UNITED KINGDOM
DOING CHURCH THE TEMPLEWAY
I
recently visited a church plant project just 15 minutes from London in a commuter town called Potters Bar. With a population of less than 22,000, Potters Bar has many amenities, including the red-brick Wyllyotts Theatre. In the theater’s basement is a small room that serves as a daycare center during the week, but every other Sabbath, it becomes a little church plant called Templeway.
“I vowed I’d never come back to church . . .” As I entered the room, my heart was warmed to see more than 30 men, women, and children of all races and creeds sitting together at a beautifully laid table, complete with bottles of sparkling grape juice. Delicious aromas of 26
seasonal fare emanated from the kitchen as Pastor Luke Whyte used common vernacular and a touch of humor to retell a Bible story. After singing a song, the volunteer kitchen crew served everyone a traditional British dinner with all the trimmings. Templeway offers an informal, nontraditional setting. Attendees enjoy listening to Pastor Luke, who creatively communicates deep, meaningful life lessons in memorable ways. The vision for Templeway began about five years ago when Pastor Luke and Pastor Joel Duntin were still seminary students at Newbold College. Joel and his wife, Sallee, approached Luke with the idea of creating a space where anyone could engage with Christianity and with God. They wanted people of all persuasions and cultures to feel that they could gather together for worship. This idea began to take shape as an
1
outreach ministry called Templeway. Gatherings began as worship nights when a small group of young people met at the Duntins’ apartment in Newbold and then stayed in touch online throughout the week. This went on for about 18 months, but when Joel and Luke were about to graduate, they found a new physical location for Templeway. They initially thought they would stay near Newbold, but the South England Conference recognized the value of their ministry and asked them to run it from Potters Bar. Pastor Luke and his wife, Remona, already lived in nearby Edmonton, and the Duntins moved to the town in September 2014. By April 2015, the ministry team relaunched Templeway at the Wyllyotts Theatre. Four months later, Joel and Sallee received a call to go to Canada, so the mantle of ministry passed to Luke and Remona.
