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A new Church is opening this weekend in Amherst and if you are like me and wondering why, with all of the Churches in Lorain County, is there another one opening? Rich Johnson, one of the Pastors of the Church says that with all of the Churches in America only a mere 20% of people attend Church. “You might be surprised to find out that nearly 80% of the American public does not attend church on Sunday. It may seem like there are many churches in the community but what about the 80%? Great Lakes Church came together with a group of believers who had a vision of a church where “go and do” is the priority and not “come and see”. In other words, let’s spend more time showing people Jesus by loving people and serving in the community vs. spending time in a room talking about it.”

Johnson said that come Sunday those who attend the Grand Opening Service should expect a relaxed atmosphere, casual dress and a room full of people who are happy and willing to help others. “We are very contemporary or current day in our worship music with guitars, keyboards and drums and we seek to present God’s word in a very meaningful and understandable way to people that offers hope, help and especially love. We expect God will speak to each person uniquely as we invite him into our worship service.”

For those of you with small children – not to worry, provisions have been made. “We have a separate nursery and children’s program for pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade at 11am to 12pm during the main worship service. We have a pager system for parents to contact them during service if needed and we train and instruct our staff in first aide and safety procedures. Easily half of our effort and resources on Sunday has gone into an incredibly big, safe, and loving environment to teach children the same principles for living as we communicate in our regular worship service. It’s also a place they will simply enjoy.”

Although a huge undertaking and big sacrifice for Johnson and his family, he said that it is their love for God and love for others. “It’s the same calling and vision my wife and I had back in 1993 and that is this: all that we have, all that we accomplish, all that gives us great happiness and even the struggles we have in this world will vanish. What remains will be our love for God and love for others. If we hold to those 2 things we have found heaven. Knowing that in the depth of our hearts means helping others find that same heaven and seeing them live bigger than this life and living above the problems we struggle with on earth.”

To learn more about Great Lakes Church and this weekends Grand Opening Service: www.greatlakeschurch.net

Johnson added that Chick-fil-A has generously provided 500 chicken lunches to go as people leave our service. “Also, we are having free bowling for youth or students in 7th through 12th grade at Amherst Park Lanes bowling from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM that evening (October 5th).”