Pop-Up Oxford, a series of cross-denominational worship gatherings for the Lafayette-Oxford community, is having its first event of the year at The Powerhouse tonight at 7 p.m.
The movement is planned and produced by worship leaders in the community who want to create a place for members of the LOU community to come together in fellowship, worship, and to share their stories.
Cody Hickman, a worship leader at Oxford-University United Methodist Church, is one of the organizers working to make this event possible.
“The goal of Pop-Up worship is to break down the barriers that we have set up due to factors such as denominations, backgrounds, and generation by coming together as one community in a worshipful setting,” he said. “We do this by meeting at locations that belong to the community rather than a specific church.”
Past event locations include everything from The Lyric to a local backyard. They have drawn participation from other worship leaders in the area, such as Alex Crosby of The Orchard.
“Pop-Up is one of those events that seemed to blend in on my calendar as something else to do,” Crosby said. “It wasn’t until I made it a priority to attend one that I realized how special it was to worship with other believers regardless of denominational tradition.”
Events have included music, spoken-word, preaching, panels on topics of religion, and more. Organizers behind Pop-Up Oxford said they believe their worship gatherings can be a conduit for people of differing backgrounds to come together around a common cause.
“The heartbeat of Pop-Up is worship,” said Billy Rainey, college ministries coordinator at Oxford-University United Methodist Church. “Worship centers our hearts and affections on Jesus in a way that makes us yearn for unity with other people, not just those inside our own church walls. We believe Pop Up provides a great opportunity to make that happen.”
For more information, follow @PopUpOxford on Instagram and Facebook.
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