Hello to the reader in France.
Dh and I have been really blessed in finding churches. We loved the one he/we went to in Massachusetts. The pastor there did our premarital counseling. It really felt like our family. Then dh got restationed to Hawaii.
In Hawaii, we looked for a while and really enjoyed the Hilo Missionary Church, but wondered where the young people were. We liked it, and I joined a womens Bible study there, dh played basketball with some of the men. Then we found Elevate, HMC's church plant, and it all clicked! Dh loved the pastor and became friends with him. I loved the women of the church and became friends with them. I still listen to their sermons online.
Here, we have not found a church yet that we can agree on. We're in the middle of the stinking "Bible belt" and can't find one that seems like "home". There are churches on every block, but how do you choose one to go to? Once you do choose to visit a church/several churches, it's hard to figure out how to "judge" the church. How was the pastor's message? Did you connect? Did worship connect you with God? What was the overall "vibe" you got from it? Is it close/easy to get to? What time do they have services? Do they have programs/small groups to connect with other people?
It's strange trying to pick one. All of the churches we've been to have seemed like they're Biblically sound and trying to follow God. But where do you draw the line? What's non-negotiable? Knowing very few people in this area, we often make decisions about churches not knowing anyone there.
We really would like to find a church, and settle in/put down roots (for the rest of the year and a half or so we're here), but it's getting frustrating looking for a church. Do we keep searching for a "perfect church" or do we just choose one at random? What criteria do you use to choose a church? Does anyone have any advice?
3 comments:
Okay, this is totally unrelated to your post, but how did you like the rest of Lost in Translation? :)
I can completely relate to your dilemma Julie! Before Jason and I were married, we were trying to find a church for us to call our church home. We would visit churches and it always seemed that we were at odds against each other with our feelings about a particular church. I prayed about it for a good year before we found the church that I'm positive God directed us to. And for us, it was all about timing. Actually, it's a pretty neat story of how we found our church, but longer than I'll leave here in your comment section. ;) I'd be happy to tell you about it via email though!
Anyway, the moral of my long comment is that if you pray about it, God will definitely lead you to the perfect church!
Ugh. I totally understand what you're saying about the church on every corner but it's hard to find the right one. It's so time consuming because I feel like in order to really judge you have to go more than once. For me the music is always a big deal, but you probably guessed that much! How about looking at small group studies? J and I always try to find a church that offers a big variety of groups (preferably with some in our age range). We've found that's how we really get more connected. It's definitely a painful process... not looking forward to that when we move.
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