Church Search: Week 3

(Note to those who noticed: There is indeed no entry for week 2 of the search. We . . . as in both Amy and I . . . went back to Lifepoint last week and again enjoyed it thoroughly. Writing about it, though, would largely be a rehash of the previous week’s post, so I decided to spare everyone. Your powers of observation are impeccable. )

This week, another church that meets at 6 PM (yes!), and again, I was alone, as my wife wasn’t feeling too great.

Week 3: Grace Central Presbyterian Church, Columbus, OH.

I’ve long maintained that, were it not for infant baptism, I’d almost certainly be a Presbyterian. So when someone from the Vagrant Café suggested this young PCA upstart church in downtown Columbus, it intrigued me.

This congregation of about 50 people meets in a beautiful old brick building (owned by another church) in the “Short North” district of downtown Columbus, surrounded by Victorian housing and eclectic shops . . . the arts community of the city (which happens to have a rather large gay population as well). There were some folks hanging out on the church steps as I walked up, Bible and notebook in hand, dressed in my favourite sweater and jeans (I was relieved when I saw that everyone else was dressed rather casually as well). After some introductions and handshakes, I was shown around and told more about the place.

Walking inside, I saw some things that stood in stark contrast to my most recent church experiences . . . stained glass, wooden pews rather than plush individual seating, the communion table as the centerpiece. I grabbed a bulletin and took a seat in an empty pew.

Things soon got started with a welcome from Greg, their shaven bald 30-something pastor, and a call to worship from Psalm 19.1-6. After a prayer, we sang Come, Thou Fount Of Every Blessing, probably one of the greatest hymns ever penned. Greg then stood before the congregation and explained, in simple terms, our sin and how it separates us from God. He then led the repentant in a Confession of Sin that seemed to be adapted from the Strassburg Liturgy. Good stuff.

The whole service was likewise filled with beautiful hymns (including Derek’s She Must And Shall Go Free) and liturgy (catechism readings, The Lord’s Prayer, etc.). Greg preached on Romans 1.18-32 (from the ESV, even). Long, but good sermon. Really impressive, especially for a preacher so young.

We concluded by celebrating Communion . . . something that they do every week, which I think is great (see my LiveJournal post from December on this topic).

I left this place with a really good feeling about it. The blend of ancient Reformed liturgy with the contemporary really resonated with me in a way I can’t recall happening elsewhere . . . the fact that it’s a conservative Reformed voice in a part of town that so desperately needs the Gospel helps, too.

I wasn’t anticipating such a dilemma in choosing a church. When I moved to Jackson, we visited two churches and almost immediately knew where we were supposed to be. So far, we’ve visited two and I like them both a lot, and for different reasons, as they’re very different churches. A good dilemma, I suppose.