Arek O’Connell, outreach and young adult pastor at Hillside Community Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., sees the monthly Worship Circle gatherings in Classis Grand Rapids South as a move of the Spirit that has slowly matured into the central piece of ministry of the classis for emerging generations.
“Open to everyone who is seeking a moment to connect with God and others,” the circles offer “a space for all who are longing for community and peace,” the Grand Rapids South e-newsletter says. “Whether you’re looking to find stillness or deepen relationships, these evenings are for you.” Funded by the classis’s Emerging Generations Classical Committee, the Worship Circle gatherings are hosted by a different congregation each month (except December) on the second Sunday evening and led by O’Connell, whose gifts are teaching and preaching, and musician and worship coordinator Dave Jansen, on staff at inSpirt Church in Byron Center, Mich.
“The only ask that we have is ‘Can we use your church?’,” O’Connell said, noting that the team sets up in each of the churches—11 of the classis’s 16 churches have participated so far—with a similar structure each time. “There’s always a band and there’s always a theme” focused on one of the fruits of the Spirit; with three songs, a five- to 10-minute Scripture meditation, asking the question “What does God expect from us?,” and testimony time specific to the theme. “It’s always the highlight of our night,” O’Connell said of hearing from each other how God has revealed and worked that gift of the Spirit—kindness, goodness, love, peace, patience, etc.—in their lives.
The Worship Circle gatherings have been running on this pattern since September 2024, after O’Connell says Hillside church sought to make the worship experiment they’d been testing out for two years more sustainable. “We value accountability for the long term, so that a project is not person-specific,” O’Connell said. Because he didn’t have musical gifts to contribute, O’Connell worked for a year with a musically gifted Hillside intern and then another year “bare bones” with just a projector and YouTube videos to bring up songs participants thought of to request. “That year was a pretty special year,” O’Connell said of young people being vulnerable and learning together. About the same time Classis Grand Rapids South was looking to do something different with its committee strategy, noticing that the divisions of “established churches” and “new churches” might not fit where they now saw ministry opportunities. Joining together, as a ministry to emerging generations, the Worship Circle now “is the cornerstone collaborative event in our classis,” O’Connell said. They’re also doing an evangelism training day four times a year.
O’Connell said they’ve seen Worship Circle attendance as high at 80 but an average of about 40 people at each event. The August Worship Circle at inSpirit Church had people from five different congregations. While they definitely want to be open to spontaneous sharing and deeply emotional worship, O’Connell said planners and participants are mindful to “not get lost in emotional reaction.” When he first set out to do this at Hillside, they referenced a passage from 1 Chronicles 13—proper reverence and celebration over the Ark of the Covenant—as a foundational text for a bifocal approach to God: celebrating his faithfulness and revering his holiness.
Rachel Hansz, 26, who attends Hillside Community Church, described how the intimacy of the gatherings drew her back, even after she temporarily moved five hours away. “I keep coming back to worship circles because of the genuine love for God and connection I feel there,” she said. “I moved out of the area to Ohio for about a year and a half and when I was able, I made the drive to come to Worship Circle. … (It’s) where I am with my family, my brothers and sisters in Christ. It allows me to grow closer with the Lord and truly feel his presence.”
Grand Rapids South keeps a running list of upcoming Worship Circle events on its website.