A church auditorium transformed into a karate studio one night a week.
That’s how Hillside Church in London, ON is using their space.
It helps that pastor Shane Simms and his wife, Yvonne, and two teenage daughters are all trained as martial artists.
The teenagers have already earned their black belts, and Shane and Yvonne are only about 1 year behind them!
Every Wednesday night, the auditorium is cleared out so there’s open space for about 30 children ages 6 to 12.
Then, on the other side of the wall, there’s a cafe set up with coffee and donuts and a big screen so the parents can watch their kids in the karate class.
People from the church act as hosts and welcome their guests.
Others sponsor the children and cover the costs of the karate belts.
There’s challenges, of course.
It’s the post-covid realities that make it tough to get things started again.
It’s the unfortunate decreasing trust in churches – due to lingering stereotypes of churches wanting people’s money,
the current number of sex scandals among church leaders,
and the questionable association with residential schools.
It takes time to figure out who’s in the neighbourhood and how to best serve them.
It means asking people to give them a chance –
Which in this case, meant asking people to attend free karate classes at the local church.
To give it a try.
Pray for Hillside as they get to know their neighbours and start to earn their trust!
From VMC October 2022 Church Leader News