Alison Chang - Church Visit #2

Church Name: Lawndale Christian Community Church
Church Address: 3827 W. Ogden Avenue Chicago, IL 60623
Date Attended: 3/30/14
Church Category: Non-denominational
(significantly lower socioeconomic demographic + at least ten miles away)


Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
The worship service was held in a gymnasium and black fold-up chairs encircled a stage that was in the middle. The worship service started with four worship leaders at each corner of the stage leading the congregation into singing gospel music. The choir then continued leading the congregation in worship. There was also a special solo worship song that was really powerful. The pastor was very dynamic in his preaching as he spoke with passion and took up the whole space of the stage in the middle. The worship service was similar to my regular context in the order of service. However, Lawndale's service was different in the ways the room was set up, the styles we worshipped in, the demographics of the people we worshipped with, the length of the sermon, the verbal affirmation of the congregation, etc.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
I found the welcoming atmosphere of the service the most appealing. Even though I might stick out as an Asian woman and it was my first time there, I felt accepted and welcomed. I absolutely loved worshipping. It was so much fun. My favorite song was titled "I can't stop praising Him". I couldn't help but get up and dance. And when the song was over and people started to sit back down, the choir would start singing again! and then again! We really couldn't stop praising Him! The service was so powerful and spoke a lot of God's transforming power. Seeing how so many of the leaders in the church came through Hope House was a witness to God's transforming power. I was in awe.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
I found the powerpoint slides the most disorienting and challenging because there were colorful and included pictures I remember seeing from Facebook and Instagram. Because I come from a context that keeps my secular life very separate from my spiritual life,  I kept thinking... "Is this ok?"

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
My view of what the church could and should be has dramatically changed. When I thought of church, I thought of it as a place to sing worship songs, to listen to sermons, and to personally be filled by the Holy Spirit. Lawndale's worship service helped me perceive that, though a church is a place for all of the before-mentioned activities, the church is much more than that. The church is really a light to its community. In addition to my own personal heart, God actually does bring healing broken communities. God brings change through His people, the church. I found that surprising to actually be able to see through the work of God through LCCC to its own community. The church can help people, not just is spiritual ways, but in very physical and real ways. Jesus Christ came incarnate and has a physical body. Going to Lawndale reminded me of the truth that God is real and is actively working in tangible ways. It makes me question: in what ways can my own church tangibly address the issues that are before its own community?