Welcome to Church!

When I think of going to church I am instantly bored. I think of dusty pews, outdated monotone songs and a retirement aged crowd. My parents are very religious (both being lay ministers in the Anglican church) but after Sunday school age I was never forced to go to church besides the most holy of days and since leaving South Africa I have probably attended more Jewish synagogue services (my last host family were Jewish) then I have Sunday mass.

A couple of my friends have started to attend a church service in NYC every weekend, so wanting an excuse to get out of Westchester I agreed to tag along. What have I been missing? Has there been this secret, super cool, underground church going on all along? For starters, this weeks service was held in Gramercy Theatre... where some pretty rocking concerts take place, and they hand out jelly beans!

When you first walk in to the nightclub vibe you are greeted by crowd of cool hipster-types all welcoming you to church. After socializing downstairs in the "buddah lounge" we take our seats in a darkened room with purple lighting and with a rock concert atmosphere the "show" begins!

In the place of the more monotone organ accompanied songs usually sung in Church, a band on stage jams out some awesome Christian rock with words projected behind them in case you want to sing along. In place of the regular pastor this week was a guest from the Sydney, Australia branch of Hillsong Church who recalled the story of Joseph returning to Israel from Egypt and how God is generally-specific about his plans for us.

Although I am still trying to figure out my own spiritual path and I did not necessarily agree or connect with the message of today's service, I defiantly had a blast and will certainly be attending future services.

If you are looking for a different church experience why not attend a Sunday Hillsong Church service? You can find more information on their website: http://www.hillsongnyc.com/