Worship alternative ‘Well’ Jan. 7
Short message, help, Christian fellowship is non-denominational in Comm Ctr. Sundays
“Yeah, it’s more of a ministry, instead of just naming it a church,” he said.
With services running no more than one hour — beginning at 1 p.m. each Sunday — The Well will “start out in the large classroom there” at FCC according to Pence. “And by the grace of God, if it grows then we can move on to bigger spaces.”
A Hardin Valley resident for two years who is a U.S. Navy veteran originally from Indiana, Pence emphasizes his message — some might call it a sermon — “will last no longer than 20 minutes,” he said. “... . I will keep it short and to the point.”
There are no special dress codes or expectations about dressing up. “This is going to be very informal,” he said.
Named “The Well” after the Biblical Samaritan woman at the well who spoke with Jesus (John 4: 1-26), Pence said one major reason to start this one-hour weekly ministry is to fill a niche: some Christians and others who might otherwise want to worship on Sundays have been repelled by the traditional church.
“It’s interesting that the church has struggled,” he said. “The church continues to lose attendance, to decline in attendance, and there’s a lot of reasons for that.
“And I’ve seen churches with the tagline that says, ‘this is the church for people who don’t like church,’” he added.
The Well, however, “is more of a modern church, maybe more of a church they can relate to,” Pence said. “... I’m sure there are some churches out there that veer off the right path or what have you. But really, there’s churches for everybody.
“And I like to think this would be a church for people who aren’t quite sure about church, not only for people who don’t like church,” he added.
In some cases, “When they don’t know much about the church or much about the denomination or maybe they don’t know anybody there, it is quite intimidating,” Pence said. “And I think most churches will consider themselves very friendly and welcoming to visitors, and I’m sure they are.
“But putting yourself in that person’s shoes, it doesn’t matter how welcoming you can be or what coffee and donuts you might have or how many people are smiling at you. It’s what’s going on in that person’s life?“ he added. “It’s very hard for them to step into any religious building or Christ-centered building.”
On the other hand, “There’s a lot of people who want to go to church or have a lot of questions about the Bible, or maybe they went to church as a kid or as a young person and they went away,” Pence said. “And now they’ve gotten older and maybe they have kids and they have questions about life and questions about eternity. ... Everybody has questions whether you believe in God or not.”
At the end of his message, Pence said he will extend an invitation for those who wish to either accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior by coming forward, or who wish to share one-on-one personal information with the pastor as it relates to God.
“I think everybody has questions about this life and what our purpose is and things like that,” Pence said. “... Just having conversations with different people, whether it’s at work or what have you, they find out that I’m a pastor or I was a pastor, if you will. They’ll just come up and ask me questions about the Bible and things like that.
“I’m really interested in getting with people on a personal level and helping them with their questions,” he added. “...People can come up to me after the service, obviously, and ask questions.
“At the church I was at before (pastor of First Christian Church in Crossville for three year), I would ask the congregation questions ... whether it was the scripture I was going with or asking ‘has this ever happened to you?’ And I would encourage them to answer back” right then. I encourage two-way interaction.”
Additionally, “What I want to do is allow some time at the end for a prayer, individual prayer, or you can come up to me if you have a prayer request,” he said.
Pence is the lone staff member. “There is no staff,” he said. “This is basically something that I’ve thought I’d start. This is basically all on my own. I’m providing the finances to rent the space. Obviously, I’m an ordained pastor and I have a seminary background. So right now it’s just me. And I’m just going to see where this goes.”
Services will include music. “We’ll have the opportunity to do communion,” Pence said. “You can take it or not take it.”
