Renamed church builds connections to community

On a cold night in December, the members of Karis Community Church sat in a circle inside the Boone County Commission Chambers discussing “Life as a House,” the movie they had just finished watching.

Starring Kevin Kline, “Life as a House” is about how a man diagnosed with a terminal illness re-embraces life by building his dream house. The movie touches on love, forgiveness and salvation, topics of interest to the church’s members.

“I want you to think about how the relationship among those characters has developed,” said Rob Gaskin, who organizes the monthly gatherings called “Movies and Mind Maps.”

“Is it possible that one person’s change can affect another’s willingness to change?” he asked.

Karis Community Church, formerly known as Grace Church, changed its name in November. Kevin Larson, the 35-year-old pastor at Karis Community, said the church changed its name because it was often confused with other churches. But, he said, “also because we want to have a creative name that fits downtown.”

Karis is a Greek word meaning grace.

Right now, Karis Community has fewer than 20 members, and it doesn’t have its own church building yet. Members get together at places such as Shakespeare’s Pizza. Sunday services are held at Tiger Hotel, and Wednesday Bible study is at Larson’s house or the homes of other members.

“Movies and Mind Maps” is one way that Larson and Karis Community are trying to extend their reach into Columbia. Another is called “Theology at the Tavern,” which meets once a month at Boone Tavern.

The goal of both events is to bring together people of differing backgrounds to talk about their world views, Larson said.

“Christianity is not a segregated culture from the public life,” he said. “We want to exchange ideas and interact with the District.”

Since it began in May, “Movies and Mind Maps” has featured movies of all styles, including the drama “Hotel Rwanda,” the thriller “The Village” and the comedy “Click.” Because the viewers have different perspectives on the events in the films, Larson says the movies encourage an exchange of ideas that will ultimately bring them all closer to the ultimate truth that God reveals in the Bible.

“These films express part of our society and ask the very same questions we keep asking ourselves,” Gaskin said. “Our goal is to find out how the characters respond to the universal idea and introduces God’s answer to the question.”

While the movie discussion groups focus on the universal condition, the monthly theological studies emphasize public policy issues, such as reproductive technology, immigration and the economic impact of Wal-Mart.

Larson, who hosts “Theology at the Tavern,” says the truth in these issues can be found by asking church members to consider questions on world views, such as, “Where did I come from?” “What’s the problem?” and “Where am I going?”

For Larson, the truth is nothing more or less than a commitment to Jesus Christ. But, he says, different people reach that truth in different ways. And that calls for the church to take on different ways to teach the truth.

“Christianity is not self-serving,” he said. “Instead of hiding in the back of the building, we want to walk out to serve the good and the public.”