A new house in a new town means lots of new things - like a new church.
***
Two weeks ago we went to our first "trial" church service - Emmanuel Baptist Church (in case you didn't notice, their website address spells "god for us": www.godfor.us - I thought that was clever!) - and immediately someone was attending to our needs and walking us to the right place for childcare/nursery and making sure we had oodles of information about what they offer (like AWANA and MOPS, both of which I'd love for us to be involved with) and someone even walked us to the sanctuary.
They were very friendly and made us very welcomed to say the least.
When we sat down, we noticed a lot of gray heads...
The sermon was really good and they didn't overdo it on the singing.
(don't get me wrong, I like to sing but our last church had 30 minutes of it! ...a little too much for us.)
And we just happened to pick a great day to visit, as they were having a free lunch!
So, we went to that.
And the pastor came and sat with us! (He had even stopped to chat with Seth in the hallway before service.) I thought that was a nice touch. As we ate lunch and talked, he let us know that their early service was geared more to people our age. So, we'll be trying that service soon!
***
The following week we were out of town.
***
And today we "tested" The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
(whew, that's a mouthful!)
Umm....it's a mega church.
Seth is pretty sure he heard a stat that they have 12,000 members at this one location. We didn't know it was going to be sooooo big! They had crossing guards in the parking lot!
My first reaction walking up was "No way is this going to be for us. Unless it's just one killer sermon!"
And then we walked into the building. And thought we'd entered an airport.
I kid you not. There were big directional signs hanging from the ceiling to let you know where the sanctuary is and how to get there.
As we kept walking to find the "child drop off" we had to meander through kiosks, a coffee shop, an information center, and a gift shop. Just. Like. An airport.
They even had a city police officer there - not a rent-a-cop, but a real on duty police officer.
We found the check in place and got the kids to their rooms. And we were told that the section of the building with the children goes into lock down mode 15 minutes after service begins. And if we need to get our child, we have to use the phone at the doors.
Wow - now that's precaution.
So, we made it into the sanctuary...which was really a performing arts center.
It had stadium seating. With fold down seats. And a very large stage.
Seth made the comment that he has seen less people at a K-State basketball game.
There were 4 video camera operators and someone working the spotlights and dimmers, etc. Apparently, they broadcast online in real time...very "with it", this church.
And then it was time for the sermon.
It was fantastic!
Today it was all about listening for God's callings in your life and to stop saying no and making excuses and just say yes! The pastor gave lots of examples - I personally love examples, I need that real world interpretation - anyway, he used testimonials from people he knows, but also pulled examples from the bible.
I guess they don't have 12,000 members for no reason!
***
So, now we have a tough decision to make:
Go with the smaller (but still big) church and have those "extras" that we can participate in,
or we can attend the gianormous church that delivers a fantastic sermon.
...We'll go to the early services for each and then decide.
***
Two weeks ago we went to our first "trial" church service - Emmanuel Baptist Church (in case you didn't notice, their website address spells "god for us": www.godfor.us - I thought that was clever!) - and immediately someone was attending to our needs and walking us to the right place for childcare/nursery and making sure we had oodles of information about what they offer (like AWANA and MOPS, both of which I'd love for us to be involved with) and someone even walked us to the sanctuary.
They were very friendly and made us very welcomed to say the least.
When we sat down, we noticed a lot of gray heads...
The sermon was really good and they didn't overdo it on the singing.
(don't get me wrong, I like to sing but our last church had 30 minutes of it! ...a little too much for us.)
And we just happened to pick a great day to visit, as they were having a free lunch!
So, we went to that.
And the pastor came and sat with us! (He had even stopped to chat with Seth in the hallway before service.) I thought that was a nice touch. As we ate lunch and talked, he let us know that their early service was geared more to people our age. So, we'll be trying that service soon!
***
The following week we were out of town.
***
And today we "tested" The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
(whew, that's a mouthful!)
Umm....it's a mega church.
Seth is pretty sure he heard a stat that they have 12,000 members at this one location. We didn't know it was going to be sooooo big! They had crossing guards in the parking lot!
My first reaction walking up was "No way is this going to be for us. Unless it's just one killer sermon!"
And then we walked into the building. And thought we'd entered an airport.
I kid you not. There were big directional signs hanging from the ceiling to let you know where the sanctuary is and how to get there.
As we kept walking to find the "child drop off" we had to meander through kiosks, a coffee shop, an information center, and a gift shop. Just. Like. An airport.
They even had a city police officer there - not a rent-a-cop, but a real on duty police officer.
We found the check in place and got the kids to their rooms. And we were told that the section of the building with the children goes into lock down mode 15 minutes after service begins. And if we need to get our child, we have to use the phone at the doors.
Wow - now that's precaution.
So, we made it into the sanctuary...which was really a performing arts center.
It had stadium seating. With fold down seats. And a very large stage.
Seth made the comment that he has seen less people at a K-State basketball game.
There were 4 video camera operators and someone working the spotlights and dimmers, etc. Apparently, they broadcast online in real time...very "with it", this church.
And then it was time for the sermon.
It was fantastic!
Today it was all about listening for God's callings in your life and to stop saying no and making excuses and just say yes! The pastor gave lots of examples - I personally love examples, I need that real world interpretation - anyway, he used testimonials from people he knows, but also pulled examples from the bible.
I guess they don't have 12,000 members for no reason!
***
So, now we have a tough decision to make:
Go with the smaller (but still big) church and have those "extras" that we can participate in,
or we can attend the gianormous church that delivers a fantastic sermon.
...We'll go to the early services for each and then decide.
I agree, try out the early service first. I am so glad the minister actually came up and tried to get to know you and make you guys feel welcome. I am also glad you guys stayed for the lunch. Brian and I are doing the same thing and sometimes I feel uncomfortable to even stay for coffee!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think you should try out the early service first. Glad you enjoyed the sermon at the second church, but I'm not going to lie....lockdown in the nursery area would have made me a little nervous!
ReplyDeleteJustin and I were married at COR, but I had referred to the church as the "Jesus Airport" more than a few times, I'll admit. :0)
ReplyDeleteEventually, we decided to move to a smaller church because we wanted to make sure it felt comfortable and intimate for LC...we actually ended up attending Alayna's church so she had a built in buddy! You'll find the right match, I'm sure...and Adam's sermons are still ones I listen to online. He's such a talent...