The Block Church opened its fourth location, this one in the Northeast, and it’s helping to get millennials to church.
High-energy music with hands raised in the air, live video streams, and drinking coffee. It may not sound traditional, but for more and more millennials, it’s church.
The Block Church last weekend opened its fourth location nationwide and third in the city, bringing the volunteer-driven, community-based, technologically savvy church to Northeast Philadelphia. On Sunday, the church held grand opening services at New Foundations Charter School, 8001 Torresdale Ave. Pastor Matt Leckie estimated a crowd of nearly 500 people.
These visitors were shown what a typical service with the Block looks like. They can look similar to a concert, where the crowd of mostly young people will get on their feet, wave their arms above their heads and sing along.
“Singing Him, praising Him, how you choose to respond and worship is up to you,” Leckie said. “It’s a time to honor God.”
At the Block’s Center City location, worshippers will pour into Clef Club, a jazz club, to rock out and worship. The church also has locations in Port Richmond and Mesquite, Texas.
But they’re never too rowdy, and being a disruption in the community would go against their mission.
“The Block Church’s mission is to revive our city one block at a time and we do this by planting as many local congregations as possible,” said Joey Furjanic, the lead pastor of the church.
Tables were set up on Sunday for visitors to learn about and sign up for Block Teams and Groups, which ranged from regular meetings to discuss sermons to support groups and cleaning the environment.
“Our goal is to be a blessing in the community, whether that means adopting a school, park or nonprofit organization,” Leckie said. He gave examples of the Port Richmond location, which has partnered with Horatio B. Hackett School and conducted park cleanups.
The church originated in Furjanic’s South Philadelphia row home in 2014, and recently celebrated its four-year anniversary. In those four years, it grew to 850 members, which includes kids, students and families.
“In the last four years, the Block Church has been able to change lives and impact the community by investing into community schools, drug rehabilitation programs and our community partners to make Philadelphia a better place,” Furjanic said.
It was a mission that caught Leckie’s eye all the way from his home state of Oklahoma. After hearing about the church’s goals and praying about it with his wife, they decided to make the drive over to join.
“It was the mission for me,” he said. “I drove here specifically because of the concept of reviving the city one block at a time.”
The Block Church is a rare place where people of any race worship together. Leckie said the majority of people who attend are in their 20s, and the goal is to reflect the community the location is in.
“The Block is a place where social, economic, religious and political walls are torn down,” the website reads.
Leckie said the Bible serves as the church’s moral compass.
“Following the example Jesus set, [the Block Church] is a safe place for you to walk in to no matter your background,” he said. “Whoever you are, wherever you come from, you are welcome in this place.” ••
Logan Krum can be reached at lkrum@newspapermediagroup.com
