Spring Branch Reachs Out to Seekers

Last Sunday, Blaze continued its program of visiting other churches which we hope will allow our young people to interact with others on the same faith journey and support the missions of our brothers and sisters in Christ. On September 20th we visited Spring Branch Community Church in Virginia Beach which offers a modern non-denominational service. Spring Branch views itself as a seeker church and its mission is reflected in its desire to "bring faith and life together". Their church seems to have been successful in its effort to make those who attend Spring Branch feel comfortable and not intimidated by the rigid structure sometimes seen in churches today.

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When we arrived for their second service of the day, an excellent contemporary worship band and a very talented piano player and vocalist were already performing. The worship music seemed to make it easier for first-timers like us because it gave us time at the beginning of the service to maneuver through the crowd and get in and find our seats. Our group found its seats in the balcony area of Spring Branch's sanctuary.

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I had been told ahead of time that because this is a seeker church it has a more secular appearance than people might be accustomed to seeing. There are no stain glass windows, no hymnals, and no choir in robes or otherwise, but there are lots of Bibles brought by those attending. The more I thought about it the more I realized that the lack of Christian adornments may effectively address the reservations many feel toward the church in general today, but no less passionately introduces non-believers to the life changing impact of the Good News. Spring Branch's appearance seems to be successful at putting those in attendance at ease.

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The beginning of Spring Branch's worship service displayed an emphasis on creativity and humor to convey its message. This included a very funny mock news story followed by what seemed to be their own locally produced video that was displayed on one of the sanctuary's extra-large video screens.

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The theme of Pastor Michael Simone's sermon series that Sunday was political correctness in religion. He observed that today too many churches, by not wanting to offend anyone, have made their highest authority the lowest common denominator. Pastor Simone concluded by reminding us that true followers of Christ seek faith that will transform the way they live. My youth seemed to have really enjoyed the worship experience, as well as interacting with some of the many young people who regularly attend service there.