Young men on a mission
Pair of ministers in their mid-20s launch the Bruns. Church of Christ
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - Love God. Love each other. Serve the world.

The mission of the Brunswick Church of Christ, a new worship center that will celebrate its grand opening on April 22, seeks to provide informal, nondenominational prayer services for members who are seeking spiritual direction in their lives.

There will be two preview services, one this weekend on Easter Sunday and the following weekend on April 15. Pit-Stop Christianity will begin by focusing on the "nuts and bolts" on April 22, overcoming a "flat tire" on April 29, and "running on all cylinders" on May 6. Each service will be held from 11 a.m. to noon at Livingston Park Elementary School on Livingston Avenue, with refreshments served at 10:30 a.m.

"Times of reflection, we'll have, and times of focus and refocus," said Minister Shaun Dutile, 27, who has a master's degree in counseling.

The mission began as eight friends from Harding University, a Christian liberal arts college in Arkansas, moved to North Brunswick two years ago after researching areas that had high population growth, diversity and a small-town feel in a metropolitan area. They have already helped with a senior citizen cleanup and assisted a family whose house burned down. Now they are making their prayer services official, opening their center to meet the spiritual needs of residents. During each celebration there will be a mixture of singing, informal sermons, PowerPoint presentations, free Bibles, interviews, videos, guest speakers and the honoring of the Lord's Supper.

"You just see a great need in the world for knowledge of truth, for knowledge of what God wants us to do in our lives," Dutile said. "We believe it's right and we believe it's needed and we believe it's true."

"I think people who will benefit the most are people who are not connected to a church … [because] if they're already going, they have some relationship with God, they have some connection to people … [the ones who don't] are the ones we're trying to appeal to. That's why we want to do things a little bit different, to see if those people will hear us," said 26-year-old Minister Carl Williamson, who holds a master's in divinity from the Harding Graduate School of Religion, located in Tennessee

"It's okay to search, it's okay to wonder, it's okay to not know the answers, and it's okay to admit that. So if we can help you on your way to find God, we'd love to do that," Dutile added.

Besides the weekly prayer services, there are several enrichment programs that seek to foster additional soul-searching. The Adult Ministry cultivates relationships to help support both individual and collective aspirations that affect the town and the community at large. Educational workshops and counseling focus on spiritual well-being, marriage enrichment, parenting, financial planning and health. Service projects include nursing home and hospital visits, neighborhood and road clean-up, food and clothing drives, soup kitchen volunteering and joint projects with other churches. There are group activities such as retreats, camping trips, game nights, holiday gatherings, field trips, picnics and barbecues, celebrations and special interest group activities.

"We want to create a community in North Brunswick. Whether you're a part of our church or not, people like to serve," Williamson said.

There are FOCUS groups, or Followers of Christ United in Spirit, that encourage stronger friendships while growing closer to God during weekly meetings. The significance is for Christians to follow Christ with a spirit of unity based on a unified curriculum that connects Bible study with life-application.

"The benefit is that in smaller groups of eight to 15 people, most people are more comfortable discussing deeper issues of our lives in context than with a large group of people, so this develops relationship-building," Dutile said.

The Youth Ministry offers inspiration to young adults to have a lifelong relationship with God and others, and to teach them to become leaders in the community. The Christians in Action (CIA) program is for students in grades 6-12 to participate in home-based groups in order to share their joys, fears and concerns, build friendships, study the Bible, pray as a group and serve society. There is spiritual growth through seminars that discuss spiritual well-being, dating and relationships, peer pressure and self-confidence. There are also several activities and service projects that include retreats, camping trips, game nights, volunteering at the Elijah's Promise soup kitchen in New Brunswick, neighborhood and road cleanup, and field trips, all with the purpose of putting faith into action.

The Children's Ministry creates a safe and nurturing environment for children to learn and experience God's love. There are age-appropriate Bible lessons presented in a fun and interactive way. There is Little Lights for children up to kindergarten, All-Stars for children in grades one to five, and various activities to promote volunteer efforts. There are also game and movie nights, birthday parties and accomplishment celebrations.

To ensure safety, all visitors must sign in and the only person who can pick up a child after service is the person who signed them in. There are also background checks conducted on all potential teachers.

In addition, the church will give out free $10 gas cards to each new family who visits for the first time, starting April 22. "Come fill up your soul and we'll fill up your tank," the flier reads.

"Our goal in giving out free gas cards is not to buy members but to show the community that we are a church that cares about the concerns they have. Our church cannot fix current gas prices, but we can fill a need in helping this community become a better place to live," Williamson said.

"People think the church is all take, take, take. Now we're giving back," Dutile added.

In the future, the ministers hope to offer more free gifts for their members, including energy-efficient light bulbs to encourage environmentally savvy practices, and free coffee to Jersey Avenue train station riders on a certain date. They also would like to branch out into the surrounding communities so that membership numbers can be kept low to allow for their informal and close-knit connections.

For more information, visit NJMissions.com; contact Williamson at NJMissions@yahoo.com or at (908) 616-3315; or Dutile at SPDutile@hotmail.com or (732) 824-1022.