Church in the Windshield

Church in the Windshield

Mount Olivet Christian Church

September 15, 2019

One of the neat things about writing blogs is that we get to see (and write) about new churches and meet new people. This particular Sunday was no exception. We had just seen the Ark Encounter Museum and thought it was just out of this world wonderful and exciting (Please see the previous blog). On this particular Sunday though, we were looking for a church to attend in the Williamstown, Kentucky area. I got on the internet and began searching for churches in the area. One church that caught my attention and interest was the Mount Olivet Christian Church. Perhaps it was because the picture of it was a very modern up to date church or perhaps it was just a sense that we might enjoy

that church on this particular day. I showed the picture and write up to Sheron and said, “I think this would be a great church to attend today,” and she agreed. So we made the short drive from our camp ground (The Three Springs Campground) to the church. Lucille, our GPS, was most helpful when it came to finding our way. Upon arrival we saw this interesting marque. We stopped and studied the marque for a while and then took some pictures. There was just something about the marque that drew us to the church. Was it the stones . . . the cross . . . the mount? At any rate, we were excited to get to attend the church service.

We drove down to the parking lot and saw that the entrance of the church was ‘buzzing” with happy excited people . . . happy people that they knew about God . . . excited to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Certainly there was a warm and inviting spirit about this place.

There was a welcoming line that extended from the front doors of the church to the edge of the parking-lot. Both young and old extended their “hand shake welcomes” and greeted us with “Thanks for coming . . . we are so glad that you have come to worship with us today.”  Why, I suspect that there were at least a dozen people who greeted us outside the church that morning. From that moment on, we felt like we were a part of the church family. Upon entering the church, we were greeted by another group of people and they each in turn welcomed us. “Here is a bulletin for the worship service” they said. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” “Would you like to sign our electronic register so we can properly welcome you?” Like clock-work it went and soon we entered the sanctuary with a warm afterglow of being treated well.

The theater type sanctuary was most interesting with different colored lights and points of interest. Pink or blue lights outlined the stage and worship area. We thought it was nice touch.

 A cross in the corner of the sanctuary caught our eye; we focused on it and thought this church with modern media still keeps “the main thing . . . the main thing.” The main thing is the sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ. As we gazed upon the cross and the worship area beside the cross, we were reminded of Jesus being on the cross. A shadow of the cross on the wall reminded us of the past history of the cross and connected the cross to our present day understanding and meaning.

Our attention was then focused on the stage and worship area of the sanctuary. We observed the provisions for a praise band. Our minds wondered a bit while we prepared our thoughts and minds to focus on worship. We didn’t have long to wait though for the song leader invited everyone to stand and we sang a number of songs with the words printed on two giant monitors for easy reading. The singing was so upbeat and uplifting that we instantly experienced a sense of the Holy Spirit. God was indeed in this place.

The service progressed and Pastor Mark Messmore (new to Mount Olivet in July) delivered a very timely, ordained by God, message. The message presented in modern day style challenged our thinking and gave us a spiritual nugget of encouragement, grace and hope.

When the service ended, we had the joy of meeting and visiting with new found friends. One in particular, Jeremiah (not his real name) visited with us at length and we experienced a bonding friendship. We shall call his name Jeremiah meaning lifted up by God because he shared a God given gift with us. The gift he shared with us was that of listening, caring, and sharing God’s message. In this busy world, we sometimes forget how important it is just to communicate.

After a great time of worship and sharing, we headed back to the camp ground still in the warm after-glow of God’s presence. What a positive send off for our journey back to Kansas the next day.

When we arrived back at the campground, we decided to check our e-mails one more time before packing to travel and there it was. “You got mail . . . Thanks for coming to the worship service today.”

Until next time, safe travel, keep the faith and communicate God’s love.

Ron & Sheron, drivers behind the windshield