By Denise Galloway
Holland Sentinel contributor
Posted May 24, 2008 @ 06:00 AM
Holland, MI —

When God provided flakes of bread in the desert, the Israelites were confused. “What is it?” they asked, and in Hebrew, the word for that question is “manna.” The Rev. Dave Guerrin and the Rev. Greg Smith of Manna? church in downtown Holland are always questioning their approach to ministry, so it’s appropriate that the name of the church is a question. Their name also reminds them to depend on God for provision, as the Israelites did. Guerrin notes that God provided enough manna for each day, emphasizing the idea that we have to “live in the present tense.”“Most church growth (plans) are future-oriented,” he says, and “we obsess over things we have no control over.”Guerrin and Smith try to live in the present. They avoid worrying about the outcome, or how many people they attract to the church. Manna? represents a divergence from the business-inspired approach to ministry popular in the 1990s, which used marketing principles to grow congregations. Getting “measurable results,” Smith remembers, was part of his training, and became his approach at church, too.“I lost the adventure of knowing and enjoying God,” he says. “I was looking personally, in my own spiritual life, stumbling along with a hunger to be a part of that kind of community.” Now, he says, they just “roll with it.”Guerrin and Smith intentionally strive to maintain simplicity in their practices and take inspiration primarily from the practices of the early Christian church, rather than business.Part of that simplicity is the “tent-making” approach, which means that both Guerrin and Smith work outside the church. The church budget can remain small because the pastors are not paid full-time salaries, and the church uses its resources to support other priorities.Guerrin attended Trinity Divinity School in Illinois and Reformed Theological Seminary in Florida before helping to start Ridgepoint Church in Holland in the early 1990s. He was senior pastor there for nine years. After leaving Ridgepoint, Guerrin kept a Bible Study going with friends who wanted to be “plugged in” to a close spiritual community. Guerrin now has his own business providing financial and insurance services.Smith has an MBA from UCLA, as well as theological training from Calvin Theological Seminary. In 2000, Guerrin and Smith were introduced by former Hope College Dean of Chapel Ben Patterson, who mentored both of them. Smith was the pastor of Victory Point Church, and both he and Guerrin left their former churches around the same time. Smith has held jobs in advertising and book publishing. He now runs his own business, Black Lake Studio, which provides creative services such as branding, graphic arts and Web design used in advertising.Manna? began as a meeting between three friends: Dave, Greg and their friend, the Rev. Barbara Yandell, a local missions coordinator who is still their co-pastor at Manna? The three met at a coffee shop and committed to study the Bible, share, pray and pursue international outreach together. “We weren’t intending to start a church,” Smith says.“It sort of evolved; it’s never clear to me how it happened,” says Guerrin.The focus of Manna? remains to “promote the spread of the gospel worldwide” although they are conscious not to have a specific “mission statement” or a “target group” as has been common in contemporary church movements. Instead of “goal-setting,” Smith says the group felt God was calling them to be “values-driven.” They decided to let church attendance and structure fall into place as they focused on living their values. “It has left us wonderfully free to be serendipitous and to focus on values,” says Smith.As a result, their primary focus is still simple: Bible study, prayer and meeting together. “There was no pressure to reach a certain number (of attendees) or a certain budget — we never tried to grow, and the room was full,” says Smith. Because of the location of the current building at Ninth and Central, and their former meeting place at the Park Theatre, Manna? was within walking distance for both City Mission and Hope College. “The people who came were all accidental,” says Smith. “You can walk in and sit next to a middle-aged businessman, a homeless guy in recovery or a Hope student — it makes Manna? unique.” Besides international missions, the community offers 12-step recovery groups and opportunities for local bands to play at their building. The atmosphere of their weekend services is relaxed and social.“We’re just a bigger version of what was meeting in the coffee shop,” Smith says.