Our Story
From a Small Couch
To a Big Circle
From a Small Couch to a Big Circle
By Jason Mikles (Worship Pastor – City Hills church West Campus)
The Idea
Worship Nights Knoxville began as a small group over 6 years ago with around 25 friends that just loved to worship God together. I heard a simple call to action from Pastor Brandon Shanks when he said, “Take what you love to do and ask others to join” during a sermon at City Hills Church. He was speaking about small groups and how anyone can lead. In that moment the Lord birthed the idea to bring friends together to worship God.
The Growth
After a few gatherings, space became an issue since we had more people attending than we could fit in our home. We took a pause when the gathering became larger than we could handle at our home. Thankfully, under the leadership of my pastor, City Hills Church granted a space for us to worship on Saturday nights along with resources for sound and media equipment to further our vision. Other churches have discovered Worship Nights through social media and word of mouth, and we are so grateful for all the churches that attend and serve.
The Joy
We often quote this scripture when we think about our gatherings: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). When we gather, we compare the night to a spiritual family reunion from multiple church bodies.
We love to celebrate all that God is doing within each church body represented, and we are beyond excited when another church attends and serves. We love every moment of the night, but we hold two moments especially dear to our hearts: the Worship Nights Kids Team leads at least two songs at each gathering, and before the last song of each night we invite the entire room to the inner “Worship Circle” to lift a joyful shout to our amazing God.
Special thank you to Susanne Jackson and Jalen Jenkins for all their behind the scenes efforts to make Worship Nights possible
I would also like to thank our amazing production, sound, media, set up and tear down teams, musicians, vocalists, and of course Pastor Brandon and Kara Shanks of City Hills Church for their continued support, along with my amazing wife Miranda and my two beautiful daughters for supporting the vision of Worship Nights.
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