Sunny and Aurora are coworkers and friends. Their conversation about Y church went something like this:

Sunny: Hey, where you do workout and exercise? Aurora: At the Y.

Sunny: Where do you go to church? Aurora: At the Y.

Sunny: Say what? Aurora: Yeah!

Think about everyone who has discovered the value of a regular exercise routine. When they can go to the same place to exercise their faith they’re more likely to overcome some of the biggest challenges that people cite for not going to church:

• I won’t know anyone.
• Where is it located? That’s too far away.
• It’ll feel weird, awkward and intimidating.
• They won’t speak my language.

Faith & Fitness Magazine spoke with Josh Heaston, Director of Christian Mission for the YMCA of greater Indianapolis about the practice of church in the Y. We want you to be able to discover this approach to doing spiritual development, understand how it works and what makes it impactful and encourage you to consider being a catalyst to bring this to the Y in your community or some other fitness facility. LISTEN TO JOSH NOW OR DOWNLOAD THE AUDIO RECORDING FOR LATER.

What is “church”?

Church in the Christian faith context is the term for any regularly-gathering group of Christ followers committed to fellowship, worship, spiritual growth (discipleship) and outreach. “Church” is often misunderstood to be a building or denominational religion.

Often church groups that are just starting or being “planted” (a group from an existing church intentionally being given the opportunity to start a new gathering for the sake of expanding into new locations and influence) may lease space in a YMCA or other location for a period of time until they get more well established. It’s a more affordable and quick way to get started. Josh explains, “The church would quite frankly be paying a lease somewhere else – a strip mall or middle school. For the most part I see [the lease with the Y] being less than they would pay out in the community.”

“Y Church” goes way beyond a lease and invites the church leadership and members to shift their thinking from the Y being a temporary starter home to having a partner in a shared mission for the community. Josh describes it this way, “We’re not looking for a tenant/landlord relationship. We’re looking for a partner that will do an excellent service on Sunday but also be present and part of the YMCA culture running programs and volunteering during the week. If they [the church] rent a movie theater, they can’t come back [to it] on Wednesday and do a Bible study. They can’t be a chaplain in a middle school. Those are things we want them to do in the YMCA.”

Y CHURCH IS A WORKOUT

Heaston notes that it takes a good amount of effort to do Y church. For the church leadership and members (unless the Y has a separate theater style auditorium) there is the basic aspect of weekly set-up and tear down. That is often done in a gymnasium – a basketball court. For the Y staff they too will need to be able to answer questions, direct people and more. So, the teamwork isn’t just in what can be done – it is also in what must be done.

The church service is a weekly experience that the church leadership invests time and energy to create. It includes the pastor’s message/teaching, praise and worship music, fellowship services, communication, and the many unique and meaningful experiences like communion and baptism.

But church service for a Y church can go well beyond that. Heaston says the church can and should volunteer and be involved in Y programming and services. What could that look like? From the observations of Faith & Fitness Magazine we see that many Y’s offer various yoga classes and programs to help members reduce stress and focus. Y church should offer distinct Christian faith meditation programming options. Y’s have personal trainers. Y church should work with the Y to offer a personal trainer that is a Christ-influenced Trainer CIT. Y’s offer sports programming and coaching. The Y church can become a member of CSRM so they can be better equipped to provide sports, recreation and fitness ministry at the Y. Perhaps most significantly Y church members should be Y members and also get some basic instruction and support to do personal fitness ministry. The daily and personal 1-on-1 interactions within the Y is likely one of the most dynamic forms of relationship building that leads to overall “fitness” in the community.

DOES THE Y IN YOUR COMMUNITY HAVE A CHURCH?

According to Josh, the YMCA of greater Indianapolis has a goal to have a church in each branch. They currently have 8 branches with churches. That’s a lot of gym locations and a lot of church fellowship gatherings for 1 city.

Other areas that Josh mentions that have Y church include Portland, Tacoma, upstate New York, Minneapolis, and Orlando. There are more all across the country. Do some research for your area to determine if the Y’s in your community have a Y church.

If they do then visit it, get to know the church leadership and see how you can encourage and support it. That could include becoming a member of the Y and regularly participating in fellowship and discipleship with that church. If the Y near you doesn’t have a church then prayerfully seek God about how His Spirit may lead for a church to begin and thrive there to strengthen the Y members and community.

SHARED NEEDS AND POTENTIAL

It isn’t until you really start to look more closely at how the Y and the church pursue serving their communities that you begin to realize that while they are different and do things differently, they share many identical goals and agendas to meet needs. There is some incredible potential when the church and Y work together to pursue what’s next – what’s better.

CHILDREN AND YOUTH: For example, churches have a long history of offering Sunday School, nursery, childcare, Vacation Bible School, youth groups, camps and more. Sometimes that includes even offering after school tutoring or operating an actual school. All of these services are often also provided by the Y. When there is collaboration both can find ways to meet these needs better, serving more, more often.

FAMILY: Few organizations have as much in common as the Y and church when it comes to family. Y’s have a reputation as being “family” organizations. Churches have a historical foundation and biblical mandate to foster and guide the family. Weather it be classes, activities, cooking or nutrition, life skills or service to others the Y and the church in the Y need to closely work together to be strategic, share knowledge and resources, leverage assets, build capacity and ultimately be a combined powerhouse in their community for families.

50+: Getting older happens. As people enter the second half of their life they need a community that won’t just help them physically and spiritually but will actually value their age and wisdom. Churches and Y’s that come together for this population have potential to lead and define intergenerational relationship development. This can fuel a shift from just providing “senior care” to innovating “senior empowerment” thus driving a spirit of hope and potential.

These are just 3 areas where the Y church can be so much more than just a church fellowship that happens Sunday mornings before the gym opens. A church that is truly dynamic at a Y won’t have the perception among Y members as being a covert initiative that is off the radar of relevance. The church members won’t be “those esoteric people” that are walking out as Y members walk into the building.

The church can be delivering value 7 days a week at the Y. Church members should be some of the most active and positive Y members. Y church leaders need to be listed on the Y website making it easy for Y members to identify services they offer, skills they have, needs they can meet and contact information – AND they need to be regularly present throughout the Y amidst many of the Y experiences. The Y staff needs to be educated about the Y church and especially be equipped to know all the ways the church can meet the needs of Y members.

Post your comments below. Let us know about the Y church you’ve experienced. Share your ideas on how to be a positive and helpful Christian influence among the Y community. Let’s discuss needs and how they can be met. For more ideas and information access all of our features in the YMCA Focus department.