Church-ianity

When I was a kid my Mom drug me to church come Sunday whether I liked it or not. Boring monotony is the only way to describe that experience. When I was old enough I was introduced to the wonderful world of youth group which consisted of staring at girls and playing the latest clever game some underpaid youth pastor created. Upon graduating high school and becoming an "adult" I was now suddenly expected to be assimilated into the world of church-ianity (made up word but it is rad). I always felt out of place with the set few songs a 35.5 minute message followed by a quick bagel and a dash out the door. Does this experience sound familiar to any of you?

The question all this brings me to is where are the people at? More and more people young and old are opting not to be involved in a local assembly. Has church become so predictable that there is little desire for them to come? Do we have more distractions that are keeping us away from the Sunday morning ritual?
I ask these questions not to criticize the church or to point out what they are doing wrong. My intent is to bring out the fact that increasing numbers of those around us are finding little to no value from organized religion. They want to encounter God, they want to see a loving community but the rigidity and structure of 3 songs and a 3 point message have left them desiring more.

There are "relevant" congregations out there that have catered more to the cool crowd but often the desire to have a relevant expression creates a cliq of undiscipled coffee shop philosphers. I think there is a balance that can be accomplished between the dogma of tradition and the shallowness of being relevant. When Paul spoke of being all things to all people he was not just referring to those that were not of the faith. We are to be all things to all believers. The Zion Project has discovered the key to bringing those together that are looking for more from thier overall God experience.

The Zion Project is not a church; this creates a freedom from the expectation and predictability that one automatically expects from a traditional gathering. The Zion Project understands the importance of the local church and the need for a weekly gathering. Thats is why our goal is to bring people from all walks together to allow them to experience God on their terms in a open format that allows the movement of the Spirit without the confinement of time and tradition. The quarterly gatherings of the Zion Project are intended to augment the weekly services of the local churches in our community. Many of those involved are leaders and pastors within our mountain community.

Our mission is to Unify and Inspire those around us to push their faith to a new level regardless of where they are or are not. In doing this we make our local churches stronger and light a spark of change in our community.