Church brings worship service to parking lot

Jul. 2—Teens selling fireworks won't be overlooked during worship this Sunday.

Muskogee Church, a Nazarene congregation, will bring its worship service to its fireworks stand in the Homeland parking lot at Chandler Road and York Street. The service begins at 9 a.m.

Pastor Drew Dinnel said the parking lot worship is a way to reach out to the community, as well as to the teens. Church youth sell fireworks to fund activities for the year.

"For many people on that weekend, they're not going to attend their own worship services, so it's a way to go about the things they already planned," Dinnel said. "And the teens aren't missing worship when they're working the fireworks stand."

The church will set up a stage and a public address system.

"We rope off a section of the parking behind the fireworks stand," he said. "We park our cars far away so we're not impeding parking for the shoppers. Everyone brings lawn chairs, and we have doughnuts, water and coffee. We just share with everybody that wants to come in."

The service, which could run 45 minutes to an hour, will feature praise and worship music. Communion will be served. There will be a message.

Dinnel said he expects to preach a missional message.

"We're going to be talking out of Acts, chapter 1," he said. "We're going to be starting a series on 'a new story.' We're talking about the final words and commands of Jesus as we talk about what it means to be a church and community."

He said that when the church met in the parking lot in 2021, "people crept in as they were going to the grocery store," he said.

"I think we had about 60 last year," Dinnel said. "It's still one of our lower-attended services, but it was a nice, open concept for us."

If you go

WHAT: Muskogee Church parking lot worship.

WHEN: 9 a.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Homeland parking lot. Corner of York Street and Chandler Road.