Case Study Four: Socially Distancing, but Not Spiritually Distancing Lindsey L. Croston Lindsey L. Croston is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. She serves as a faculty member in the Barnett College of Ministry and Theology at Southeastern University in Central Florida. She is passionate about teaching students how to connect with the biblical narrative and God's mission in the world. Context: Suburban Central Florida Affiliation: Assemblies of God Size: 1,200-2,500+ in attendance Church Context “Avenue” Church is a large (2500+ attendees) church in a suburban city in Central Florida. It is located between two metropolitan areas (less than a one hour drive). The church began as a small group in the senior pastor’s living room 13 years ago. From there it became a non-denominational church meeting in a local high school. In 2019, the church joined the Assemblies of God (A/G) and the pastor was ordained with that fellowship. In the words of the senior pastor, Pastor Jeremy, “we don’t really do membership,”1 but the weekly services before the pandemic averaged around 1200 attendees. Before the pandemic, the church was renting space from a local high school in the southern section of the city, which has a higher socioeconomic bracket than the rest of the city. Its attendees vary in age, but the majority of attendees fall in the 30-50 age bracket, and many of them are younger families. The senior pastor described their worship service as “modern,” because the 1 Phone interview with senior pastor, July 21, 2020.
57
