The Door is Open

The Door began simply enough as a pandemic-era experiment to reach people online-first or online-only. We asked a specific set of questions:

• What would a digital front door to St. John the Divine look like?
• How can we make online offerings that are personal, experiential, and meaningful?
• How can we reach people for whom church as we know it does not work?

From the beginning, The Door was intended to be a workshop for ideas that didn’t fit neatly into what St. John the Divine was already doing. What began as an online experience quickly evolved into an online-native expression.

In 2021, as the world and our church began to re-gather, The Door created a series of worship nights with leaders from across the city to praise God, to partner with organizations that make a difference in people’s lives, and to pray for Houston.

As our church brought back our full slate of in-person worship opportunities, The Door continued to find its place in these worship nights and through seasonal livestream series. Each Advent and Lent The Door produces weekly videos that explore the meaning of the season. These videos rest on the three pillars of The Door: music, teaching, and devotion. Though the context of The Door has changed in just three years, its mission remains the same: meeting people where they are to open “the door of faith” to them in a simple, honest way.

Now The Door is opening in person at St. John the Divine with a weekly service on Sundays at 5:30 pm. Beginning Sunday, January 14, this worship service will be an opportunity to reach further into Houston. Whether making a YouTube video or posting on Instagram or putting on a big event or now opening a new service, we are focused on making the doors truly open for anyone from anywhere to experience the fullness of a life of faith in Christ Jesus.