Watermark in Tampa

This morning I went with Rachel to check out a church down here in Florida. I figured since we were way down south that we would search the internet for some sort of church that would be an interesting experience and are doing good things in their city. The church we found was called Watermark (which by the way, I love the imagery and the idea that the word watermark brings. I’m not sure what they intended, but when I think watermark I think of a image that a photographer puts on all his pictures as to signal that its his.), the pastor was Christian. It was a pretty cool morning. The people were friendly. It sort of reminded me of the Embassy in Waterloo with lots of young adults there and not a lot of age represented. By admission they didn’t have a lot of different age groups but hoped for it in the future. They met in a building that is a recording studio during the week and I must say that it was an amazing atmosphere. I love a dimly lit room, with candles and videos playing and different stations for coffee, communion, offering or whatever else is going on. They had all the loose ends taken care of, from a great mix of music, to well done videos playing in the background and a worship leader that knew what he was doing.

The pastor, Christian, was the teacher and he got us all to get on our knees and lean against our chairs to start off the service and we confessed and prayed. I really liked this idea. I think that sometimes when we react against all the things we don’t like about church we throw the baby out with the bath water. Kneeling brought back all sorts of memories from growing up Pentecostal but it was cool to do it with a group of believers in an act of submission and confession.

Overall it was a good experience. We didn’t get to stay around and meet anyone but I did get a chance to meet Christian and he was a great guy and seems like he’s leading his church in the right direction. It is always fun to see what other people are doing somewhere else. It is encouraging to see God doing the same things all across this continent. So if your through Tampa on a Sunday, check out Watermark.