Day 207: Another "Church at the Pub" Conversation

Today was a great day but one that ended in talking with a few people who had thoughts on how I should run “Church at the Pub.” For those not familiar with “Church at the Pub” it is a ministry of Radiant Fellowship that I started earlier this year. There is a group of us that go to the local pub on a Sunday night each month to hang out and talk to the patrons about life. We pray that our conversation would help them better themselves and find or enhance their relationship with God.

So a couple people that I talked to were people I never met before but enjoyed reading about the “Church at the Pub” ministry in the Christmas edition of the Pentecostal Evangel. They told me “we are praying that God will shut that pub down and you can put a church in there.” I kindly responded “please stop praying that” and we both had a little laugh. I did mention though that I was serious and went on to explain that the pub is already a church. When our people show up and engage others in conversation or leaving gifts, church is happening right there. I recall one guy a few months ago that we were talking with that had a little boy he was trying to raise as a single dad. Sunday nights is the only time this dad can get away to relax. We began to talk about the ministries that Radiant Fellowship has for kids and he was really impressed that we would be there and share that news with him. We have had good conversation with people there, to hope it closes for a church to go in would actually be counter-productive. I know for a fact that if a church would go in where the pub is now, I would be off to another pub in order to meet with people where they are.

Here is food for thought that my friend Pastor Bob Beeman and I have talked about. If that pub is going to turn into anything it would stay a pub run by Radiant Fellowship! Not a foreign concept to your European countries. If you are going to pray for anything for this ministry, pray that more people would come out to engage people in conversation and that would help ALL of us on our faith journey.

To visit "Church at the Pub" online go to www.churchatthepub.com. The next meeting will be the end of January.