Watching my "first" church on Sunday mornings

I am somewhat in a state of flux at the moment.  See, I've been living in the Spartanburg, South Carolina area for going on eight years now.  But I don't know if it can truly be called that I've "set down roots" here.  This is one of the fastest-growing areas in the entire country, there are people coming to live here in mega droves (the constant residential developing is something that's irking longtime members of the community) but even so, there's not been a peace on my heart about staying here.  If I can swing it I'd love to relocate to the Greenville area.  I have a lot of friends and family there, it would be nice to be closer to them.

One of the things that has suffered because of that "lack of peace" is my spiritual life.  I've been here for the better part of a decade and I still haven't found a place of regular worship that suits my needs and what I've come to appreciate most in a church.  Truth be told, I haven't had something like that since I was married, almost twenty years ago.

I feel closer to God than I ever have before.  But still, we as Christians are not meant to "go it alone".  We are supposed to be in fellowship and communion with one another.  We are meant to lift each other up, encouraging and edifying one another.  Scripture even instructs us in this matter: Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

So I've been searching for a church.  Some come close to the mark but I've found that I can't be in regular fellowship enough to make it a home church.  And maybe that's God's way of goading me to move on elsewhere.  I did report in my book that when God spoke to my heart, all the way back more than ten years ago, He said that I would not find my lasting happiness quickly.  I've found a great deal of happiness, yes.  But if my spiritual needs aren't being met, well... that's a lot missing from the equation of my life.

I have compensated a bit though.  I'm not entirely without spiritual nourishment.  Indeed, this easily ranks as the congregation that is dearest to my heart, because this is the church that I was attending when I first accepted Christ into my life almost thirty years ago (wow, thirty years?!?  How did THAT happen?!??).

If you've read Keeping the Tryst then you know about my fondness for Antioch Community Church in Elon, North Carolina.  The final steps of my journey to Christ took place in the fall of 1996, and a massive part of that steering toward God happened because Antioch and the services that it held on Sundays for students at the nearby college.  I wish that I had been able to take more advantage of what Antioch and its members and clergy had to offer, because it might have given me wisdom enough for things that happened later in my life (again, something that you can find in the book).  The people of Antioch are a real family of brothers and sisters in Christ, more than any place I've found in all the years since my salvation experience.  I really miss that kind of fellowship.  And I had missed the preaching of pastor Mark Fox and the occasional sermon by others in the congregation.

So for awhile now - and I must thank my dear friend Geoff Gentry for first telling me about it - I've spent an hour on Sunday, either during its live broadcast or later on, watching the service at Antioch Community Church via streaming video through Facebook.  It's much of what I remember from being there: the praise and worship songs, the reading of the scripture, Mark Fox's teaching... pretty much everything stopping only for the meet and greet among attendees and the periodic communion.

It's not completely being in a spiritual community.  I think that's going to come when my dog and I are where God truly needs us to be.  But for quite some time and I think it will go on into the future, watching or listening to the messages from Antioch Community have been sustenance that I cherish and incorporate into my life.  It's something that I am very thankful for.

So... wanna check Antioch Community Church out for yourself?  Their website is antiochchurchnc.org.  If you find that you want to watch the services as they happen, here is their Facebook page from which the live video streams every Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. EST.  You can also find each week's preaching on their SermonAudio archive.  However is best for you I think you'll get a lot out of it.  I certainly do.

And if you so choose to want to visit in person, Antioch Community Church is physically located at 1600 Power Line Road in Elon, North Carolina.  No doubt they would be delighted to see you!  Be sure to tell then that Chris Knight says hi! 😊

Categories: antioch community church, christianity, churches, religion