After
an extensive, exhausting search for a venue, the Reverend Adam Herald and his
wife Tanya have found, at least temporarily, a home for the next three months
to startup their new church - The Refuge. Just days ago the Heralds and their
dream team were setting up and rehearsing for their inaugural day of worship at
the Windham High School auditorium that commences this Sunday March 5 at 10
a.m.
Pastor Adam Herald rehearsing at WHS auditorium |
Their
names may be familiar having gained some exposure through what they call, interest
hangouts. To incite awareness in their church, the Heralds have been conducting
information services at locations like the Dugout, the Veterans Center, the library
and for a few weeks at Pats Pizza, since moving here from Illinois just 7
months ago. As time passed, interest grew and helped set the stage for their
ultimate goal of conveying a message. “With a last name that means ‘messenger’, it’s
part of who I am. As a youth pastor for 12 years and having attended Baptist
Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, there was always the desire to be a
church planner”, shared Herald.
The
name Refuge came as a message from the obvious point that is found in the book
of Psalms: Chapter 91. “The whole passage talks about refuge, but not just refuge,
but making God our Refuge. He becomes that place we can run to during the
storms of our lives. Our battle cry is: Never be overtaken. It’s a good mantra
to have based on scripture. You can’t go wrong in my opinion,” stated Herald.
Expect
the unexpected. First impressions are important. To this end, as part of what
they call a dream team, a first impression team, or parking lot crew for the
layman; they will be there to greet church goers. “So many churches put all of
the emphasis on the music and on the message. But what happens from street to
seat, is the most important part of our first impression team,” explained Tanya
Herald. To emphasize her point she added, “We tell the team - you are not
parking cars, you’re parking people. By the time they’ve made it into the
service, they will have made enough connections to gain our trust and listen to
what we have to say. Their first impression will be made within the first 11
minutes.”
But
that’s just the beginning. With a simple stage design and lighting, there is
just enough to enhance the worship experience. “We know that people are used to
the boring standup, sit down experience and we wanted to bring something that’s
alive,” explained Adam Herald. “It’s to interact with all the senses. So many
times when you go to church it’s just auditory. So if we can add visual, they
start to connect and feel things more,” added Tanya Herald.
To
dispel and disperse any fear out there that the Refuge may even remotely
resembles a cult, Tanya explained, “Cults are more about their own agenda and
we are not about that. We have credibility through our church planning
organization Association of Related Churches (ARC) that has funded us, trained
us and released us to this area.” ARC has planted over 600 churches in its 15
year existence all over the country. This is the first church planned through
ARC in the state of Maine.
Furthermore,
like most services this service is geared for everyone regardless of age. But
unlike most services, the Refuge offers designated spaces by age. “We have
rented the auditorium for the Bigs (adults), the cafeteria or Eagles Nest for
the Middles (grades K to 5) and two class rooms for the Littles (ages 3 to 5),”
shared Adam. “This is done so that parents can relax. There is no role at the Refuge
that is not the most important role. To insure this, the ‘team’ has been
trained for weeks and undergone background checks, done through the state of Maine;
we’re going by the state of Maine regulations of adult to child care ratio. We
also have different policies and procedures in place, plus there are first responders
on site at all times. We’re not here to make a new church; we are here to make
a new culture. We want people to say this is a church for people who don’t do
church.” added Tanya Herald.
With
Easter the second largest attended service of the year, the strategic timing
couldn’t be more perfect, perhaps divine. “We’re starting March 5, so that gives
us six weeks until Easter.”