I wish I could give Continuum Church 10 stars. For me, the saddest thing about no longer living in the Columbus area is being far away from this wonderful group of people, many of whom have supported me through both trying and exciting times in my life, and are wonderful friends still.
The most obvious unique thing about Continuum is that they have discussions rather than sermons at their Sunday gatherings. I do not know of any other church that organizes their main gatherings in this way. You can choose to sit back and listen (great for those mornings when you kinda stayed up too late the night before), or you can feel free to put up your hand and get your thoughts in or respond to others' thoughts. I really appreciate this for so many reasons. For one, you really get to know the people you're in there with. In many churches, it feels like it takes forever to get to know people, but hearing thoughts from various people each week makes it much easier to know a little bit about who they are, start a conversation with someone afterward, and generally feel like part of a group rather than feeling alone and awkward. In addition, discussing these topics really means that you leave different than you came in. I've been to churches where the sermon was "good", meaning that it was interesting/challenging/convicting/entertaining/etc. in the moment, but a few days later, I have no recollection of what went on during that time. At Continuum, participating in the discussion means that you come away with something, whether it's a new idea, awareness of a different perspective on an issue, a new understanding of a situation, increased knowledge of cultural and historical context, a better understanding of the worldview of someone else in the room... something that changes you or affects you long after Sunday is over.
I am so thankful for how I have been changed and affected by being able to be part of this community for a couple of years. I am still working on these things in my own life, but being part of Continuum opened my eyes to the possibility that being a follower of Jesus:
--doesn't mean constantly living my life based on guilt
--doesn't mean I have to pretend I'm ok when I'm really not
--doesn't mean I have to try to be an extrovert (or anything else that I'm really not)
--doesn't mean blindly accepting "the right Christian answer" to questions
--means breaking down cultural and political and economic and social barriers, not reinforcing them
--means that it's ok (and not just ok, but encouraged) to question things [beliefs, practices, dogmas, scriptures...]
--means that I can be real with other people, and they can be real with me, and oh my goodness, when that happens, we are both so blessed.
...and something else that is much more difficult to put into words, but I'll try:
--means that although following Jesus gives us hope (and indeed, it's the only thing that can), it's ok if I don't always feel hopeful. And that when I don't feel hopeful, I have a group of people who I can connect with who can share in my situation and perhaps even encourage me. And when I do feel hopeful, I can share that with these other people too.
Continuum has also inspired me in terms of what it means to do justice. I have been in churches who have decided that they are going to tackle a whole huge worldwide injustice on their own, but their grand vision doesn't produce any results. At first I thought Continuum's approach was a bit strange: doing small things as a church, partnering with existing (both religious and non-religious) people and organizations trying to do good in the world and help people in situations of oppression or need. I came to realize that this approach is far more effective at actually meeting people's needs (and as a side effect, far more inspiring to us as well) than the grand-vision approach. It teaches me that life is much more about the personal relationships that we form than whatever "service projects" we may participate in.
I could write pages more about Continuum, but you're just looking for a review, not a book, right?
TL;DR version: HIGHLY recommended. :) read more