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Thursday Church: Doing Church Differently
By Patsy Wootton
God placed the desire in Debbie Salters’ heart to start a church that would do “church” as most people know it in a new and different way. Thursday Church was born from this vision of being different and they seek to dive into the "messy stuff" of life. If you visit, will find that everything is different, from their building, to the music, to what people wear, to the staff (who are all volunteers) and even the day of the week they meet. “But,” Debbie says, “Our GOD is the same!”
The dream to do ministry began for Debbie as a child when a missionary came to her hometown. As he spoke, Debbie knew ministry was what God wanted her to do with her life. She vividly remembers thinking, “I’m going to do that!” The only problem was that she was a girl growing up in a Baptist Church. She didn’t think ministry could ever be an option for her.
Then, in fifth grade when Debbie’s brother was killed, she closed her heart off to God. It was while she was away from the Lord in the following years that she met her husband. After one year of marriage, she decided she needed Jesus, and so did he. The idea of doing ministry together at first was a difficult subject for Debbie and Mike. She explains, “Serving God was a foreign concept to Mike, so the thought of “ministry” totally blew his mind.” Debbie knew in her heart that was what God desired for them, but she didn’t know what it meant. After their third child was born, she took the opportunity to find out and went back to school to study Theology.
Planting a church came after years of working as a Youth Pastor and an Associate Pastor at a church in Vincennes, Indiana. Then in 2006, Debbie was given permission by the elders and staff in that church to lead a city-wide Crusade. They partnered with the Power Team and Debbie’s world was forever changed. In the course of five days, over 1,200 people made a commitment or re-commitment to the Lord. However, when the dust settled, their church only retained five families. Debbie says, “Those families were truly transformed, which was awesome, but I couldn’t shake the fact that there were so many new believers in our community that no one was ministering to.”
After that event, Debbie really began to ask the Lord to reveal what needed to be done to reach the unreachable. When she studied the demographics of her area she saw they were in one of the most depressed county’s in Indiana. As she started talking to people who tried church but didn’t ever connect, she realized she was hearing the same things over and over again. “Sunday morning doesn’t work for me…I work on Sundays…Sundays are my only day to sleep in…Sunday is our family activity day…a church sanctuary is too formal for me, I don’t feel comfortable…I don’t have fancy clothes to fit in with the church people…the services last too long.”
Finally, she felt like she understood the problem. She didn’t have the answer, but she left that up to the Lord. One day as she was reading in John 13, the cloud was lifted and everything became clear. John 13:12-15 reads, “After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, ‘Do you understand what I was doing? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you are right, because that's what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.’”
Debbie knew at that point that she was called to start a church that would reach people right where they are, teaching them by example and encouraging them to do the same. She says, “Jesus demonstrated service; he didn’t just tell them about it on that particular Thursday evening, he showed them.” The idea for Thursday Church was birthed in her heart. “If Thursday evening (or any other evening) was good enough for Jesus, surely it was good enough for us.”
Thursday Church launched in the dead of winter in February of 2008. They started off with 124 people an offering of just $124.00! But Debbie knew it was God’s vision because He began to flood her mind with ideas and promptings faster than she could get a grip on. She says, “Major things happened that confirmed we were on the right track. The big moment for me was when I asked a friend named Ron for $10,000.00 to help us get started. Without even pausing, he said ‘Yes.’ How cool is that?”
Today they are averaging between 260 and 270 people. Their goal is to outgrow their new building within three years and they’re almost there now! Since their Thursday service is so ‘seeker-oriented,’ they plan to begin a Sunday ‘Servant’s Service’ that will nourish and feed the servants. It also will incorporate a time of prayer over their building and ministries.
On her personal life, Debbie describes, “My passion is work, but I am getting better at making quality time for my family. I’m the mother of three fabulous men, Timothy 26, who is married and has blessed us with a beautiful granddaughter, Coco. Levi is 24, our college junkie working on his second B.A. Isaac is 19 and a freshman in college on a baseball scholarship.” She and Mike have been married now for 28 years. On the subject of marriage, Debbie says, “Let’s be honest. It’s is the toughest thing we will ever do. If we are going succeed, we have to admit that it’s only by God’s grace that “two shall become one.” She goes on to say that if she could speak into a young, married pastor’s heart, she would tell them, “Don’t wait twenty years to make your spouse your passion! When your marriage is strong, your ministry will be easier. God gives us a help mate and we should recognize and protect that gift!”
Debbie’s vision for Thursday Church is that it will continue to open its arms to the lost and never be afraid to jump into the ‘messy stuff.’ She says, “We don’t run and hide from sin. Yes, the goal is holiness, but not at the expense of honestly dealing with the real issues of life.”
She goes on to say, “Playing like a Christian just won’t do at Thursday Church. We baptize in a horse trough, we have seen people freed from drugs and alcohol, and marriages repaired and reunited. A drug bust took place in our parking lot last year, a smelly, dirt man gets a shower each week before worship, a lesbian walked away from that lifestyle and into the arms of Jesus, and a cross-dresser has left behind a secret life that caused him great shame. Several people dealing with depression have found peace in Jesus, attempts at suicide have been diverted, and church leaders are being raised up from the most unlikely places!”
It sounds like Thursday Church has definitely found what is at the heart of Jesus in “washing each other’s feet” and diving into what Debbie describes as the “messy stuff.” Maybe more churches should look at how they, too, can do things DIFFERENTLY!
To find out more about Thursday Church, check out their website
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