Saint Junia UMC welcomes all to participatory, casual house church

Most people tend to associate worship with church buildings, but historians say many early Christian congregations met in private homes.

Saint Junia United Methodist Church, founded in about 2014, follows that model today.

Saint Junia hosts about four services per week at house churches in Crestwood North, Trussville and Vestavia Hills.

The Crestwood meeting takes place at the home of Dave Barnhart, the church’s minister, who said God lives in the community, not a building.

“This thing we call ‘the church’ is really about relationships with each other and with God, and those relationships can be nurtured and grow anywhere,” he said.

And Saint Junia, according to Barnhart and some of the church’s members, seeks to be provide a comfortable, inclusive space for worship where all people can feel safe and accepted. The church also seeks to be a place where spirituality and fellowship takes precedence over the building of facilities.

“All the flashy things churches do to draw members are stripped away,,” said Erin Georgia, a church member who hosts a Sunday service in Trussville. “We are meeting literally where people live.”

Saint Junia began as a more conventional church and met in some rented spaces before shifting to a “missional” house-church model in 2016, according to Barnhart.

“The idea here is to spin off new house churches instead of growing larger and larger, and to focus on going into new communities rather than asking people to come to us,” he said.

The services are casual, laid-back gatherings where attendees bring food, a tradition of the first-century Christian church, according to Barnhart.

“Table fellowship with Jesus is the core of what we do, so that’s the environment we try to create,” he said.

All people are welcome, regardless of age, race, class or sexual orientation, according to Barnhart.

“Our church is about a type of radical hospitality that moves beyond social and economic barriers and creates a spiritual space for human beings as equals,” Georgia said.

Kristina O’Quinn, a Crestwood resident and regular attendee at Saint Junia, said that she is attracted by the “non-judgmental aspects” of the church.

“I wanted my children to grow up with people who are very loving and inclusive of every type of person,” O’Quinn said.

The community at Saint Junia also professes to welcome even those who ask tough questions about God or faith.

In fact, the church’s website refers to as “a diverse community of sinners, saints and skeptics.” 

“A lot of folks have been hurt or burned in church,” Barnhart said. “Their questions were not welcomed, or they were marginalized because of their political opinions, their sexual orientation or gender identity, or they simply felt out of place.”

O’Quinn also likes what she says is the sincerity and passion of the congregation.

“It’s a true community that does what it says,” said O’Quinn. “Everyone here participates in government, community and social justice projects.”

 The Crestwood service is held Sundays at 9:30 a.m. at 544 55th St. S.

For details regarding services, go to saintjunia.org or Facebook @SaintJunia.