Church: Networks and Hubs

Was browsing my del.icio.us, and was reminded of this slide show on Urban Church by Steve Collins.

I guess this is really the way I see the Lab working - more than a service or a slightly edgy way of worshipping, but as a network of relationships. And I long for those relationships to just stretch out across the town centre - into different friendship groups - students, young adults - and into even the most unexpected places like the Newport covered market.

And so I guess we would then at the moment have these three "hubs" which are focus points and bases of operations - St Pauls, the Pen & Wig, and the university campus.

So next year with our community house project hopefully there will be another Hub - not so much a "place of worship" in the conventional sense, but more a place for relationships to grow, for connections to be made, and for the network to expand and multiply.

I love this idea of Hub-based church - I just have this dream of a church building which isn't a huge theatre or empty hall - but like a Cafe with sofas and comfy chairs and stuff, and is open all day just for people to hang out... awesome... gives me a fuzzy feeling inside... :-)