AUGUSTA, GA - Broad Street might be making progress  towards becoming a pedestrian city center,  but I would hardly describe it as being metropolitan. Last week, however, I attended The Well, a church located downtown in a converted storefront, and it could easily fit into any urban scene.

My son and I walked in the front door and were met by a bevy of greeters. Actually, only three people greeted us, but the entryway  was so narrow it felt crowded.

But what the place lacks in legroom, it makes up for in ambience. The décor is sleek and modern, kind of like a corner coffee shop, with stainless steel accents and wood floors running the length of the room. (It was formerly a salon.) Table lamps add warm lighting and a coffee stand near the back provides a cozy socializing corner.

For worship, four guys played a few contemporary rock songs on guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. The words were displayed on an overhead projector, but I found the melodies to be somewhat difficult to follow. That’s always the case when I go to a new church and sing songs I’ve never heard. Maybe I haven’t been to a contemporary service in so long that the style is foreign to me now and the tunes no longer straightforward.

They were excellent musicians, though. I’d go to a concert to see them perform any day.

After worship, the pastor gave a sermon about the purpose of suffering. He spoke about the story of the Apostle Paul when he was jailed for preaching Christianity.

Paul didn’t complain or get angry at God, he said, but he thanked God that his imprisonment would lead to more people getting saved. The pastor said Christians should consider suffering from the same perspective. God allows us to experience it so that we will have more faith.

Then the pastor asked a friend who recently became a Christian to come forward and tell his conversion story. The friend had led a life of drinking and womanizing until recently when he got a DUI. While he was in jail he began reading the Bible, the only literature available to him. Then his cellmate began to witness to him. When he got out, he continued his search, and later got a new tattoo to celebrate his decision.

Contemporary services always appeal to a younger, hipper demographic than most churches. The question isn’t whether or not this young church will grow; the question is how long they will stay in their location. If just half the people there brought a guest, they’d need to find a new place.

The Well
704 Broad St.
thewellaugusta.org

Pastor: Jeremy Carr
Membership: 50
Founded: 2006