From this week’s Howe Enterprise:
On Easter Sunday, something a little different will take place for Howe and the First Baptist Church that has resided here in town since the late 1800s. A community worship service will take place away from the church and at the high school gymnasium on Ponderosa Road.
During one of the ice days, FBC Howe Pastor Roger Tidwell, who has been there since 1992, had a lot of down time and it came to him to try and make a special Easter service so that the church can have one service instead of its normal two services. The early service is a more traditional church setting, whereas the 11 am service functions as a contemporary setting geared to the younger audience.
“Our auditorium is not that big, so in order to have one service, something had to change.” said Tidwell. “Either a holiday when attendance is down or a different location when attendan
ce is up. I just thought it would be nice where we could have a one-time service where could be a one church family and have room for our church family to invite family and friends.”
Tidwell thought 2005 was the last time that FBC Howe had a service outside of the sanctuary on Davis Street. It was the only time he could recall it ever happening in his 23 years.
“We’re hoping for 600 or more.” said Tidwell who normally sees around 400-500 in Easter services between both services in the sanctuary each Sunday.
Tidwell says that everything will be simple when it comes to the music and will not be a technical event other than the screens that will display the words of the songs.
Tidwell hopes that the setting not being in the sanctuary will make it less “churchy” so that some that may not be comfortable in the sometimes intimidating sanctuary setting can feel more relaxed.
“We’re trying to create an atmosphere where there’s no threat or no church threat.” said Tidwell. “Whatever reasons that people might hesitate to come to church, we’re trying to remove that hesitation. It’s comfortable and if the person has never been to church before, he or she will be comfortable in that setting.”
Tidwell quoted Psalm 34:8 that says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” He then said that this setting is trying to be the taste that introduces someone to the Lord.
“If we’re going to introduce someone to food, let’s give them ice cream first.” said Tidwell. “We want to make people understand that church is not bad and God is good.”
The New Testament states that the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith. The resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness. God has given Christians “a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. Christians, through faith in the working of God are spiritually resurrected with Jesus so that they may walk in a new way of life.
“Without Easter Sunday, why have any Sunday church.” says Tidwell.
Tidwell says that they had over 800 in the 2005 time frame in which they had to have three services. Having the event in a large setting such as the high school gymnasium eliminates the need for three services while also having multiple layers of why it is special to have a worship service away from the church setting.
“If this works, we want to keep doing this year after year.” said Tidwell.