Here is an article from the Halifax Chronicle Herald that gives a little insight into Deep Water Church. It is an amazing community of God-focused and passionate followers of Jesus, that I am proud to be a part of.
Modern-day Easter: This group likes being in Deep Water
Late in the morning Sunday, a Foo Fighters track plays to an expecting crowd at Empire 8 Park Lane Theatre in downtown Halifax.
Only hours earlier, Scream 4 played on the big white screen, but now there is a flashy sleek graphic promoting the website, Facebook and Twitter pages for a Protestant church called Deep Water.
When the music fades, Pastor A.J. Thomas, 33, steps out and addresses his congregation wearing faded jeans and a collared shirt that is not tucked in.
"This is the day that we celebrate when Jesus was dead and then wasn’t dead anymore," Thomas said to the sound of a few laughs.
This plain and simple delivery is a feature of Thomas’s sermon. Over the following hour and half, Thomas uses comic book analogies — at one point comparing indestructible action-hero Wolverine to the indestructibleness of God — dodge ball references and quotes from Mumford & Sons lyrics to relate centuries-old themes of grace and faith to his congregation.
The analogies seem to be working. A quick scan of the theatre reveals an unusual church-going demographic: young people. At a time when some churches are withering away with greying memberships, Deep Water has quickly grown in its first five years, mostly attracting people not yet in their 40s.
At the Easter service, roughly 200 people were seated in the plush seats of Theatre 8, many with coffees tucked away in their drink holders. Every Sunday, there is a free concession stand that serves up four different blends of coffee and a selection of teas for people to sip during the sermon.
"Anything you can do while drinking a coffee is informal," Thomas said in an interview a few days before in Deep Water’s abbey, a tongue-in-cheek name for the church’s office.
The abbey is a converted top-floor apartment in a heritage building off Spring Garden Road. It has a modern feel with black leather couches and soft beige walls.
That modern feel is repeated in every aspect of the church. Deep Water has a slick website where weekly sermons are available for download as a podcast and a Twitter account that routinely invites uninitiated Haligonians out for Sunday service, always with the offer of free coffee as a virtual icebreaker.
Thomas said having the church’s home in a theatre also helps to bring in new people.
"There’s the sense that this is a public space, so nothing weird is going to happen. It’s more like going to a coffee shop than someone’s house."
When looking for a venue for Deep Water, Thomas said he approached Park Lane after exhausting a list of more traditional places to gather. He said the church’s home in the theatre is a perfect fit, with great acoustics, comfortable seating and management that lets him do unusual things in a room designed for movie screenings. He has baptized several adults by immersion in a huge container of water without a complaint from the theatre.
Sitting in the theatre on Sunday, Tari Wilson, a second-year university student, said when she moved to Halifax for school, a friend recommended Deep Water.
"I didn’t want anything crazy. I just wanted a good place to go," said Wilson.
She said when she was younger, she often went to a more traditional church than Deep Water. Wilson said that while sometimes she doesn’t connect with Thomas’s Wolverine analogies, she enjoys that he is trying something different.
"I like that he isn’t using the typical Christian terms," she said. "Using the comic book analogies makes you look at things in a different way."
The message resonated with some of the older folks in the crowd, too.
"It’s refreshing," said Barbara Jones, 64.
She said her son encouraged her to come to the Easter service, which was her first in years.
"I think my generation would like it, too, especially the ones that just got tired of it."
Modern-day Easter: This group likes being in Deep Water
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Only hours earlier, Scream 4 played on the big white screen, but now there is a flashy sleek graphic promoting the website, Facebook and Twitter pages for a Protestant church called Deep Water.
When the music fades, Pastor A.J. Thomas, 33, steps out and addresses his congregation wearing faded jeans and a collared shirt that is not tucked in.
"This is the day that we celebrate when Jesus was dead and then wasn’t dead anymore," Thomas said to the sound of a few laughs.
This plain and simple delivery is a feature of Thomas’s sermon. Over the following hour and half, Thomas uses comic book analogies — at one point comparing indestructible action-hero Wolverine to the indestructibleness of God — dodge ball references and quotes from Mumford & Sons lyrics to relate centuries-old themes of grace and faith to his congregation.
The analogies seem to be working. A quick scan of the theatre reveals an unusual church-going demographic: young people. At a time when some churches are withering away with greying memberships, Deep Water has quickly grown in its first five years, mostly attracting people not yet in their 40s.
At the Easter service, roughly 200 people were seated in the plush seats of Theatre 8, many with coffees tucked away in their drink holders. Every Sunday, there is a free concession stand that serves up four different blends of coffee and a selection of teas for people to sip during the sermon.
"Anything you can do while drinking a coffee is informal," Thomas said in an interview a few days before in Deep Water’s abbey, a tongue-in-cheek name for the church’s office.
The abbey is a converted top-floor apartment in a heritage building off Spring Garden Road. It has a modern feel with black leather couches and soft beige walls.
That modern feel is repeated in every aspect of the church. Deep Water has a slick website where weekly sermons are available for download as a podcast and a Twitter account that routinely invites uninitiated Haligonians out for Sunday service, always with the offer of free coffee as a virtual icebreaker.
Thomas said having the church’s home in a theatre also helps to bring in new people.
"There’s the sense that this is a public space, so nothing weird is going to happen. It’s more like going to a coffee shop than someone’s house."
When looking for a venue for Deep Water, Thomas said he approached Park Lane after exhausting a list of more traditional places to gather. He said the church’s home in the theatre is a perfect fit, with great acoustics, comfortable seating and management that lets him do unusual things in a room designed for movie screenings. He has baptized several adults by immersion in a huge container of water without a complaint from the theatre.
Sitting in the theatre on Sunday, Tari Wilson, a second-year university student, said when she moved to Halifax for school, a friend recommended Deep Water.
"I didn’t want anything crazy. I just wanted a good place to go," said Wilson.
She said when she was younger, she often went to a more traditional church than Deep Water. Wilson said that while sometimes she doesn’t connect with Thomas’s Wolverine analogies, she enjoys that he is trying something different.
"I like that he isn’t using the typical Christian terms," she said. "Using the comic book analogies makes you look at things in a different way."
The message resonated with some of the older folks in the crowd, too.
"It’s refreshing," said Barbara Jones, 64.
She said her son encouraged her to come to the Easter service, which was her first in years.
"I think my generation would like it, too, especially the ones that just got tired of it."
