by Melissa Lloyd & Ben Larson

On May 21, 2006, Antioch Church of Bend held its first public service at McMenamins Theater and Pub. Though rain was threatening all day, the weather remained clear, and over 130 people and 28 children attended the service. The room was filled to capacity and two rows of chairs had to be borrowed from another room to try and provide a seat for everyone.

Fred Kent led worship, with his brother Shawn on guitar / percussion and Kim Hunt on vocals. They led the group in singing “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” “Holy Is the Lord,” “Nothing but the Blood,” “Every Day,” and “How Great Is Our God.” The whole worship service was exceptionally God-centered, original, and moving; it even drew a few curious onlookers from outside the room.

Ken’s message was on Antioch’s four core commitments: Christ-centeredness, authentic spirituality, inclusive community, and a missional mindset. Partway through the service, he showed a video clip from the movie Pay It Forward to illustrate Antioch’s mission to manifest God’s interest, compassion, and devotion to others.

After Ken’s message, Ben Larson and Megan Morris blew everyone away with a medley of songs, and Kip Jones shared his excitement about Alpha (the high school ministry) and its summer activities.

All of the kids that attended the service were treated to crafts, snacks, games, and an ingenious “sand” box, all organized and administrated by Christina Galli.  Each kid even got to go home with a tub of play dough!

When the service was over, there was pizza, cookies, salad, drinks, and plenty of music to mingle to. It was exciting to see the vast majority of people stay for over an hour afterward to eat, fellowship, and interact.

In short, the Preview Service was an exciting early look at Antioch Church and a wonderful opportunity to connect with others.