As most of you know, the church is very important to M and I. So, I was kind of excited about the opportunity to do some church shopping. There aren’t too many Christian Reformed Churches around us, so we kind of wondered if we were going to have to look elsewhere to find a new church family.
What we found this morning was a pleasant surprise. Different, but pleasant. I had found this one by searching for “churches” in Google maps and checked out the websites of the ones around our building. I bypassed the 3500 people megachurch completely and found a smaller non-denominational church about 2 more minutes down the street. Their website stated approximately four times we could have arrived: 9:30 for communion, 10:00 for a bible study, 10:30 for coffee, or 11:00 for the service.
We walked in at 10:40, misjudging completely how long it would take us to get there. We stepped through the doors and were immediately greeted by a friendly middle-aged man. We were led to the coffee, introduced to a middle aged woman who then introduced us to all the young people. There was a couple who had gotten married on the same day we had and another set to get married in August. Lots of university students, even a number who have just graduated, like us.
The church blew us away with its friendliness. There was never a moment when we were left to stand awkwardly in a corner. Everyone was quick to take us under their wing. They wanted to know everything about us, so we ended up telling the same stories over and over again to people who never seemed to lose interest. They even fed us lunch after the service at a young adults/grade 12 student barbecue!
The service itself was slightly odd. Really short. Singing at the beginning, as is normal. And then, a message. Then, one more song and… that was it. A few announcements at the end, but no prayer, no God’ Greeting, no benediction, not even an offering!
I think we’ll probably go back. Will we stay there? I don’t know yet.
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