The Barefoot Evangelist

When you hear the word church, what comes to mind? A building? A service? A stage and rows of people? For some, it also carries hurt or hesitation. This Lent, we’re stepping back – not to reject church, but to rediscover it. Before Christianity had buildings or institutional structure, it was a shared life. In Acts 2:42–47, we see people devoted to teaching, sharing meals, praying together, caring for one another’s needs, and gathering daily. Church wasn’t an event. It was participation.

Many today are spiritually curious but institutionally cautious. “Church Without Walls” isn’t about tearing down tradition – it’s about recovering what made the early church resilient: formation instead of performance, shared responsibility instead of hierarchy, faith lived daily instead of weekly. The earliest Christians didn’t rely on buildings to hold their faith together. They relied on shared practices, shared meals, shared teaching, and shared care. That kind of faith survives anywhere.

Over five weeks, we’ll build from that foundation. We’ll begin by exploring what early church life actually looked like and what some of our familiar church words originally meant. Then we’ll move into personal formation, shared table and fellowship, accountability and mentorship, and finally how liturgy and rhythm can act as a spine for faith rather than a constraint.

Lent is a season of returning. This year, we’re returning to a church that was never meant to be a performance, but a shared life. Let’s wade in together.