Some people might be interested in faith and God, but unsure about religion and church.
A.J. Vaughns understands this and hopes his small, dynamic congregation in Auburn will help show wandering worshipers the way.
The young, energetic pastor leads LifeWay Church, an interdenominational, Bible-based alternative house of prayer that officially opens its doors Sunday.
The Christian church places an emphasis on building spiritual relationships and teaching interactively.
“If there is something that makes us unique, it’s our passion and vision to see people have a relationship with God, versus just having a religion,” said Vaughns, who embarks on his first lead pastoral role with the church. He previously spent eight years working with the church in other ministerial capacities. “Jesus didn’t come to start a religion. He came to make a relationship with God possible.
“Everything we do is really about helping people seek and share God as a lifestyle,” Vaughns added. “God never intended it to be kind of separate and distant from us. The whole point of Christ was so we could have that relationship.”
LifeWay is a part of a larger network of congregations. Beginning with LifeWay Church in Federal Way, leaders committed in 2008 to “plant churches” elsewhere. Auburn was the first of those seeds.
In January 2009, a group of 15 members from all walks of life began meeting in a living room, sharing the desire to build a church in Auburn that would be more about relationship than religion; more engagement than entertainment; more about people than programs.
The church operated out of Olympic Middle School before discovering a more centralized location – a converted office space off 15th Street Northeast.
The church will hold an open house Sunday with two morning services.
Vaughns, a former high school counselor in Kent before he was a pastor, will lead an open church of interactive teaching, emphasizing the word of the Bible and the importance of the individual.
“I’m as likely to ask questions than to get answers,” he said. “It should make Sunday morning engaging.
“My passion is reclaiming what the Bible said about what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be the church.”
Each person in the congregation matters to Vaughns. He wants to make each person feel special.
“We’re investing in every person individually,” said Vaughns, who was born in Ohio and raised in Tennessee and Kentucky. “I tell my folks all the time, ‘Every person matters.’ Our goal is to be less of a collecting church, more of an ascending church.”
Vaughns welcomes being a part of a solid community of churches. He and his wife, Laura, live in Lakeland Hills. They have three children, the two youngest being adopted.
“One of the things that has impressed me about Auburn is there are a lot of really good churches,” he said. “I really have a great deal of respect for other pastors in the community.”
=====
We’re open
• Church:
• Location: 402 16th St. NE, Suite A-100, Auburn
• Open house: 9 a.m., 11 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 7. A continental breakfast reception will be held before each service.
• Weekly services: 10 a.m. Sunday.
• Pastor: A.J. Vaughns.
• Program: Specializing in being personal, authentic and challenging – a place where every person matters.
• Information: 253-517-8630, www.LifeWayConnectAuburn.com (e-mail: auburn@lifewayconnect.com).
