Today was my first experience with church hopping, church shopping or looking for a home church if you will. I'm not a writer so bear with me. Writing down my experiences while church hopping and possibly blogging about it was suggested by a friend so I thought I would give it a whirl. It'll be nice to look back at my experiences when I finally find a home church. Who knows, maybe someone else out there may be on the search for a church as well.
First, I will tell you how all this got started. I'm 43 years old and I've attended the same church since my mom carted me there in the womb. Don't get me wrong, I love this church, I love the people and the majority of my family that live in town attend this church. This has been my families church for many generations. I thought I would continue to attend, heck I thought I would grow old in this church. Never dreamed of leaving and/or searching for something else, something more, something new. Last fall I tagged along with my boyfriend at the time to a church that he was going to. I left thinking, "huh, that was pretty cool." So very different then what I was use to. I figured I would try to be the good girlfriend and attend with him occasionally, but my mind was closed off to the idea of attending anywhere other then my own church on a regular basis. Regular basis?? Ha, that makes me laugh. I wasn't even attending my own church on a regular basis. That's when it hit me!! I needed, wanted and even craved to find a church that I looked forward to getting up Sunday mornings and attending. So the search began. The church I had attended with my bf had to move their services to Sunday evenings and well that just wouldn't work for me. In the summers I usually go to the lake after church and in the winter...well, we all know that's football season!! :) First thing I did was post a status on Facebook telling friends what I was looking for in a church and asked for suggestions. I think I got over 40 comments on that post, not including the text messages and the inbox messages from some other friends. I grew up Methodist, Free Methodist actually. Don't ask me what the difference between that and United Methodist is because I have no idea. I was looking for a non-denominational church, with a praise band that would make me want to get off my seat, move my feet and sing-along. I was also looking for a Pastor that gets into his message. Not a pulpit bangin', yelling loudly kind of Pastor, but one that wasn't afraid to tell it like it is. Maybe even challenge me. I wanted something a little less, uhh, I guess the best way to say it is, conservative? Traditional?
I'll tell ya something else about myself. Before I posted that on Facebook I really had to think it through. No matter how bad I wanted it, was this something I could do? You may be thinking, "Why not?" Well folks, I'm an introvert, very shy and very private. Someone once told me, "I use to think you were so stuck-up until I got to know you and then I realized you're just shy" (Lol, I was glad she took the time to get to know me). Surprise, surprise that I am. I can remember hiding behind my mom when I was little whenever someone would try to talk to me. I'm not great at carrying on a conversation, not real great at being sociable either, therefore I don't make friends very easily. So for me to walk into a new church, not knowing anyone, all by myself, was a huge, huge step and big deal for me. But I gotta tell ya, the more and more I thought about it and what I was about to do, the more excited I got about it. I couldn't wait for today to get here so I could start my search, start my journey!
My first stop was to Fellowship Missionary Church in Ft. Wayne, IN. This church came highly recommended by many of my friends, so I thought it should be my first stop. It was close to where I grew up and where my parents still live, so I was familiar with it and the area. I went to the 11:30am service. I get there and talk about intimidating!! The parking lot alone was HUGE and full of cars!! With 3 Sunday morning church services offered I should have been prepared for that, but nope, I sure wasn't. "It's okay Stephanie, you can do this!" I was a little early so I sat in my car for a few minutes, facebooked a little, while I waited, lol. Surprisingly, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be walking in. People were going in 2 different doors so I wasn't sure where I was suppose to enter at. I chose the front door. First thing I noticed as a place to put your cigarette butts. I thought that was strange, but then realized that it was probably a good idea. :) I'm now inside and have no idea where to go. I see this huge room that I thought was the sanctuary, but no one was in there so obviously I was wrong. Side note: I come from a small church and that big ole room was bigger then the sanctuary where I came from. Anyway...I venture down to where everyone is gathered, whew!!...there it is!! I get a bulletin, walk in and find a seat. Don't want to make eye contact and have to try and talk. Okay, I wasn't quite that bad. I did make eye contact and say Hi to several people as I walked down the long hallway to the where the sanctuary was. I sat close to the back of course. Mainly cause when you have a pot of coffee (12 cups!!) in the morning you want to be close to the bathroom in case you have to sneak out. I think about 2-4 cups of coffee equals 1-gallon of pee!! I usually take my coffee in church with me but for THIS reason and because I didn't know what to expect from this church I decided to leave it in the car. While people were still coming in, the praise band started singing a few songs (still sitting at this time). We then stood, sang a few more and then did the meet and greet. I have never been a big fan of this part of church. Please, please don't make me talk to my neighbors, that takes me out of my shell, but I survived. I actually saw someone I knew and was going to go say, "Hi", but didn't have time. The best part about big churches is when you sing it just blends in with everyone else. Normally I'm a lip sync-er at church, but these were songs that I could get into so I sang along. Next the message from Pastor Dave. Great pastor by the way. The message was, "Grappling with Guilt." Well who doesn't have some of that? I sure do, so yeah I was able to relate, follow along and enjoyed it very much. Get this?? I even took notes!! I don't think I have ever done that in church that I remember. Not only did I take notes, but I brought them home with me. I didn't toss them in the trash on my way out. :) I didn't stick around after the service was over. I did go say, "Hi" to the person I knew that I saw earlier. Oh and I did get a cup of coffee before I left. Great church. Great music. Great Praise Band. Great Pastor. Great message! I may be back, I may not. I have 3 other churches that I plan on hopping to. I'm keeping my mind open and I know that God will lead me to the right one. I must admit, if I hadn't gone to another church with my bf last fall this church would have been a shocker to me. Well actually, if I hadn't gone with him in the first place I don't think I would have ever looked for another church. I was content where I was, till I realized there was more out there.
Reminder to myself: take a coat or sweater while hopping and take my own Bible. I really need to get a cover for my Bible so I can keep all these notes in it that I'll be taking!! :)
Next week the plan is to hop on over to Pine Hills Church. Till then...Make it a great week!! :)
