Joo-Young Choi - Church Visit #2

Joo-Young Choi – Church Visit #2

Church name: Lawndale Community Church

Church Address: 3827 W. Ogden  Chicago, Illinois 60623  

Date: October 5, 2014

Church category: lower socioeconomic demographic

Describe the worship service you attend. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

My church back home is a small, about 20-30 people, Southern Baptist church and predominantly Korean congregation. Our town is small, but there is a higher than average population of Koreans compared to Oklahoma at large because of a military base nearby. Lawndale Christian Community Church has many more people and is predominantly African American. The congregation had a lower socioeconomic background than the church I regularly attended. The congregation consisted of mostly people from the Lawndale area. I noticed that some were in groups such as the Hope ministry, and people that were concerned with social justice issues that worked at nearby ministries. The church gathered in a circle with the pastor or praise leaders at the center. I enjoyed worship also, but it was different in the way it repeated lyrics several times like in gospel music. I appreciated the differences as it helped me see how God moved in a different context.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

            I found the time of prayer requests the most appealing part of the worship service. People lined up to talk and share about some of the struggles that someone had and needed praying for or praising God for the things that have been blessed with. I found this part the most appealing because this community was transparent and supportive of one another. Often times churches don’t dedicate that much time in the service to hear each other’s problems, so it made an impression on me that community and relationship mattered here. It was the primary focus of the church. Even the way it was set up like a circle invited you as a community as a whole. I wanted these informal ways of communicating need and praise in more churches. It is so much more personal when someone speaks in front of the congregation rather than someone reading off prayer requests on a list.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

            One challenge I had was keeping up with the sermon. The preacher that day was a graduate of the Hope ministry, which helped people recover from drug addictions. I had difficulty because it seemed as if he was trying to incorporate concepts from Coach and Dr. Perkins book, so at times it seemed like he was just quoting the book. And he had several stories that didn’t seem to relate to his message. The basic premise I got from the Sermon was that being a disciple was hard work and that it doesn’t get easy when you become a Christian. But despite my challenges, his life and his testimony was a testament of the healing and recovery that this community with God provided. I wanted to be a part of the restoration and work of this church. Overall, there wasn’t anything really challenging or disorienting. My difficulty following was most likely because of having to wake up early to travel to Lawndale.

What aspects of Scripture of theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

I really felt that going to this church revealed the importance of community. I witnessed how God uses people to show His love. In some ways that is frustrating lesson because of human weakness and limitations. Sometimes I wished that God would just supernaturally extend his love to each and every one of us. This is possible and He does do this, but I have realized that most of the time God acts through us. This community reflected the love of God. I realized that in times of need and healing we depend more on one another. Some of the churches I have attended seemed as if it didn’t really matter if we came to church or not, and that we weren’t a part of a family. At Lawndale the message is clear that we are family and we will support each other. This was made clearer than in my church back home.