Church #4: Velocity Church

I woke up completely ill prepared on Sunday morning without having done any research on a church this week. I assumed that I would attend Ekoji Temple since this service and the Southern Baptist church in the fan were the only two left on my list other than the Unity church which I had already had the chance to experience in the beginning of this project. However, when I went to Ekoji Temple website (www.ekojirichmond.org) , I saw that the Temple recommended new visitors to come for an introductory session to learn a bit more about their practice before attending a service so I decided to heed their advice and wait until I had the opportunity to do so. Maybe next week?

Admittedly, I also had to take a trip to NJ on Sunday afternoon so I didn't want to travel all the way from Short Pump to the fan to attend the Southern Baptist church on the corner of Boulevard and Monument. Because of my commitment to attending a new church each Sunday, and since I have a sincere desire to enjoy church instead of reluctantly going out of the feeling of being obligated, I decided to attend a service close to home so I didn't feel rushed and in turn, I venture off my initial list of churches from my first post. I believe this decision was not at all a coincidence, but instead, very much a vibrational alignment with the intelligent design of our universe. Sunday morning, at 10am I walked into the Short pump movie theater as a first time visitor of Velocity Church. (www.velocitychurch.org)

I had seen flyers around town about the church but I knew very little about them or what they believed in. After doing some research on their website, I realized they were a non-denominational church that puts Christ at the center of their teachings. There creed is that the Bible is the Word of God and that Jesus Christ is the answer and that the Bible holds the answer to all of life's questions. It's pretty simple, and pretty beautiful, I think. It takes away the power of the people, and the power of the church, and leaves the power to God.

THE CHURCH

When I first walked in the lobby I was welcomed with a slice of cake and a church bulletin. While I passed on the cake, I was tickled pink that they were offering it since that could only mean one thing....I could bring in my coffee! Oh how I love a church that lets you drink coffee!

I could hear music coming from down the hall. When I entered the movie theater area the sermon was kicked off by one of the pastors singing a Christian heavy metal song. He wore a star tattoo on his forearm along with several others. He certainly wasn't the traditional Preacher I was used to seeing, but I could see how the churches modern atmosphere would attract young adults and teens to their church.

The website claims to be the church for people who normally don't attend church. Their self-proclaimed unorthodox service consists of video sermons, rock bands, and lots of interactivity with the congregation. They use modern technology as part of their recruitment methods. They believe that church doesn't have to be boring and formal. It can be energizing learning about Jesus Christ and we should be passionate and enthusiastic about being His followers! No pews, or closed toed shoes, no long robes and traditional hymnals. There's no need to answer to a board, just one Supreme Authority and that's Jesus Christ. We can clap, rejoice, be a little funky, dance a little bit, sing a whole lot, and have FUN while we praise God.

Tim Cole is the Sr. Pastor and head of the West End service. He spoke a bit about the church and led the congregation in prayer. Many people wore jeans to the service and they were certainly encouraged to "come as they are" much like the Unity church but the undeniable theme here was Jesus Christ. They weren't touting a Prophet other than Him, they weren't being PC and claiming that there were "other ways to get to heaven" they were very direct, they were about one thing and one thing ONLY....the study of Jesus Christ as we know and understand him through the Holy Bible.

THE SERVICE

The 10am service lasted approximately an hour and I highly enjoyed the sermon. I felt of all the churches I had attended this far, the Velocity Church was the most Christ-centered which makes sense since that's it's mission. They focused on the blood of Christ and passed out Bibles to whomever wanted one, they even encouraged us keep them. They use the Bible as their "map" to right living. They read from it and asked us to read along as well. So far, this is the first church that had actually asked us to pull out our Bibles and follow along so we could interpret it ourselves. There was something about this practice that really resonates with me. I love how the pastors don't claim to hold anymore authority than us when it comes to religion, they don't seem to pretend that they are privileged enough to pass along some Divine message to us that we can't get ourselves directly through the power of prayer and reading of God's word. Instead, the pastor led us in prayer before even cracking the book open that God may speak to us through the stories and have us learn something from it as he delivered his sermon to the congregation. I did learn something.

THE SERMON: The Story of Nehemiah

We studied the book of Nehemiah which is a story about one of God's most courageous men. When the Jews did not obey God, He punished them by allowing the king of Babylon's army to defeat them, and then order the people to live far away from their home of Judah in the city of Babylon. Some time later, the army from Persia defeated the army of Babylon. A servant of the king of Persia named Nehemiah learned about the news of his hometown of Jerusalem from his brother and heard that the walls surrounding the city were nothing but piles of rubble. Nehemiah asked the king if he could rebuild the walls of the city again and the king granted his request. Along the way, Nehemiah faced great opposition from jealous people who didn't want him to succeed in his task. But with much dedication and prayer, the story ends with Nehemiah and God's people, rebuilding the walls within 52 short days even though it appeared to be an almost impossible goal to achieve. God allowed these men to perform a miracle with his help.

The Bible tells this story of Nehemiah and his mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem even when he faced great opposition as a lesson to God's people regarding faith, integrity and what it truly means to do the Lord's work. Nehemiah never wavered in his devotion to this task regardless of how many people worked to stop him because he knew that God wanted him to rebuild the city for the Jews. Even when faced with an impossible mission, he kept moving forward with confidence and joy in his heart. Nehemiah was a great example of how a man can put God even above his SELF. This is the type of devotion God wants from us. When he calls, he wants us to pick up our cross and follow faithfully. He wants us to say YES to Him, regardless of our own position in life, he wants us to be more like Nehemiah and put God's cause first. Nehemiah left prestige, money, power, and went to a Pagan king to plead for the right to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem because He had FAITH and CONFIDENCE in God! This is a remarkable and courageous man!

The story begins by telling us how fearful Nehemiah was. But the fear wasn't enough to stop him from standing up when he was called. The moral here is that Jesus wants us to be like Nehemiah when he calls. He wants us to be courageous even when we are mocked because of our beliefs. He wants us to passionately and confidently move forward when we hear his voice. If we are prompted to tell people about Christ, we should run to do so because HIS WILL be done, not our own. Even if we are fearful of what negativity might come from it, we are to live for God and trust in his cause. With the FAITH of even a mustard seed, we are to know that all things are possible through Jesus Christ. We, like Nehemiah, are unstoppable when we have God on our side.

Velocity Church was certainly a church I would recommend if you are open to modern music, tattooed pastors, a casual and younger congregation, and sitting in a movie theater instead of a traditional church. If you can appreciate the unorthodox way they practice, you'll find that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in the Short Pump Cinema. And I think that's all that matters.