Posts from June 2008

Churched Out of the Community

Sam Hamstra | Jun 16, 2008

I bought into it - hook, line and sinker. I am referring to the 7/24 model of church life which proposes that the church, like a gas station, be open for business seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. In this model, we measure congregational vitality by the number of cars that drive in and out of the church parking lot each week, and also by the number of volunteers corralled to sustain the ministries … Read More …

Children & Adults in Worship

Sam Hamstra | Jun 3, 2008

Can't think of another time when I preached with a child in my arms, but it happened this past week when Olivia made her way to me during the weekly gathering of Living Hope Church. What else could I do? Send her away? And what message would that haven given? So, I picked her up, held her, and continued to speak. Now as I look back, with the benefit of a photo, something about that experience … Read More …