Category: Visiting Churches

My wife and I visited 52 churches in a year. Then we attended a bunch more. Here is what we learned.

Reflecting on Church #34: Should a Church Live Forever?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 3, 2020

The Lifecycle of a Church

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #34.

From a human standpoint, the future of this congregation is bleak. When we visited, eleven people showed up. In addition to my wife and me, there were the leaders’ family of five, who go to another church and live forty-five minutes away.

52 Churches: A Yearlong Journey Encountering God, His Church, and Our Common Faith

That makes seven visitors and only four regulars—and one of them walked in halfway through the service.

Four people, all non-leaders, are not much of a foundation for rebuilding a church.

If this church survives, it will certainly be because of God’s Holy Spirit power and not through the efforts of people, regardless of their dedication or how hard they work.

I wonder if it’s time to say enough is enough and shut the church down. Surely there are other needs or opportunities these leaders could focus on that would have a better chance of success and produce more fruit.

Though many people think that a particular local church should exist in perpetuity, we shouldn’t look at a church as an institution but as an organic entity. Like everything organic, it has a life cycle and will one day die. Today may be that day.

Though Jesus’s church is universal and should endure forever, we shouldn’t expect a local church to live forever. And we shouldn’t waste time trying to perpetuate a church on life support or resuscitate a dead one.

[See my reflections about Church #33 and Church #35 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, church services, reflecting on church

Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #33: A Reminder of What’s Really Important

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 26, 2020

A Poor Church

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #33.

It seems the congregation of this rural church has little to be thankful for, at least from my perspective. Yet their service taught me the opposite. I’m impressed with how they depend on one another.

I live in a prosperous area, and it’s sobering to know there are people nearby living in deep poverty. I’ve thought about this poor church and her needy people often, when I see their members stop at the local food pantry to pick up supplies each month.

Their church, primarily its pastor, does what it can to meet needs and provide food. I’m glad the food pantry is there to help out.

They do not have much in the way of possessions or food, but they are rich in the things not of this world. Praying for their daily bread is not a metaphor but a persistent reality.

Their faith is strong; they depend on one another and even more so on God.

I’m also humbled by their joyous attitudes. Their pastor’s message of being thankful wasn’t mere words to contemplate but an imperative entreaty to lead a thankful life.

They have much to teach me about how they depend on one another. And I have much to learn.

[See my reflections about Church #32 and Church #34 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, faith, reflecting on church

Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #32: Overcoming Past Mistakes

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 19, 2020

Our Past Doesn’t Need to Define Our Future

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #32.

Our experience at this church was positive, and I’m excited for their future. There is more to it, however. Here is their backstory about overcoming past mistakes.

A couple years ago, this church stretched itself financially to construct a grand facility. But then the economy turned bad. They lost their building and many members in the process. (Church #22 bought their foreclosed property.)

For a time they met in the Seventh Day Adventist’s church, Church #31. We planned to visit them there, going to the same place twice in one weekend but for different churches.

The week before we could visit, however, they relocated. They moved into a small, older building. They paid cash for the place. It didn’t cost much. Either they couldn’t get a loan or didn’t want to. I suspect the latter.

The Sunday we visit is week number two in their new location. It’s their annual commitment Sunday. After the pitch for funds, members fill out their pledges.

The service ends, and we head downstairs for a catered brunch and time of fellowship.

As we enjoy the food and meet people, they tally the pledges and announce the total. Enough funds are pledged to meet their full budget, which includes paying their beloved leader a full-time salary.

They celebrate some more—and we with them.

I’m excited about their future. They have a committed core of dedicated people who have pledged to meet the financial goals of next year’s budget.

They can also move forward without the burden of debt weighing them down and diverting donations from ministry to pay off a building loan.

[See my reflections about Church #31 and Church #33 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, church, reflecting on church

Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #31: They Must Not Care About Visitors

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 12, 2020

Be the Church Where Visitors Come Back

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #31.

This church pursued excellence in their service, with the effective use of technology and the professionalism of those who led us. Their example is one worthy of imitation.

Unfortunately, they failed in another area, a much more important one. They don’t seem to care about church visitors.

They were one of the most unfriendly churches we visited. Aside from a greeter, who talked to us when we arrived and when we left, no one else interacted with us at any time, in any way: not one conversation, no eye contact, not even a smile.

They gave us a nice performance, but ignored us as individuals, allowing us to remain all alone in a room full of people.

When visiting a church, I don’t expect members to fawn over me or celebrate my attendance, but I do expect some will acknowledge my presence.

It felt like being invited to a party and the host snubbing me. Maybe that was the problem. We weren’t invited. We just showed up.

While the service was so well done that I want to come back, the people were so distant that I can’t bear to return.

[See my reflections about Church #30 and Church #32 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, friendly church, reflecting on church

Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #30: The Bait and Switch

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 5, 2020

Avoid Creative Marketing for Your Church

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #30.

We also attended Sunday school at this church, the only time we did so on our sojourn. The problem was that we didn’t intend to. Their website said church was at 10 a.m., and their pastor confirmed this fact via email.

The did a bait and switch on us.

When we arrived a man said, “Sit anywhere” as he gestured to an almost empty sanctuary.

For the next hour, we endured a most pathetic ordeal: welcome, announcements, prayer requests, greeting time, offering, hymn sing, sermon, and closing prayer—just like at any church struggling to slog through a sixty-minute church service.

Then the speaker said, “Thank you for attending; church will start in ten minutes.” Only then did I realize we’d just suffered through Sunday school. In sales, they call this “bait and switch.” I was seething.

Exhausted after enduring their Sunday school, I was in no condition to have a good attitude for church.

Though their actual church service had many positive elements, being tricked into attending Sunday school looms as my primary memory. I will never go back.

[See my reflections about Church #29 and Church #31 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, church services, reflecting on church

Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #29: Let’s Pursue a New Testament Model for Church

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 29, 2020

A Laity Led Church Service

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #29.

With their minister gone, church members lead us in the service, the entire service. They don’t need paid staff or a guest speaker to conduct the service. They can do this on their own. And they do it quite naturally, with ease.

I always appreciate seeing laity—that is, nonprofessional, nonpaid people—take part in leading a church service. It’s more personal and real, less of a performance or show.

Some churches aren’t able to conduct a service without their pastor present (or at least have a guest preacher to give a message), while others manage just fine.

Having paid staff and professional clergy is an Old Testament mode of church. It distracts us from the example set forth in the New Testament model, where we are all priests, ministering to one another.

Our churches would all be better off if we learned how to conduct services on our own, without the need of trained ministers to lead us.

Given the chance, I think we’d do just fine.

[See my reflections about Church #28 and Church #30 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, church services, reflecting on church

Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #28: The Allure of Christian Mystic

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 22, 2020

Embracing Tradition and Worship Ritual

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #28.

Steeped in ritual resulting from centuries of carefully protected tradition, the spiritual mystery of this tiny liturgical church presented me with an enigma I’m yet to fully comprehend.

With worship that both confronted and comforted me, I have much to contemplate as I wrestle with confusion over its practices that are so foreign to me. I call it Christian mystic.

I remind myself that different isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually good if the result draws me closer to God. This church did that for me.

They left me in awe of who he is and amazed at the diverse ways we can worship him. My admiration, however, didn’t end with the official service, the Christian mystic approach to God.

Though it only lasted an hour, the informal gathering afterward continued for another ninety minutes, as we immersed ourselves into community.

I learned much about the people and this church, enjoying our conversation and all they had to share.

These are good folks, fellow pilgrims who enjoy being with each other. I know that I must return for another visit.

My plan was to never tell people at the churches we visited that we might come back. And for fifty-one churches, I never did. However, I do tell them I’ll be back—just that it won’t be for quite a while.

We have twenty-four other churches to visit first.

[See my reflections about Church #27 and Church #29 or start with Church #1.]

Followup: My wife and I did indeed make a return visit to this church. Much of our experience the second time matched our first visit. The one key difference is that there were about four times as many people in attendance the second time.

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, church services, community, mystery, reflecting on church

Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #27: Worshiping God Despite a Bad Attitude

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 15, 2020

Physical Worship from a Pure Heart

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #27.

I thoroughly enjoyed the worship time at this church. The worship of the song leaders was pure and ushered me into the presence of God.

With arms raised I connected with the Almighty through song.

For me, this was the highlight of the service though I also appreciated the genuine community these folks had with one another and how they shared with and prayed for each other.

Despite this, I also had some concerns, several. The first was them not being friendly. For the most part, they ignored us and the best connection we made was with other visitors. And this wasn’t the first church were this happened.

Next was the message and attitude of the pastor. His words seemed to ramble at times and was hard to follow. He also made some critical comments about our worship, which he deemed inadequate.

Granted, in his defense he was functioning on little sleep, due to delayed airline flights the day before when returning from vacation.

Third was an unpleasant odor near where we sat. It stayed with me the entire service. (Though my wife said she didn’t smell anything, and she asserted I was just imagining it).

Granted, I arrived knowing some of this church’s background and baggage, and my wife claimed I had a bad attitude.

Despite my concerns, I yearn to make a return trip or perhaps attend one of their Thursday night worship times. Of all the churches we visited, they were perhaps the freest in their worship and the most authentic.

I think God was pleased with their approach to him and the way they turned their praise to him.

[See my reflections about Church #26 and Church #28 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, reflecting on church, worship

Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #26: A Fresh Experience

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 8, 2020

Embrace Active Worship

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #26.

Beyond their worship of God and approach to him, two other things stood out about this minority congregation.

First, the kids were an active presence during the service, both in their participation and in their can’t-sit-still bouncing from seat to seat.

Although at times distracting, I’m glad for their involvement in the service.

The other item is their view of time is different from mine. Though the service started when specified, the crowd was sparse. For the next fifteen minutes, people wandered in, eventually doubling our numbers.

The last family showed up thirty-five minutes after the service started. I know this is a factor of culture, but it’s hard for me to understand.

Likewise, their service lasted longer than most, scheduled for two and a half hours, and extending beyond that with an after-service meal to celebrate the baby dedication.

Though we stayed to eat and talk, we were still the first to leave; everyone else seemed content to stay even longer.

Expand Our Worship of God

This was one of the two non-white churches we visited. (The other was church #20.) At both, I felt, for a brief time, a hint of what it’s like to be a minority. Yes, these experiences were shallow in that respect, but it’s all I have to go on.

More importantly, however, is that their worship of God was fresh to me, invigorating my soul. I desire to return and spend more time with them.

As we celebrate the Almighty with others who have different practices than we do, our worship of God is enhanced and our understanding of him is broadened.

[See my reflections about Church #25 and Church #27 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, reflecting on church, worship

Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #25: They Ended Up With a Building After All

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 1, 2020

A Church Doesn’t Need Their Own Space

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #25.

I praised this congregation for not having a church building. Instead they rented space on Sunday for their services.

That meant the money they’d normally spend on a mortgage and building maintenance could instead be used for community outreach and service.

Shortly after our visit, this church announced a merger of sorts with another nearby congregation from the same denomination.

The other church, small and struggling, did have a church building, but their dwindling membership made it impossible for them to continue.

As the melding of their two congregations progressed, both churches shut down for several months, before re-emerging as a new entity in the second church’s building.

During this in between time, some members grew weary of the delay and scattered to find other churches, while others gave up and stopped going to church altogether.

I wish they hadn’t delayed. I lament the loss of people, and I lament they now have a large building to maintain. I wonder if their focus on the surrounding community will suffer as a result.

The early church met in people’s homes and public places. Why can’t we do the same today? Think of all the money we’d save and hassles we could avoid if we removed the shackles of owning and maintaining a church facility.

Not only are our church structures exorbitantly expensive, they’re also underutilized most of the time. At best, one of today’s churches enjoys full usage for only two hours of each week.

That’s 1.2 percent of the time. This means that for 98.8 percent of each week the building is underutilized.

Maintaining a church building is costly and does little to advance the kingdom of God. We don’t need to go to a building to go to church so we can connect with God.

We take church with us wherever we go—or at least we should.

[See my reflections about Church #24 and Church #26 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, congregations, reflecting on church