I saw a church in a trailer today.
A what? A church in a trailer. You know, one of those rectangular cargo trailers!
A trailer that contains a church. Or rather the stuff that a church plant brings each week to their meeting space which is probably at a school gym or other rental space. They can’t store their projection equipment, sound system, podium, Bibles, and whatever else they need in their rental space. So each week they bring the trailer and a volunteer crew of people set up. At the end of the service, a volunteer crew tears it all down and packs it up.
It’s quite amazing the way it all packs into the long trailer. It’s kind of like a jigsaw puzzle or more accurately a rectangular Rubik’s cube that holds the stuff of church. During the week it gets stored somewhere until the next service is held.
Actually there are businesses that make these trailers and help these church plants to assemble their stuff in such a practical way. They design it all around the needs of the specific church. And they make it all fit in the trailer.
I admire the creativity and the portability. But I have to wonder if a church needs all that stuff?
With a traditional model of church that needs sound equipment and projection stuff and podiums and other things that help create a service I guess they do.
And maybe it’s because they have so many people that they need so much stuff. Or maybe it’s just their vision of church. I am a whole hearted believer in different churches for different people.
“…different kinds of churches for different kinds of people”
I’m so glad we don’t need all that stuff. And even as we grow I don’t see us needing all that. And i don’t say this to be superior — because we’re not.
And i don’t say this to be superior — because we’re not.
We’re just different. Different vision requires different stuff.
Our vision is to be church in the living room or around the kitchen table. Not so much requiring a presentation space with chairs, large speakers, projection and such.
We do have some equipment. We bring our communion cups, juice and bread, some pens and markers, colouring pages and crayons for kids, a couple of extra Bibles, a bluetooth speaker for our music and a computer to play some slides or music that we can sing with. Occasionally we bring a few extra chairs — sometimes as many as 4! — if we think we need them. Except for the chairs, it all fits in a couple of backpacks or bags.
And it only takes a few people a few minutes to set up.We don’t have a volunteer crew for set up. We just do it with whoever is there.
And some weeks we don’t need anything. We just all show up at a particular place and take part in an activity of serving or learning or fun that requires little or no stuff.
The trailer looks cool. It shines in the sunlight And it’s ingenious the way it all fits together. Probably gives a very professional set up in the rental space for these churches. God bless them as they bring the kingdom!
But as I watch the trailer heading down the road, I’m okay with not needing one.
