By Mykaela Alvey

Grand Strand Community Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has created an opportunity for engaging their congregation and reaching the community in a new way. On February 24, Grand Strand launched a ministry involving the public, a chance to sing, and plenty of opportunities to drink coffee.

Pastor Roger Hamilton says of the Open-Mic Christian Coffee House ministry at their church, “This was a vision of one of our members, Doris Kennedy. We try to be supportive of our church members when they have a passion or a vision from God.”

“GSCC” is committed to reaching their community in as many ways as possible. “We believe the church building should be used as often as possible by the church and by the community. We are trying to be an outward-focused ministry.”

All ages and a variety of styles!

The launch of this new avenue of outreach was met with great success. According to Pastor Hamilton, the community was very supportive of the first event, and there were more than a hundred people in attendance. The goal of the event was to get community members in the church, engaging in the open-mic experience, enjoying coffee, and playing games. People could sign up for ten-minute intervals to play an instrument or sing. Many of the participants took advantage of this opportunity. The event welcomed all performers and genres of music, as long as it was family-friendly.

“The majority of the people who attended were very positive and plan to attend during the end of March for the next open-mic night. Most of the people who attended were from the community.”

The congregation of GSCC has been very supportive of this new outreach opportunity and has stepped up to volunteer in various ways. “They will be volunteering for responsibilities, such as prayer partners, kitchen help, media, setup, etc.” After the great response from the first event, GSCC is eager to do it on a monthly basis.

GSCC has found a unique and engaging way to outwardly reach their community, while utilizing the building God has blessed to them. It is inspiring to see a church so actively and intentionally using the church building beyond Sunday worship. It will be exciting to see how the community will continue to be impacted by events such as this.

Anderson University alumna Mykaela Alvey is a funding US missionary based in Greenwood, Indiana. A freelance writer for three years, she loves crafting stories of hope and healing.

Learn more about the Church of God movement at www.JesusIsTheSubject.org.