A new church in Columbia’s former skating rink aims to reach people who haven’t felt welcome at traditional congregations by loving like Jesus loved, its pastor says.
The Vine, a Methodist Church that recently began having Sunday night services, will host its official grand opening Saturday on Mississippi 13 North after three years of planning.
Ryan Freeman, the former pastor at Kokomo United Methodist Church, said he was troubled from seeing congregations lose members.
“I began to pray and ask the Lord, ‘Why are these churches declining? Why are people not going to church anymore?’” he said. “Basically, when I went to every church I’ve served, it was the same thing. You have to fit a certain profile to fit into our congregation. If you weren’t born here, if you’re not a part of us, you’re an outsider and you’re not welcome. That bothered me because Jesus offered salvation to everybody.”
Freeman said he prayed about how to reach people who feel like they don’t fit in, and he said he had a vision of having church in a skating rink while at a conference in Orlando.
“It never dawned on me at the time that there was an old skating rink that was closed here in town. I said, ‘Lord, are you trying to tell me something or is this just some crazy dream?’”
As he prayed about it, Freeman realized that the building was there and he inquired. Tim Thompson, who is over the new faith formation community for the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church, came and looked at the building and agreed with Freeman’s vision.
“We did some demographics work to see what kind of people we could bring together. The Lord brought it all together and I submitted a budget and they approved it. We acquired the building and we’ve remodeled it. Everything in there is fresh and new,” Freeman said.
The church has been holding services at 5:30 p.m. on Sundays, and Freeman said they have decided to continue the practice.
“If you check around the county, there are a lot of churches around the county that don’t do Sunday night worship anymore,” he said. “We kind of wanted to be different in that aspect. Later on, as the church grows and prospers, we plan to add Sunday morning worship and even possibly Wednesday night.
“But our big goal is outreach. We want to reach people that won’t come to a traditional church.”
That will include a community skate night on the third Saturday of every month. Christian music will be played, and they’ll have worship time with the goal of planting a seed.
“Let people come there, be in the presence of the Lord and have a good time,” Freeman said. “Hopefully, they’ll see the need to come to our regular church services.
“The goal is just to get the word of the Lord out there to people who have never been to church or who have been hurt by church or people who don’t feel comfortable in church. That’s our big goal - to be inclusive and let them experience the Lord. It doesn’t matter what you look like, what you background is, what you dress like, what you smile like or whatever, you’re welcome.”
Freeman said a core group of about 12 families have been involved in the early stages of The Vine.
“They come from different backgrounds. We’ve got Methodists, Baptists, Catholics and Church of God; we’ve got them from all backgrounds across the spectrum. We’re not here to preach denomination – we’re here to preach Jesus Christ,” he said.
Pictured Above: A new church in Columbia occupies the former skating rink on Mississippi 13 North. The floor of the skating rink can be converted quickly for services or can be used for skates and roller blades. | Photo by Mark Rogers
