On April 25,, it is my hope that the city of Seadrift will be blessed by the beginning of a monthly community wide gathering in the name of Jesus, down on our beautiful Bayfront.
As a new pastor in town, I have encountered a lot of people outside my congregation. I have had one question that I have asked just about everyone, and I have had the same response from each person. My question has been, “Where do I go to meet new people in town? Where can I begin making new friends, as a new comer?” The response: “People mostly have parties in their back yard, and your either invited or you’re not.” It has often been quickly added (with a smile and a chuckle), “If you’re not invited, don’t go, our guns don’t take kindly to trespassers out here in the country.”
What I have encountered in this town has been a very tight knit community, of very gracious and friendly people. I have been blessed to be invited into many back-yard parties, and have deeply enjoyed getting to know the people I can now call friends in Seadrift. And so far, I have avoided getting shot ;). There is one other statement I have encountered often and consistently from folks in town (also with a. smile and a chuckle): “I love Jesus, but I don’t want to bring the roof down in any of our churches, so I don’t go.”
As a pastor, people often feel the necessity to explain why I don’t see them on Sunday morning, in church. Some folks feel that they are not acceptable enough to come into the church to worship, some people have limited times to enjoy our towns favorite past-time of fishing, some people can’t get into the formality of a church worship service and (quite frankly) some people and families have been hurt by one or multiple churches in town. I am sensitive to all these obstacles for folks. However, what I keep hearing in the statement about loving Jesus is, people would like a neutral place to gather in His name, and offer praise to their Lord and Savior.
Our local church leaders have begun discussion on how we can best serve our community, as partners in the Kingdom of God, and we are excited to begin offering a unique worship service designed to present all the faces of our churches together. Once a month, beginning Saturday April 25 at 5:00 p.m., our churches will host a meal at our pavilion on the Bayfront. The focus of our time will be fellowship and feasting in the name of Jesus. Different pastors will offer words of encouragement, prayers and a brief reading of scripture for the community, and music teams from each church will provide a glorifying soundtrack to our time, that people can either sing along with and offer praise, or simply enjoy as they center their hearts on the Lord.
Our hope is to bring people of all kinds together to represent the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth and facilitate a general sense of togetherness in our local family in Christ; and we primarily seek to offer a safe and comfortable place for folks without a church home, to still have a community with which to worship. Churches represented in this effort are: Iglesia Pentecostal Church, Seadrift First Baptist Church, Seadrift Community Church and Seadrift First United Methodist Church. BYOB on the Bayfront (Bring Your Own Bible).
Pastor Cody Logan
