Water Worship:

Outdoors Experiential Worship

Setting: This is best done beside a natural spring of a running stream. Where you have your worship gathering will determine what elements of this you can use. For instance if it isn't that deep you won't be able to jump in. 

Materials Needed: Student sheets (Meditation and Art); Water verses cut out. Sidewalk chalk (or appropriate art materials); CD player with batteries; Some mellow music CD's; small cups; blankets towels or other things to sit on.

The focus: Jeremiah 2:13 basically says that we have turned from God who can satify our thirst and tried to fill our thirst with things of our own making. Of course those things can never satisfy. This worship gathering focuses on how God is the Living Water. It lets students meditate on that and thank God for it. It also encourages students to let the Living Water flow out of them. 

The Gathering: 

Before you start pass out the Water Verses to a few of your participants (cut them apart and give one verse to each participant). If you have more verses than participants choose the ones that speak to you.

>>> Open with some praise choruses. You can do these without music (I can't spell that a word) with a guitar or with CD's. The idea is to begin to focus students on the who God is. Some suggestions: Give us clean hands; Breathe; or All in All. 

>>> Have a time a silence: I always think worship should include silence. Ask students to listen to the water and focus on the God who created the water. Tell them that in a few minutes you will read your verse. At that time those participants with verses should read theirs as well.

>>> Sing another chorus

>>> Pass out the meditation sheets. Send them around your area to focus in on God. Be sure to mention some boundaries so that participants don't get lost. You may want to give instructions as to what to do once they are finished. Be sure not to leave any meditation sheets outside. (you don't want to be a litter bug)

>>> When participants return from their alone time hand them the art sheet and direct them to where you have your art stuff set up. There is a sidewalk next to the spring so sidewalk chalk worked great for us. If you are meeting near some large rocks sidewalk chalk might also work for you.

If neither of these are available try to think of a project that will work in your environment. You may want to bring paper or other things to draw on. You may want to have them decorate the cups they will be drinking from.

An idea I just had was to buy a large bag of bird seed and pour it out on the ground. Have students use their fingers or sticks to draw in the seeds. (You may want to practice that first. I have never done it, but it sounds like an environmentally sound way to create art.)

>>> After participants have had a chance to draw begin singing another chorus and bring the group back together.

>>> As they gather back together you may want to debrief the two activities that you have just completed. This will change the mood a little, but it might be worth doing. Listen to the Holy Spirit and follow where He leads.

>>> Read Jeremiah 2:13 If you group is anything like mine you will have to tell them what a cistern is. For our purposes it is a large hole that collects rain water for other use. Give a short (less than 5 minute) talk about these verses. Explain that we have a choice. We can continue to run after things that look good but can never satisfy us or we can choose to drink deeply of God. People are always trying to satisfy the thirst that is inside of them with material possessions, with popularity, with relationships, or with a host of other things, but those things are just broken cisterns that can't hold water. Offer participants a choice of drinking the Living Water of God or continuing to turn to these broken cisterns.

>>> Then say, "As an act of commitment to turn to the Living Water we are going to drink from this spring (or stream or whatever, if it isn't moving water you probably don't want to have student drink it. If it is moving a small drink shouldn't be a health risk) Pass out the small cups and lead them to the water. Once everyone has filled their glass have a prayer and then take a drink.

>>> To close your worship say something like: Choosing God isn't a ease into it type of decision. When we choose God we need to jump into Him with both feet. To close our time together we are going to symbolize this by jumping into this water.

>>> Have everyone hold hands and jump in!