The journey from the pew to my community. Part I
I never thought it would actually happen. For the last 2 and a half years Ricky and I have been looking for a church, small group, something, anything that would fill the need for community and ministry. We visited a few churches and when I began asking questions I could see that this was just a fling and not a long-term relationship.
The first church we visited was Spencerville. Anyone who is anyone attends this church. It's connected to a high school and so there is a large attendance just due to that fact alone. It's as traditional and formal as they come. After experiencing communion there I began to wonder if I was in a catholic church. Before I came to any definite conclusions I decided to talk to the pastor.
Our conversation got heated very quickly. I asked him a lot of direct questions like... are you open to change? How did you decide to stick with this kind of service? Are you looking for leadership? The conclusion was this. He said in so many words… we have a tried and true method. Younger people are actually starting to want a more traditional service. I don't want my church to split. My church is too big. We have too many people wanting to be leaders and not enough positions. And finally, there are other churches in the area have you looked at any other options?
Shocked does not begin to describe what I felt at that moment. Even though he said some crazy things he was right. That church wasn't right for me. And even though our conversation didn't go the way I anticipated he made some good points. He later explained, I can worship under a tree in Africa and in a room filled with people in the USA. I can worship God anywhere. Worship is not about what God can do for you but what you can do for God.
Next, Ricky and I went to Beltsville. We went 2 or 3 times and every time we went they were having a children's program. We immediately turned around, got into our car and drove to New Hope.
Finally, we settled to going to New Hope. 15 minutes down the road, great pastor, and filled with young people. It didn't seem like it could get better than this. Even though we had been attending this church for 2 years Ricky and I just warmed the chairs. We barely got involved. I wrote an article for the bulletin and Ricky took pictures of 1 service. We really attend the church for the sermons. They are always on point and we leave the service feeling blessed. Yet for some reason something still didn't feel right.
I think about this often. Is it the style of the service? Is it the music? The dancing? The theology? Who they are targeting? The members? Is it me? Is there something wrong with me?
Maybe it's the whole idea of church and it's purpose. Even though we only have a 15-minute drive to church it still feels too far. Ricky and I live in the heart of Laurel. We are able to look out our window and see Main Street filled with businesses and people walking up and down the street. All around us are neighborhoods filled with families and we don't know any of them.
Through my experiences 2 ideas got stuck in my head. 1. That I should be ministering to my community. 2. That we should start a church in Laurel, MD.
At first I was scared to say it. A few months ago Ricky and I were walking down Main Street and when we passed an empty building I revealed to him that every time we passed by that building I thought about a church or a place that ministers to the community. To my surprise Ricky loved the idea. I felt encouraged by his response. And I thought that this might actually happen.
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