the New Journey Church, a church plant about 3 ½ years old, in Midlothian, Virginia—a church plant that struggles, but a church that's full of wonderful people who care.

And you thought you have a hard time getting ready for church! Every Sunday morning, a crew of folks drives to the elementary school and meets up with the guy who drives the truck that pulls the trailer that has everything you need to do church inside. There’s a big metal container labeled welcome center, and others full of electronic sound equipment, video equipment, and of course, band instruments and more electronic equipment. The chairs are already inside, but carts have to be pulled out, and every chair has to be set up. And that’s just for worship.


Back on the trailer, there’s a children’s program box, and preschool equipment containers, and toys and other stuff—lots of stuff. And every Sunday morning, it’s all unloaded and pushed inside, unpacked, and used for Bible Study small groups, and for worship. And then it’s all packed up, and rolled back out. Without complaint, or at least without audible complaint. Or at least, without audible complaint on site.

You have to admire people who do this. These are people who believe in what they’re doing, who believe it’s worthwhile, who believe it’s the right thing. But you also have to wonder if we were put in the same position, would we do that, and keep doing that, and then do it again?


I mean, we complain if someone else hasn’t set things up the way we want them set up—never mind that someone else does it. But I couldn’t help but stand back and admire the New Journey Church (yes, I did help stack a few chairs). After all, I met many of them, and everyone I met told me how much they loved their minister of youth, who also happens to be my son, Logan. These people are great!

Care-full-y,
rick