Week 5 – People’s Church

We really struggled to decide where to go this week. A combination of fear of the unknown, sliding back into uncertainty about continuing this journey and plain old not feeling any strong leading to any particular place. Once again, God led us exactly where we needed to be. As soon as I heard the topic of the sermon, I had to smile. It was about our lives at work. This just happens to be our biggest source of stress right now. Before we even heard the sermon, God provided confirmation that He knows what we need, when we need it, but most of all, that He really cares about us. Work is God’s plan for us and as the pastor talked about the kind of employees God calls us to be, I was thinking “boy, there sure are some people at work that need to hear this message.” By the time he was through, I had to admit, I was one of those people.

This church started out conducting services in a movie theatre and when you walk in, it still feels that way a little. But this is definitely not a movie theatre. They have 3 services every Sunday morning. We found the people there genuine and passionate about worship. They had a fantastic praise group that played contemporary, energetic music. I started off feeling a little awkward and out of place, but ended up feeling this was one of the best churches we’ve visited so far. The funny thing is we’ve felt that way nearly every week. Going somewhere new each week is so far out of our comfort zone that we face each Sunday with a certain amount of anxiety. Right now I confess that I gravitate towards the bigger churches because it’s easier to walk into a big church as a stranger and just blend in. In the end, we leave each church we visit inspired and happy we were there. While we were standing in the lobby visiting with friends after the service, the pastor introduced himself to all of us. He was friendly, approachable and really made you feel like he was glad you came. That made an impression.

As a side note, we have some friends who sometimes join us at the different churches we visit. One of their family members had previously expressed an interest in visiting this church so they joined us also. God clearly had a plan this morning I never intended. Why am I surprised?

(Comments from John):
It’s hard to add to Vicki’s comments. I agree with much of what she wrote. We typically discuss our overall impressions, feeling’s, etc. The message was on target as Vicki mentioned and I feel the need to spread this message to others at work from leadership to 1st line workers. I truly enjoyed the overall experience of the congregation (passion, excitement, friendliness) and felt very free to worship. I have to admit that I’m very conservative, yet I did something I typically don’t during worship--I raised my hands in praise and felt comfortable!! I can’t wait for the next place that God leads us. He definitely has his hand in our journey.