On how we found our church.

The other day the topic over at Kelly's Korner was churches.  Not only churches, but finding a church home.  I didn't participate in that discussion, but it made me think about my church home and how we wound up there.  So I thought I'd write about it!

Okay, so I was one of those kids who was "raised in church".  I was blessed with not only parents who love the Lord but with God-loving grandparents as well.  On both sides!  I think I can count the number of times I missed church as a child on one hand.  Ha!  If I didn't go to our church, we were at another one for a revival or because we were visiting my grandmother's church. Seriously.  Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.  Not to mention Spring and Summer Revival and any other revival our pastor preached at because usually the choir sang.  We were there!  Unless we were sick, and that had to be proven.  My mom could spot a fake sickness a mile away when it came to having to miss church.

And let me tell you something... I'm doing the same thing to my kids!

I was "saved" when I was a kid.  I don't really remember exactly how old I was.  I rebelled during my teen years and didn't fully rededicate my life to God until after I was married and Shaun was a few years old.  

I'm not proud of the life I lived.  A few weeks ago I was talking to a friend I used to work with back then.  She said something I will never forget.  She was my friend before we turned back to God and we stayed pretty close while we worked together even though our opinions were sometimes different.  She called me out of the blue the other day just to talk.  Ironically, we were at Forward.  She asked if Chris was still playing music at church and my answer was, "Of course!".  She went on to say how she remembered when he was called into the ministry all those years ago and that once we turned, we never looked back.  

Now, we aren't perfect by any means.  AT ALL. And honestly, most of the time our Christian walk has a lot to be desired.  We try, but we're human.  When my friend said that to me, I almost cried.  

I'm kind of off topic.  

After we rededicated our lives to the Lord we began "really" attending the church I grew up in.  We got involved but Chris and I both began to feel as if God was leading us somewhere else.  We fought it for awhile.  We went to a really good church with a great pastor who wasn't afraid to preach the Word of God.  Plus, it was really the only church I'd ever known.  Plus my family went there too and could help me with my hyper-active little sweetheart during the services.  PLUS, I'm an introvert.  The idea of showing up at a church where we didn't know anyone scared the crap out of me.  Back then I would rather have eaten my own hair than meet new people. Have you ever looked for a new church?  The moment before you walk through a new church's doors for the first time has to be one of the most nerve-wracking experiences in the world.

Around this time another friend of mine from work invited me to her church.  It was a smallish Baptist church a lot like the one we were currently at but they were going through some changes with their music ministry and such.  So we went.  And we loved it, even though it was 30 minutes away and our "old" church was literally right down the street from our house.  That was an adjustment, let me tell you.  

We threw ourselves into that church.  We joined the choir.  I volunteered for Childrens Church and AWANA.  We taught VBS.  We met wonderful friends and really grew our faith under the teaching at that church. I can't stress enough how good it was for us to be there.  It was good for us to find our way and be "by ourselves" at church, so to speak.  Kind of hard to explain.  

We were at this church for a few years before we felt that God was moving us somewhere else.  Again.  Auughgh!  This was hard.  We loved "our" church and our friends.  For the first time we had a church family and a support system.  We didn't even have a clue where we were supposed to be going, just that perhaps our time there had come to a close.  

So we began visiting other churches.  First we went back to the church we had come from for awhile, just because we didn't know where to go.  While I didn't know exactly where we were supposed to go, I just knew that it had to be a Baptist church that preached the truth from the Bible.  A good children's program was important and a kickin' music ministry would be a major plus.  We visited a few places that just didn't feel "right".  We had two boys by this time and it was always so stressful to get everyone ready, so I really wanted to find a church close to home.  The one place in Gainesville where I had no interest at all in visiting was Free Chapel.  

A friend of Chris' from work had invited us several times.  Chris wanted to give it a try but I was adamant.  I did NOT want to go there for these important reasons that I had heard all of my life:  They handled snakes and I was afraid of snakes.  They made everyone there fall out and speak in tongues.  Members had to turn in their bank statements and tax forms so that the church could be sure to get all of their tithe money.  And if you got caught not tithing, you got kicked out.  You also had to pay for your parking space. I hated mega churches, (even though I had never been to one). And besides, we were Baptist people!  

One Sunday we had decided to visit our old church.  We were on the way when I realized that we were late because the service started at 10:30 instead of 11:00.  At that moment Chris' phone rang.  It was his friend from work calling to invite us to Free Chapel.  "Oh, fine!  Whatever you want to do.  At least we will get to hear some good music.  Let's just go so he'll quit asking us!  And I'm not giving them any money!"

So we went.  

Now remember, I had never been to a big church before.  I was used to arriving at church 10 minutes before service, dropping the kids off, and then enjoying church.  We pulled into the madhouse of a parking lot at Free Chapel.  I honestly felt as if I was at a Braves Game or something.  Cops were directing traffic and shuttle busses full of people were driving back and fourth all over the place.  It took for-ev-er to even get into the building.  And then we didn't know where to go.  We looked for our friend but he was running late.  So I was forced to make contact with one of the ushers.  He directed us down the stairs to the children's ministry along with about a million other people.  

I was so overwhelmed!  

I really wanted to go running back to the car!

But then I saw a familiar face.  Shaun's soccer coach from when he was 4.  He and his wife took us under their wings and showed us what to do.  We had to fill out forms.  Something else new.  It seemed to take forever and all I could think about was that by the time we got back upstairs the music was going to be over and that's the only reason I wanted to be there in the first place.  We finally got the kids dropped off and met up with Chris' friend.  He led us into the auditorium.  I saw Pastor Jentezen Franklin on the stage.  I recognized him from the billboards around town advertising the Forward conference.  He was singing "The Old Rugged Cross".  As the ushers found us seats up in the balcony and we began to climb (and climb and climb) to our seats I was grumbling to myself, "Hmmph.  If I wanted to hear this song again I could've just stayed at our old church".  

And then we found our seats and the sermon began.  I enjoyed myself.  No one asked for my bank statement or threw a snake at me.  No one even spoke in tongues.  At the end of the service I realized something.  We were home.  

Yes, it was different and it took some getting used to.  That was over six years ago.  We are still there.  Our kids are growing up under Godly leadership and being taught the true Word of God.  We love it there as much as we did all those years ago.  Chris even has a job there, so really, our church is our life! Most of our close friends are people from church.  Some of them have truly become our family.  We have a niche.  We have our people.  When something goes wrong (or even when something goes right) our "people" are first in line to pray with us, bring us food, watch our kids, or anything else we need.  And vice versa.  I really can't imagine doing life without our church or our church family.

To my Christian friends out there who don't have a church to call home, I say this: 

Try to find one!

It really is so important to find a place to worship.  We all need to be hearing from the Lord on a regular basis, and we also need fellowship and friendships with other believers. 

One other thing I've learned on this journey is to not get too caught up with labels.  When we began looking for a church I only wanted to visit Baptist churches.  I never, ever thought I would go to a Pentecostal church.  Or Non-Denominational.  Whatever we are!  There's no doubt in my mind that God wanted my family at Free Chapel.  He had plans for us and we would have missed out if I had stuck to my guns and not visited that Sunday.  Yes, its big and sometimes loud and crowded and not at all what we were used to, but our relationship with Jesus is more important than all of that.  When we began to focus on Him and get involved, our big huge church became really small.  Big or small.  Baptist, Methodist, whatever.  Find a church who's members love the Lord and will challenge you in your walk with Him.  

You'll be so glad you did!