It was boldness that brought us there. Boldness from a tiny little middle schooler with the sweetest smile and a mane of incredible dark hair who stayed a moment after class to ask her substitute teacher where she went to church, to tell her about the church she attends, and invite her to come. Boldness from a child who approached with the confidence of a warrior an adult she barely knew to encourage her to join her for worship. A boldness from someone who had no idea we were on a Steeple Chase adventure at all and that got me to thinking about this Kingdom of Love, and wondering if perhaps it was exactly the place God wanted us the following Sunday.
Two hours later during a 6th grade PE class, another middle school girl started a conversation saying," I can't wait until Wednesday, so I can go to church!" She told me how much she loved going, and when I asked where she attended, I knew it couldn't be a coincidence that she too made Kingdom of Love her church home.
I could feel God pushing, showing me where our Steeple Chase would be taking us next, but to be completely honest, I felt myself fighting the bit this time. Kingdom of Love? I'm not even sure where that is. Is that the one in the building by the quick stop with the green dinosaur? Kingdom of Love? What is that anyway? It sounds like some kind of cult or something. What do they do in there anyway?
So I considered other churches in the area. I attempted to make plans to attend a friend's church, only to discover that not only my friend but my friend's pastor would be gone that Sunday. Coincidence? I think not.
So by Saturday night, I knew the answer to where we were going to church was Kingdom of Love World International Church, but I have to admit, it was with a heavy dose of trepidation that we headed that direction Sunday morning. We pulled up to the church housed in a building with a dentist office and sat uncomfortably in the car for a few minutes. Why was this so much more difficult than being strangers in other churches we've attended? My husband offered to pick us up when it was over. We all laughed at him, and he grinned and followed us inside.
And everything was So. Much. Better. Friendly familiar faces greeted us with smiles and words of welcome. My sweet little warrior called out my name and rushed to give me a hug and introduce me to her sister. Pastor Gary introduced himself, and as we looked around the little room, with it's rows of chairs, pulpit, instruments, and spiritual wall art, I was relieved by the familiar feeling of God's House of Worship. Services soon began with contemporary Christian praise songs that we knew, and while the congregation was few (Our family of five expanding the numbers somewhere near to 20.), it was enthusiastic, and my younger daughters were thrilled when they were offered tambourines, so they could play along. (If ONLY they had taken them back after the music was complete! It just seems wrong to want to beat your child with a tambourine during church. And yes, I took them and put them on the floor under the chairs. It didn't matter. Apparently their limbs are elastic.)
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| Pastor Donna and Pastor Gary, husband and wife ministry team. |
A typical morning offering soon followed; however, it was preceded by something new to us in the form of a "Message of Prosperity." I have to allow that I was a little startled by this portion of the service, thinking at first that maybe this church just wanted our money and was using promises of wealth from God as a means to get it. However, as the message continued, and Pastor Donna urged us not just to give of our wealth but to give of our gifts and ourselves, I realized that while the wording was somewhat different than I was accustomed to, the message of being blessed through our giving, was one I had heard often and fully agreed with.
Afterwards we discovered that the church was having a very special service that morning, as it was the first time they would be streaming live on the internet, and beginning the World International Church portion of their title here at their Fairview location (They also have another location in Oklahoma City led by Apostle Rose, Sr. Pastor and founder of Kingdom of Love). It is an exciting extension for the church whose goal is "reaching people globally with God's living word," so if you're interested in taking part in their services online or want more information about their church, I encourage you to visit http://www.kolwic.org/.
Our two younger girls were ushered happily off to children's church where they studied God's love and made heart shaped crafts, as Pastor Gary prepared for his 11:30 debut, and I breathed a sigh of relief thinking I could finally stop worrying about those noisy tambourines (I was mistaken! My goodness, you would think the 11 year old could keep her hands off of them!). My husband, oldest daughter, and I settled back to hear the morning sermon, and then everyone stood up for the Word of God, and so did we, and then we sat back down, but no one else did. (Oops! I'm totally blaming it on the boy in front of us who sat down and threw us off.) In time, though, everyone was seated, and the pastor gave a powerful sermon about building one another up rather than tearing them down and using what God has given us (our talents and gifts, His word and authority) to fulfill God's plans and to lead others to the Kingdom. I was impressed and comforted by the familiarity of the message and scripture and felt even more connected with the body of believers around me.
Following the sermon, the children were brought back in, and we were invited to partake in Holy Communion. All who have accepted Jesus as their savior and who have confessed their sins were welcome to partake, and as the handsome young ushers passed out the sacrament, my family each took their portion. Now here is where we once again encountered something new and foreign to us. Rather than a tiny cup of juice and a small piece of bread or wafer served separately, we were handed a prepackaged tiny plastic cup of juice sealed with celephane with a small round wafer on top and an additional layer of celephane sealing it in. Seeing a disaster waiting to happen in the hands of my children, I quickly took theirs and began peeling back the plastic, handing each a wafer and whispering, "This is Christ's body broken for you."
To which my oldest whispers, " Are you sure it's not Styrofoam?"
And I respond, "Not entirely sure, no, but it's small it won't kill you," as I continue handing them juice cups and praying they don't spill them while I peel back my own, swallow Styrofoam and juice, and straighten up in time to see everyone else raise their unfinished body and blood in the air as it's blessed. (Ah, man! We totally did that wrong! But no one spilled, and at that point, I was considering the visit a success.)
After communion, the service was dismissed and we were able to spend some time visiting with church members. We felt very welcomed by the members of Kingdom of Love, and I felt a little sad at the crestfallen look my bold little warrior gave me when I explained that we wouldn't be back for at least a year while we continue on our Steeple Chase, but I thanked her sincerely for the invitation and encouraged her to continue asking others to worship because, I promise, it's a lot easier to answer the question "Where do you want to go to church today?" when you know at least one friendly face is waiting and wants to spend time with God and you.
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