Church in a Barbershop

By Tom Holmes
Jeff Russell cuts hair for a living but preaching the Word of God is what he lives for. Right now, his little congregation of 20 people meets for worship in his barbershop on Roosevelt Road. The major denomination haven't planted a church in Forest Park in something like 80 years, but many of these "bi-vocational" minister have taken a shot at it.
Many, like small business start ups, have gone out of business, but I love their entrepreneurial spirit. Another thing I love about these ministries is that many of their pastors are doing it because they love telling people about Jesus.
Bill Teague, for example, has a full time job--he works the midnight shift--but he's full of energy on Sunday morning. Sure, he'd like his church to grow, but his enthusiasm isn't determined by the number of people who show up at 11:30 Sunday morning. The guy just loves doing it.
I think Lutherans, Presbyterians, Catholics, Methodists and all the other mainline denominations ought to check out this model more carefully.
Reader Comments
No Comments - Add Your Comment
Note: This page requires you to login with Facebook to comment.
Facebook Connect
Answer Book 2018
To view the full print edition of the Wednesday Journal 2018 Answer Book, please click here. |
Quick Links
Sign-up to get the latest news updates for Oak Park and River Forest. | |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Subscribe | Classified |
Multimedia | Contact us |
Submit Letter To The Editor | |
Place a Classified Ad |
Latest Comments
Remove and save the grotesques. They are very cool. ...
By Tom MacMillan
Posted: February 23rd, 2019 1:03 PM
Jeff Evans, thanks for the link. The shady math on...
By Marc Martinez
Posted: February 23rd, 2019 11:20 AM
How about some statistics on the crime clearance rate?...
By Marc Martinez
Posted: February 23rd, 2019 10:35 AM
Wrong skill set. Vague promises regarding taxes,...
By Tom MacMillan
Posted: February 23rd, 2019 10:30 AM
Great comment, Jim Major! We should not expect the...
By Christine Vernon
Posted: February 22nd, 2019 7:22 PM
Sometimes you have to close the bad hospitals because...
By Heather Armstrong
Posted: February 22nd, 2019 6:08 PM
Oak Park is just one town in a huge land mass. There...
By Tom MacMillan
Posted: February 22nd, 2019 3:33 PM
Maybe Pete's should have gone into the space on...
By Garett Auriemma
Posted: February 22nd, 2019 3:21 PM
If only there was a way to issue traffic citations for...
By Tom MacMillan
Posted: February 21st, 2019 10:07 PM