News Reporting Assignment #1

Christopher Stanley


Orlando - Pastor Jim Poorman addressed the congregation at his church last Sunday dressed in jeans and boots. “Church has gotten back to the professional clergy mindset,” he said, “and that’s wrong.” H20, formerly The Edge and 8 Seconds, is a bar-turned-church located directly beside the Orlando Weekly building in Downtown Orlando.

“A friend owned The Edge and was closing it. I saw the potential in making it an inviting place for people to come,” Poorman said. The sermon began at 11a.m. Refreshments were served at what used to be the bar. The H20 Band, consisting of three guitarists, a drummer and a lead singer, performed on a candle-lit stage while lyrics were projected on a screen overhead. Pastor Poorman addressed the congregation directly afterward, interrupted only briefly, midway through, as a train roared by outside, shaking the foundation of church.

Last Sunday was part 7 of a series titled Living Missionally. The sermon, which urged listeners to "operate throughout their day as if they were missionaries in a dying world," lasted approximately an hour and was concluded by two more songs from the band. Mario Giancini, who has been a member of the church for 3 years, appreciates that “the people and staff are real and know how to relate to others.”

“This church differs from my contemporary upbringing,” said Linda Kitchens, a former member from 1995 to 2003. “It has allowed me to be more open to change.” Linda has since been doing missionary work in Amsterdam.

H20, whose mission statement is “a church for the new generation”, boasts a progressive attitude toward change. “We’re artistic, informal, slightly sarcastic…” Poorman said. “In the future, we hope to have a stronger presence in the community as word spreads about us being a comfortable church.”