Finding a Church

I have determined that finding a new church is NO FUN! Even though I look forward to finding a good church home, I actually wake up feeling nervous on Sunday morning. The familiar routine is gone and we have been in three different chruches the past two Sundays. I suppose this is preparing us for pre-field!?!

The first church we visited is a Bible church which belongs to the FBF - Fundamental Baptist Fellowship - so we're not quite sure why Baptist is not in their name. The people were tremendously friendly and there were other boys in both of our boys' classes. We met people there who knew my mom (through her hospice nursing), some college friends and acquaintances, one of the men who stood up in our wedding, and Jason's uncle. What a small world it is!

This past Sunday we visited a larger church with a nice facility. The people there were fairly friendly as well, though since it was a larger church it is a little harder to determine who the visitors actually are, I think. The preaching left much to be desired and their communion procedure seemed rushed to me. This was after we discovered in S.S. that it is a Church of Christ, which was not apparent in the church name or on their sign.

That night we visited a local church plant that has been in existence for a year or two. We visited once before on a Wednesday night while spending time with my parents for the holidays. The pastor has to work full time and pastor full time, which I'm sure is not an easy task. There were only three adults and one child there (besides the pastor and his wife) when we arrived, though half-way through a family of five came in.

So far only one of the three is still a possibility (the first one). We would still like to visit a couple more churches, though this will mean a further drive. This isn't a huge problem, but I was hoping to go somewhere a little closer so we could get involved as able and meet some new people. That gets more difficult the further away the church is. We were also hoping to find a chruch with AWANA since Gavin was in it last year and the beginning of this year. None of the churches we visited offer it. Until we find a permanent church home we will probably be sending Gavin to a church nearby that does offer it so he can keep moving forward in the mean time.

Having never had to do this before, this is a new experience for me. Growing up I went where my parents went, teaching in Ohio I went to the church that was affiliated with the school, and after getting married I joined the church Jason had already attended for a year. I guess we "chose" our last church, but we really weren't visiting around. We went where we had been called to pastor! I really feel for people who are looking for a church and better understand the position of visitors we have had in the past. It must be especially difficult for new Christians.

Please pray for us on Sundays that God would lead us to visit the right churches and that we would find a good church to call home when we are in the area.