Where's the building?

Spirit Garage has no building of its own—and no immediate plans to build or purchase one. We have an office at 4100 Lyndale Ave. S. 3rd floor We meet Sunday mornings,10:30 AM at the Music Box Theatre, 1407 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis and at other times we meet where we can.

What is the worship like?

Structured informality. We follow a regular pattern of praying, reading Scripture, hearing a conversational-style message and celebrating the Lord's Supper. But there's always something a little different each week, attire is casual and people laugh easily. The gathering lasts between 50 minutes and an hour ten, depending on how the Spirit moves. 5-30% of the crowd are first-time guests each week.

What's the music like?

You just gotta hear it. Listen and download tracks from our discs and a few live tunes in our arts section.

What are the people like?

Like you, we hate to be typecast. Suffice to say we're a typical Uptown crowd, dressed comfortably, searching honestly and muddling through life as best we can.

What denomination are you?

The people of Spirit Garage come from all kinds of religious and not-so-religious backgorunds. We like to say we are "Lutheran under the hood" because we maintain financial and official ties to the Lutheran church (ELCA) through our pastor, who is an ordained ELCA minister, and our sponsor congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran of South Minneapolis. Nevertheless, the paint job is not what most people would call Lutheran. We're not "institutional types," but we find that the connection to the larger church is helpful for the red tape part of life.

What do you believe?

As we said, the engine that drives us is Lutheran -- a theological focus on the grace of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We think it's the greatest story to hear, pray, tell and live inside. We baptize new Christians who confess the Apostles' Creed. Many attenders are seekers who aren't at all sure what they believe, and we welcome them to journey with us. We seek to make disciples as Jesus commanded, recognizing that God's work on our life and heart is often a lifelong process rather than an instant decision.

What does it mean to be a member?

Spirit Garage members commit to a growing relationship with God made known to us in Jesus Christ, prayer for our community and our world, regular participation in SG worship, support of the community through their God-given talents and resources, and participation in at least one of our many ministries or small groups. SG offers regular belonging classes, but also encourages people to get involved as soon as they see something that fits their gifts and interests.

What are your goals?

Our goals are simple: we want to build a community of individuals who are committed to spiritual growth by reaching wider into the community in service, reaching deeper into their own commitment to God, growing closer to one another in fellowship, and growing larger as a church by warm hospitality towards others. In other words, we want our growth to reflect the direction of the cross—growing closer to God and to one another simultaneously.

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