Due to rising attendance, Hillsdale Free Methodist Church held its second service in its gym for the first time ever. The church will continue to do so while college students are in town.
David Turner, the church’s worship leader, said that it was about a year ago that church leaders started thinking about moving the service into the gym.
“There were several Sundays where we were bringing chairs into the sanctuary and people were sitting in the aisles,” Turner said. “We thought, ‘This is not a good solution. We need to find more space.’”
According to Turner, who has been at the church since he moved to Hillsdale 25 years ago, the church has been growing steadily for several years now.
“Free Methodist is the biggest it has ever been since I’ve been here,” Turner said. “The Lord has really blessed us, and it’s amazing to be a part of it.”
Turner attributes Free Methodist’s growth to several things. One is Reverend Keith Porter, pastor of the church for seven years now, whose lively sermons sometimes cause a jolt to run through the surprised audience, as well as frequent laughter and amens.
Junior Brandon Butz has been attending Free Methodist since the fall semester of 2012 and said that Porter is the reason he was drawn to go there.
“The main thing that attracts me [to the church] is Pastor Keith — his humility and absolute fearlessness in saying what needs to be said,” Butz said. “I don’t think he’s always right, but he has a certain air about him that’s just like, ‘I need to get these things out there to these people, and if I’m wrong, then God will correct me.’ There’s kind of this thing where he’s tired of people not saying what needs to be said, which I thought was really cool.”
Turner said that Porter’s Bible-centered, counter-cultural teaching is a big part of what attracts people.
“I think people want to hear what God has to say,” Turner said. “The word of God is what God tells us, and to hear that as opposed to ‘Seven Steps to Balance Your Checkbook for Jesus’ — not to say anything against that — but I just think people have a hunger for the word of God, not just contemporary Christian culture’s take on things with a few verses peppered here and there.”
Another reason Free Methodist has grown, Turner speculates, is because of its atmosphere of grace and warmth.
“People who may have never gone to church before, people that have a history they’d rather not disclose, can be intimidated by church,” Turner said. “But [at Free Methodist], we understand that we’re all messed up to some degree and that it’s only because of Jesus and God’s grace that we’re here and that we can even experience God’s love and salvation. So there’s not a lot of judgment that many people usually fear in churches.”
Senior Grace Marie Lambert, who has been attending Free Methodist since freshman year, originally chose the church because of the people.
“On the first Sunday I was there, I went with a close friend, and they asked us to turn around and introduce ourselves,” Lambert said. “The people there were really kind and loving and I knew that I liked it. I also really enjoyed the sermon and Pastor Keith’s fervor and ability to communicate.”
Free Methodist can continue to grow to about 150 to 200 more people.Beyond that, the gym won’t suffice. The church has considered adding on to its facilities but is not quite ready for that. Church leaders have figured out the cost of building a larger sanctuary — about $2 million.
“If we continue to grow in our current state,” Turner said, “we won’t have much of an option other than to build. At that point, we will pursue that a little bit harder.”