Greeting Well or Not at All There are three opportunities for a church to interact with visitors: before, during, and after the service. Some churches failed at each occasion and only a few excelled at all three—though every church should. Pre-Church Greeting First, greeting people before the service is critical, as it’s the first impression […]
A Recap of Churches 27 through 44 The churches are starting to blur. Every week seems the same, offering only slight variations on a theme. I’m growing weary of our journey. I’ve realized this for a few weeks but didn’t want to admit it. Yes, I still notice kindnesses offered and innovations presented at the […]
Waiting for the Service to Start I volunteer at a budget program where I teach classes and encourage people to manage their finances, unlearn bad money-handling habits, and dig out of debt. It’s a biblically based program, and it meets at a local church, which is also today’s destination. In the brief time I’ve been […]
Warm Inside Despite my encouragement, Candy has provided little input on the churches we visit. Though she recommended The Church with the Fundamental Vibe and The Nonconventional Church, I compiled the rest of the list. Today we’ll visit the closest church. Originally containing thirty-five names, I’ve now cut my list in half. While it might […]
A Country Fresh Church Last Sunday we went to church with our daughter and son-in-law. This week we go with our son and his wife. However, we aren’t going to their regular church. Instead, we’ll visit one a couple miles from where they plan to move. Part of an old denomination, the church recently changed […]
New Approaches for an Old Denomination It’s a holiday weekend. Our son and daughter-in-law are out of town, so we’re free agents. A return trip to the Megachurch is in order, but our daughter invites us to go to a church she and her husband have visited the past couple of weeks. A friend from […]
A Different Approach As we transition between homes, we’re living with our son and daughter-in-law. We’ll go to Sunday services with them, holding off on our search for a new church home. We’ve already gone with them a handful of times over the past few years, and for this season in our lives, it will […]
The experiences I share in this book are my experiences. Others may have different observations. I’m an introvert, as is a slight majority of people. Even so, I doubt my reactions are unique to me or even to other introverts. Consider these fifthteen discussion questions about How to Be an Engaging Church. 1. Whether introvert […]
The website of this urban church says they’re a multi-racial, multi-socio-economic relational community, where the homeless worship and support one another. I anticipate meeting people of other races and expect a service relevant to its inner-city neighborhood. Consider these seven discussion questions about Church 68. 1. As we approach the building, others carry crockpots. Looks […]
Valued friends invite us to visit a church they’ve been going to for about six months. This surprises me: not the invitation part but that they’re going to an organized church and not the house church they’ve been involved with for several years. They now attend both, interweaving their participation as their schedule permits. Gifts […]