Week 5 - Living Water Community Church

www.livingwatercc.org

Whew! We made it over a month in this little adventure. This may not seem like much to some but for those of us (Loren) who avoid new social situations like the plague, this is BIG!

One aspect of this has been finding new church communities tucked away off the beaten path. Living Water Community Church is located just off a major thoroughfare, but enough that it is unlikely you will find it driving by. In fact we discovered it only after we discovered last week's church, Vancouver First Friends.

LWCC is located in a re-purposed bingo hall that has been tastefully refurbished and decorated to provide an inviting environment. If one of the members hadn't mentioned this bit of trivia we would have been none the wiser. The front lobby provides plenty of room to stand and chat with others, there was plenty of this going on when we arrived during the break between the first and second service. They even have a coffee kiosk that offers a number of specialty coffee drinks featuring BJ's coffee, a local roaster that does a lot for non-profit organizations. For the bookworm there is small selection of books available to purchase as well.

The auditorium is artificially lit with comfortable seating that is spread wide and only about 10 rows deep with space for about 250 people. You should feel comfortably close to the stage just about anywhere in the room. The stage is taken up by equipment for the five instrumentalists and two stand alone vocalists in the music team. One nice touch was their use of overhead technology. At first it wasn't apparent that they use projection, but after realizing that there weren't any song books for attendees to use it raises the obvious question, "how do we know what to sing?" Simple, just project it onto the walls, even though they are painted in a soft color like the rest of the room. No big screens needed and nothing to clutter the vision when not in use. Projection was used very minimally for the songs and briefly throughout the message. For those who come ill prepared there are bibles available to follow along in the scripture readings.

Speaking of the music, it was a nice blend of old and new. For the older congregants there were familiar hymns presented in a contemporary way that might appeal to younger congregants. Music was used sparingly throughout the service and definitely was a lesser part of the program. 

Like last week, LWCC's meet and greet time was extended up to about 10 minutes. This provides ample time to have a more meaningful conversation with one or two people than what we have been accustomed to. Following this fellowship time the children are excused for Sunday School for them. They were invited back at the end of the service to participate in communion and the closing song. Unlike the Lutheran church we visited, LWCC practices Open Communion, available to any who profess a relationship with Christ.

The pastor offered an animated and energetic message entitled "I am not ashamed of the Gospel" based on Romans 1:15-17. Beginning with an extended introduction, drawing from historical anecdotes of past leaders of the Christian faith, he laid the foundation for the expository portion. Cross referencing a number of scripture passages he demonstrated Apostle Paul being unashamed because (1) the Gospel is the power of God, (2) the Gospel produces salvation, and (3) the Gospel is for every person.

LWCC was very inviting with several people coming up to welcome us and share a bit about their church. While they may be off the beaten path and a relatively young community (15 years), LWCC has drawn a congregation that includes all ages.