"Is it always this crowded?" 

Tyler clicked off his phone and set it on the dashboard. The sun shone through the windshield, and his grandmother sat beside him, slowly steering the car into a parking lot. They were in the middle of a long procession that gradually moved toward a steepled building, and as they drove forward, they passed a sign that read: LIVING WATER PENTECOSTAL CHURCH.

"Oh, this is typical," his grandma said. She wore a bright pink blouse and matching pants, and the scent of her perfume filled the car. "When Paul Matthews took over, the church just got bigger and bigger. People come from two counties over to hear him preach. They had to build that new addition, just to add more seats...."

Okay, whatever.... I stopped listening.

Every parking space was full, and cars were reaching the edge of the pavement and driving into the grass. His grandma followed a minivan onto the lawn and parked beside it. She reached into the back seat and got her purse, unzipped it and pulled out a mirror. As she examined her makeup, Tyler grabbed his phone.

"Do you have to bring that thing in with you?"

"Why not?" Tyler said. "I might get bored...."

She snapped closed her mirror and sighed. "Please leave it in the car."

"I'll turn the volume all the way down...."

"Leave it in the car."

"Okay." He set it on the dashboard. Opening his door, he stepped out into the sun.

The sky was impossibly blue, and the low sound of drums beckoned from the distance. They left the car and followed the crowd across the parking lot to a wide staircase. The church's glass doors had been propped open, and the music got louder and louder. As he climbed the stairs, Tyler gripped his hearing aid and adjusted its volume.

They stepped into a crowded lobby filled with fake trees and artificial flowers. A long table held some kind of booklets, and several guys in identical red t-shirts stood at different points. As Tyler and his grandma started across the room, one of them approached.

"Hi," he said, "I'm Christian."

Yeah, isn't everyone here Chris.... Oh wait, that's your name.

"Welcome to Living Water.... Is this your first time here?"

"It's his first time," Tyler's grandma said. "Not his first time at church, though."

"Well, let me give you a program." He snatched a couple of booklets off the table and handed one to each of them. "And a welcome packet." He shuffled some things around and gave Tyler a plastic-covered brochure. "If you have any questions, we're here."

"Okay, thanks," Tyler said, and followed his grandma through the doors.

"That was Christian Matthews," she said, as they walked into a room as big as a school gym. "He's Paul Matthews' son." The floor was carpeted, and dozens, maybe hundreds of chairs had been set up to face a stage. The musicians played a sort of rockabilly version of a vaguely familiar hymn. Some members of the crowd raised their hands to the heavens, and a few women had kicked off their shoes to dance in the aisle.

They found two seats in an empty row, but as soon as Tyler sat down his grandma looked toward the front. "Oh, there's Nancy Bell," she said. "Nancy and Bob. Let's go sit with them."

"Are they your friends?"

"Yes."

Mm-kay.

They side-stepped into the aisle and walked up a few rows, and then claimed two other chairs. His grandma said hi to Nancy and Bob, and then talked loudly above the music: "This is my grandson. He just moved here from Saint Louis."

Nancy beamed as if it was the highlight of her week, and looked at her husband to say, "So handsome."

Tyler smiled. Yes, I am.

More and more people entered the church, and a family with like six little kids came in and sat beside him. As the music reached a soaring crescendo, a guy in a suit climbed the stairs to the stage. He walked to a lectern and picked up a Bible. The music ended, and his microphone popped.

The sermon began – something about Jesus and a mountain and faith and a snake. No one was sitting down, and Tyler wondered why the chairs were even there.... Oh, of course, the women need a place to leave their purses. He opened one of the booklets and began to read – it was just a little more interesting than what he was hearing. One of the kids beside him was apparently as bored as he was, wearing a little brown suit and jumping side to side, then spinning around in circles while singing the Thomas & Friends theme song.

Paul Matthews' sermon reached a climax, and his English words segued into the Gift of Tongues. A lot of vowel sounds and "ch" sounds came from deep within his throat. In the congregation, a cacophony of voices grew louder and louder. Some seemed to focus on the letter L, while others were big on a long E. Paul Matthews pulled the microphone out of its stand and walked to the edge of the stage. "If you are not saved," he said. "If you are not saved, and you would like to be saved today.... If you would like to accept Jesus into your heart... come down to the front.... Come down to the front and be saved."

A few people left their seats and made their ways to the front of the church. Tyler leaned down to his grandma's ear and whispered, "I'm already saved, aren't I?"

"Yes," she said, nodding. "You got saved when you were a little boy."

The people who had gone down front had hands placed on their foreheads, and on their arms and backs as the crowd prayed. Everyone who wasn't near enough to touch them stood where they were but reached in their direction. Might as well do what everyone else is doing, Tyler thought, and stuck his arm toward the front of the church. As the last woman was prayed over, her knees seemed to buckle, and she fell back into a faint. She would have hit the floor hard if the people behind her hadn't broken her fall. The little kid who stood beside Tyler peered to the front of the church, and then looked at his dad and asked a question. His dad nodded. "Yes," he said, bending down. "The Holy Spirit is inside her now."

The kid grasped the chair in front of him and looked with curiosity.

As the excitement came to an end and the recently-saved returned to their seats, the musicians began a less rollicking song. A few ushers appeared from a back room holding oversize plates filled with little cups of grape juice or big hunks of bread. As the plates were passed from person to person, a girl in a yellow skirt and a little blue sweater walked up the steps to the stage. Her hair was light blonde, and wavy, and long... really long. It cascaded down her body, and almost touched her knees. She took the microphone and began to sing – a really pretty song with a really pretty voice. Tyler took a cup of grape juice, passed the plate to his grandmother, and thought that maybe coming to church wasn't such a waste of time after all.

The music ended, and the enchanting siren returned to her chair. Paul Matthews held the mic, and told everyone to have a nice day and come back the next week. Women gathered their purses, and parents took their kids' hands. Tyler and his grandma followed the crowd down the aisle. When they reached the back of the church, she looked up at him and whispered, "I'm going to need to make a stop at the ladies' room."

"Okay," he said, and found a wall to lean back against and wait. 

He looked up as Christian Matthews stepped around the corner. Tyler noticed that his red tee was emblazened with the name of the church, and was very neatly tucked into blue pants. "Oh, hey," he seemed to mutter, and stood against the wall. 

"Hey," Tyler said. "It's Christian, right?" 

"Mm-hmm.... I didn't catch your name?"

"Tyler," he said. "Tyler McShane." He held the two booklets he'd been given, and rolled them into a different shape. "Hey," he said, "who was that girl who sang on the stage?"

"Oh, that's my sister. Rachel."

"She's really pretty." 

Christian emitted a sound that was something like an angry laugh.

"Oh, by the way," he said, as the crowd filtered through the doors, "are you eighteen to twenty?"

"Yeah," said Tyler, "I'm nineteen."

"We have a youth meeting.... Just a minute." He stepped around the corner, and then came back and handed him yet another pamphlet. "We have a youth meeting every Saturday night. If you wanted to come."

Tyler glanced at the stiff sheet of paper. "Okay... maybe."

His grandma returned from the restroom, and wove her arm through his. "Well, I'll see you," he said to Christian, and walked towards the door. 

As they stepped through the lobby, he looked at the pamphlet in his hand. Church youth group meeting... main activity room....

Yeah, he thought, as he stepped out to the staircase, that's just how I want to spend Saturday night.