Hi friends! I've been fast and furiously pouring every second of free time into finishing my book, I'm behind on giving you updates! First up - an Easter weekend recap!
If you've been following the story of our church, Navah Church KC, we launched out of our building the last weekend of March and into a new structure that includes House Church.
Two weekends out of the month, we plan to gather together as a church family. The other weekends, we are split into homes all across Kansas City.
Last weekend for Easter, we had our "first stop" as a gathered family following our scattering. It was pretty remarkable!
The story to the Grandview Amphitheater
Our pastors did a beautiful job telling this crazy, cool story about how Easter came to be at the Grandview Amphitheater. If you've got the time, it's worth listening to the entire story.
But for the highlights:
- We needed a place for Easter desperately - it's like the Super Bowl of church on Sundays. Nothing was open.
- Someone suggested we look into an outdoor amphitheater in Grandview. It wasn't ideal and it didn't make sense because it wasn't in the center of Kansas City. Plus, it was a 5,000-person field, not exactly a space that fits a church of 500.
- Before booking it, our pastors discussed talking to other churches about joining us for Easter, but it was just four weeks away. Seemed impossible.
- On a leap of faith, we went ahead and booked it.
- A group of Grandview pastors happened to be meeting at the same time our pastors placed the reservation. They were trying to figure out who had just booked the amphitheater, afraid a different church was coming in and would disrupt unity in the city. They were orchestrating a city-wide gathering for Easter Sunday.
- One of our church members who leads pastors was with them, and long story short, they learned it was us. We all came together to plan a citywide sunrise service Easter morning.
Celebrating Easter in Grandview
On Easter morning, we got up bright and early to kick off a 7am sunrise service. A guy-girl duo led an acoustic set before a three-woman trio sang a special.
It was fun to look around and see the variety of people gathered. Some were in casual jeans and jackets, others in dresses, polos and suits.
It was obvious that Easter Sunday carried unique traditions to those who gathered, but we were all there for one purpose:Â to celebrate the risen Jesus.
A sign language interpreter joined the worship teams. A man took the stage and read out of Luke in Spanish. Pastors took turns reading the Easter story out of the Bible. A woman took the stage and read a poem.
There were strollers everywhere, along with a fair share of people with gray hair.
As you walked through the crowd to find a place in the grass, it faintly smelled like coffee.
Lawn chairs and blankets created a beautiful scene, I imagine it was a small glimmer of what the hillsides looked like as people flocked to hear Jesus teach.
Grandview Christian Church
One of the pastors who took the stage made a slip, telling people he was from "Grandview Christian Church," when that wasn't the name of his congregation.
But it ended up being one of the most powerful moments of the morning because in unity, we recognized we were all one church, celebrating one Lord, as one body.
Blessing Grandview
Once the sunrise service ended, our Navah family stuck around for more songs and a quick teaching at the amphitheater. We prayed for Grandview, a city once named "One of the fastest dying cities in America."
Blessing all that God is doing in that neck of the woods, we offered gratitude for an amazing meeting place on Easter. We felt excited for what God is doing all around Kansas City.
Walking away from Easter morning, I was amazed at the weather. We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day. My heart was so encouraged.
Following the cloud to the Grandview Amphitheater for Easter led to another fun chapter in God's amazing story.
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