Oxygen #1

Oxygen #1 kicked off last Friday night. I arrived at 5:20 to do the final prep - mounting the speakers for the sound system.

"What's the time," I asked a friend.

"7:20," she replied.

"Man, I haven't even had tea yet," I said.

A few minutes later, stuffing my face with McChicken, we sat down to pray. Prayer has been a key feature of our preparations for Oxygen. We constantly pray that God will use whatever we create.

8:10pm, doors open and the first people arrive. 27 in all, including new faces and non-church goers.

The focus was John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you". It was very hard for me to gauge how the service went. I was too focussed on pressing buttons. At first I was disappointed, because it ran for only 30 minutes. I thought others would find it bizarre, coming to church for half an hour.

But the hour or so following the service, and then for the following few days, I came to realise that people had loved it. Feedback on the length surprised me the most, one person said "that's how long church should be!"

Another said they felt God's peace there. That's the goal. I also realised it may serve as a medium to help people unwind after a busy week, to reflect on what God has done and to reconnect with Him.

I really am hanging out for Oxygen #2.