EDGE in the Beulah Baptist Association Newsletter

In August 2008, Parkview Baptist Church launched a worship service for college-age people called EDGE. The purpose of EDGE was to provide a bridge that would help young people transition from church involvement through a youth group to kingdom involvement through the church. Now in its second season, EDGE continues to help young people identify their role in the kingdom and pursue God’s plan and purpose for them.

The concept and inspiration for EDGE came primarily from a book written by Leonard Sweet called The Gospel according to Starbucks. Sweet uses the acronym EPIC to describe worship that is larger than life. EPIC continues to be the driving force behind EDGE worship—a worship that serves a purpose bigger than any of our own individual agendas. EPIC worship stands for experiential, participatory, image-rich, and community. None of these concepts are new to the established church. They simply manifest themselves in different ways according to the culture and personalities of each congregation. We happen to use various forms of multimedia, dialogue, and music to experience and proclaim the gospel. EDGE worshippers experience community while proclaiming the gospel through the observance of communion each week.

While EDGE takes on the characteristics of its own congregation, the purpose is not to be a stand alone church. Instead, EDGE worshippers are challenged to use the experience to make their Sunday worship more meaningful, regardless of the church in which it occurs. While research has shown that 18-25 year olds tend to drop out of church at a faster rate than most age groups, several young people from EDGE are plugged faithfully into Sunday morning worship experiences and engage in activities that many authors say are antiquated and no longer relevant to this generation such as a choir that still wears robes. For instance, six EDGE worshippers sing in the Parkview choir every Sunday.

EDGE meets in the basement of Parkview Baptist Church on Thursday nights. As we try to find ways of helping other people in this generation find their place in the kingdom, the time may change, but for now the doors open at 8:30 for cappuccino and worship begins at 9:00 pm. EDGE has taken on a coffee-house atmosphere. The great thing about working with young people is that if the Lord decides to morph EDGE into a high-energy concert atmosphere, then that will be fine. Parkview’s pastor, Mike Tatem, leads the preaching/teaching portion of EDGE. Josh Smith, Nikolai Lee, Cynthia Roman, and Travis Crosby (all LCCC students) make up the rest of the worship leadership team. You can find us on facebook under Parkview Edge or on google at parkviewedge.blogspot.com. We hope you will stop by on line or in person and join us as we pursue EPIC worship and a larger than life faith.