You’ve heard of pop up stores, pop up restaurants, and pop up night clubs. But what about a pop up church? This summer, I was able to be a part of Liberty Montauk - the first ever pop up church.
From Memorial Day through the end of July, the team and I set up camp every weekend in the newly trendy surf town. The goal was simple: to build as many relationships as possible.
It was decided early on that Liberty Montauk wouldn’t be about getting a cer
tain headcount on Sundays - it was about meeting people where they were at and helping them have a personal encounter with God. And from hosting Saturday beach barbecues to late nights at Ruschmeyer’s, we eventually lost count of how many of those encounters took place.
The Hamptons are known for being the go-to escape for New Yorkers during the summer, and that was definitely evident during our time there. The typical routine for weekenders seemed to be long days on the beach followed by partying until 4am.
“Real life” seemed to be put on hold. But oftentimes in meeting people, conversation would reveal the deeper reason for their wanting to escape.
It was those conversations - some 5 minutes long, some that turned into friendships - that defined our time in Montauk.
Topping the weekends off were our Sunday services, held at Traffic MTK. Each casual service lasted for about an hour with acoustic worship, a short message, and time spent just chatting and socializing. Parker Green led the services, with Liberty lead pastors Paul and Andi Andrew coming out to preach a couple of times as well. Each Sunday brought new faces, as well as some locals that made it every single week.
Now that we’re back in the city, it’s exciting to still be cultivating the relationships we made in Montauk and see those people come to our church services in Manhattan. The team and
I went into the summer completely unsure of what it was going to look like, and God definitely surprised us in the best way possible.
Until next summer…
By: Gracie Gordon
Twitter/Instagram: @AlaGracie @LibertyMontauk @LibertyChurchNY
