An Unexpected United Methodist Prayer Detour

On Monday evening while driving past a local United Methodist church, I felt a sudden conviction to pull into the lot, park, and prayer walk around the property.

I am not a charismatic Christian. But, friends who have had “spirit filled” experiences share about the need to be attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and act in obedience. This had the feeling of both.

I guess there’s a first time for everything.

Christ Crossman United Methodist Church has a prominent building at the gateway of Falls Church, Virginia, a leafy inner-ring suburb populated by highly educated, culturally liberal government workers. I’ve passed Christ Crossman UMC hundreds of times without much thought across the past two decades.

A service leaflet describes the congregation of 54 persons as “questioning, scientifically informed and socially conscious.” Church signage has rainbows and touts affirmation. Seemingly, this church is primed to appeal to the zeitgeist of their neighborhood.

It was unclear, as I wound my way through a peace garden with ceramic lambs grazing among bright daffodils, if the prayer walk was for the church’s spiritual benefit or for my own. I prayed for the gospel to be preached there, for the sheep to be pastorally tended, and for repentance that would begin in my own heart.

Across Washington Street, a massive building project is underway at Columbia Baptist Church that seeks to welcome a growing number of participants. Notably, Columbia offers services in Spanish, Arabic, Korean and Vietnamese.

A few blocks to the west, the 2,800 family St. James Catholic Church is undergoing its own renovations and has a thriving Spanish language ministry and a school recently voted best in the city.

My own congregation, the Falls Church Anglican, opened a new campus just outside the city on a bustling commuter artery and has steadily grown in worship attendance.

The Jesus Movement is visibly alive and well in the City of Falls Church, the question is if the United Methodist part still is. Galloway United Methodist, less than a mile to the south, is wrapped in large banners – for a Korean Baptist congregation that rents space there (Galloway reports a United Methodist congregation of 29). A third UMC congregation, Dulin Church, meets less than a mile to the east and appears to have dropped the word “Methodist” from their website landing page. A rainbow of colors under the words “welcoming and affirming” constitute the entirety of the “beliefs” page.

Christ Crossman is itself the product of a merger between Crossman UMC and Christ UMC in adjacent Arlington. The latter building was sold to a thriving classical Christian academy – Rivendell School – that has itself undergone a significant expansion.

Clearly, location isn’t the problem here: gospel-centered Christian churches and schools are thriving, even amidst a progressive community that conventional wisdom says is supposed to be disinterested.

Christ Crossman stewards a pleasant, if underutilized, campus that is easily walkable to a residential neighborhood, adjacent to a retirement community, and even a nearby metro station. What could the Lord have in store for these people, or this parcel of land?

I don’t have a profound spiritual insight to share, except to say that the Lord has breathed new life into old bones many times before. Perhaps you’ll pass a church in the coming days and feel a similar tug to stop and pray. I hope that you’ll join me in doing so.

UPDATE [04/05/2023]: Terry Lowry of KKHT Houston invited me onto his radio program to discuss my experience prayer walking around the campus of Christ Crossman UMC. Audio is available here.