Woodland Drive-In Church
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Drive-In Church

What sort of people would want to worship in their cars rather than entering a church building?  Everyone at the drive-in has a story, and each story is different.

Most of the content on this page is from our former Pastor, Dr. Verlyn Verbrugge.

Why Not Stay Home?

Why don’t people just stay home and watch a worship service on TV? Perhaps because getting up on Sunday morning and driving to church feels very different from sitting in one’s bathrobe watching the tube.

Our service itself, though, is very traditional. We begin with an organ prelude, after which the worship leader goes to the microphone to get the service started. Since congregational singing is impossible, music is arranged for the beginning, middle, and end of every service. I read Scripture and offer a congregational prayer (preceded by written prayer requests the greeters bring forward). These range from traditional prayers for healing to prayers for people threatened with the loss of their home because of financial difficulties, those coping with substance abuse or depression, and those facing broken homes or experiencing physical or emotional abuse.

The center of each service is the sermon. The challenge of preaching to a worship community like this is to make sure that the messages are deep enough to enable regular attenders to grow in their faith but simple enough so that the first-time worshiper can understand it. While I don’t preach the same evangelistic sermon each Sunday, just using a different text, I do make sure that each message includes an invitation to people to accept Jesus as their personal Savior.

Why Not More Ministries Like This One?

Most people think our mode of worship is unique, and it is true that there are few such year-round ministries anywhere in the world. But frankly, I wonder why there are not more drive-in ministries. Surely every large community has the types of people who benefit from our services. These are people in the shadows, those who want to go to church but find the traditional church too trying for them. You may even have such people in your church. How is your church reaching them with the love and grace of God?

Yes, it takes a tremendous amount of effort and a large contingent of volunteers to make a church like this an ongoing ministry. At least thirty people serve regularly in different capacities, most of whom now come from within the drive-in community. But the rewards are tremendous: meeting people’s needs and advancing the kingdom of Christ. Soli Deo gloria.

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2600 Breton Rd SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

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Woodland Drive-In is part of the RCA. RCA beliefs and creeds can be found here.
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