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Talking in Church
In a new concept of church, The Gathering in Hamilton is bringing children and adults together in a place where they can get chaotic, creative—and even talk in church.
The Gathering is a church congregation in its own right—but it’s probably not church as we know it. They meet at The Salvation Army in Hamilton once a month, on Saturday evening between about 5–7 pm. A typical night will include crafts, sports, plenty of running around, a small focus on teaching and singing, lots of chatting, dinner, and more chatting. It’s a complete re-think of the way we do church, making a spiritual space where children and adults can come together.
In some ways, it’s a natural extension of the Sunday school movement, which sees children as part of the church in their own right. But it would be a mistake to think The Gathering is only for kids. Instead of separating children and adults, The Gathering is where all ages can participate in the faith community together, explains team leader Paul Gower. It’s not for kids, with adults tagging along—or the other way around. The Gathering is a place where all ages are genuine participants.
The idea first took root when Hamilton Community Ministries (also known as ‘The Nest’) and Hamilton City Corps relocated to the same site. ‘We deliberately wanted to work together,’ recalls Paul, ‘We quickly identified that the area we both had in common was children’s and family work—both as a social service and as a church.’
The Gathering is a ‘corps within a corps’, with a special focus on people who may not otherwise attend church. ‘Traditional church methods will come under increasing pressure to be relevant,’ says Paul. ‘People don’t usually go and listen to a lecture in their “normal” lives. This is a way to have a community of faith that is more relevant to people outside the traditional church model.’
The concept is based on the Messy Church movement in the UK, which is ‘about being Christ-centred, for all ages, based on creativity, hospitality and celebration’. In the past decade, the concept has grown to around 20 countries around the world —including New Zealand. And it is proving just as popular in Hamilton.
Despite only being a couple of years old, The Gathering attracts over 100 adults and children—many of whom are not otherwise churchgoers. The emphasis is very much on creating a place where people feel they belong and relationship-building. ‘We deliberately have a lot of “bumping in” time where we’re talking, sitting down over a meal or doing activities—it reflects our society where we connect over a coffee,’ Paul explains.
The seemingly unstructured nature of The Gathering requires a lot of structure behind the scenes. Each night, between 7–10 activities are on offer—from crafts and woodwork, to relay races, sports and baking. Activities are deliberately of a high quality that adults can engage with as well. Each activity requires adult help, fostering a sense of purpose and belonging as adults spend time with the kids. And, of course, there is always the chance to chat while working on a project.
Every evening is centred on a theme—such as a recent night that focused on ‘Winter Blues’. Activities were winter themed, including making hot-water bottle covers.
A 20-minute ‘celebration time’ is the one aspect that bears some resemblance to traditional church, but it is carefully considered. ‘Rather than the tradition of basing the talk on a passage of scripture, we talk about a theme and bring in spiritual elements,’ says Paul. ‘So, for “Winter Blues”, we talked about emotions—how we deal with having the blues. We said that a way to deal with anxiety is to talk to God about it, and give thanks.’
There are a few songs, usually based around the theme of who God is—‘since we don’t know where people are at in their personal relationship with God’. And, on occasion, people are invited to get prayer if they want. ‘We don’t see it so much as imparting knowledge; it’s looking at a theme and wondering what the Bible says,’ says Paul. ‘Everyone’s got something to contribute—and we continue the discussion over dinner.’ Dinner means catering for over a 100 people, covered by a small door charge, and allows more time to get to know each other.
Following its monthly meeting, The Gathering holds a family movie night—meaning that children from split families can participate with each parent on alternating nights. Other relationship-building activities, which can be as simple as a walk, are also held regularly to keep families in touch with each other.
Making The Gathering happen is very much a team effort, Paul says. ‘It takes the support and hard work of a team of about 10–12 volunteers in a team leadership approach. And it has really made faith real to us as we work together.’
Although The Gathering is centred on outreach, its success is not being measured by ‘decisions made for Christ’. ‘We’re very much wanting people to belong, and belief and faith comes from that—it can take 10 years to see the fruit of that,’ Paul says.
But this dynamic is what keeps him passionate. ‘I get excited when people from our supportive accommodation keep coming even after they are no longer receiving Salvation Army services,’ he says. ‘When our kids’ friends come with their families, that’s really cool and exciting!’
Yet, Paul reflects that The Gathering has also been transformative for his own faith journey, despite being around church all his life. ‘For my wife Rachel and me, it has made our experience more real. People who come don’t tend to have other Christian activities they go to, so it means we really have to dig in and think about spiritual things from a new perspective. We know the journey with this faith community will be a long one, but it will be a great one.’
by Ingrid Barratt (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 22 August 2015, pp18-19.
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.