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Praising God and Finding a New Church
By Julie | May 6, 2008
Marc and I are looking for a new church. We didn’t want to, but issues came up with our last one, and we can’t stay there. But, we were really tied into our former church. Leaving it has felt like a bit of a divorce. We know we need to look for a new one. But I’ve kind of felt like I was cheating to consider looking elsewhere.
The past three weeks we’ve gone to our friends’ church, it’s been easier because I don’t feel so unfaithful if we’re only going with friends. I love seeing how another church operates. This is a really nice church, even though they have no building, they meet in a school. The comparisons between ‘ours’ and ‘theirs’ have been nice, it gives us a chance to see qualities we want in a church, but didn’t have where we were. Like elders, God was thinking when He came up with them. He knows accountability is a good thing. Our next church will have elders.
This weekend we witnessed something amazing at our friends’ church that I don’t think would’ve ever happened where we’ve been going. At the start of service two small cards were passed around to everyone in the congregation. One card was a praise card. We were told to write anything we wanted to praise God for. The next was a prayer card. We were told to write down anything we needed prayer for. At some point the cards were turned in (I don’t know when because my sons threw a fit and we had to leave for a little while).
Then, the pastor talked briefly about prayer, its importance and how to do it. After that a group of about six or seven people left, with the prayer cards. They went to another room where they prayed over each of the needs listed on the cards. After they left, someone read every item listed on the praise cards. Most of the items were what you’d expect: praise for family, friends, health, financial help or stability. Some praised God for those who introduced the gospel to them, some praised God for answering prayers of bringing people to Him. Some were more specific, praise for a scholarship, a job, one person praised God for raspberry ice cream. (I really liked that one!)
As I sat listening, for a long time because there were a lot of cards, a lot of praise, I was struck by how big God is. It amazed me to hear how much He had worked in the lives of strangers who surrounded me. I loved that sermon. I loved the church for choosing to involve the lives of their people, and for praying for their specific needs. As I listened, I didn’t feel like I was being unfaithful to our church. We weren’t setting out to leave, we had good reasons. We took them up with our church leadership. They weren’t resolved. We have no reason to feel guilty. After Sunday’s church, I don’t anymore.
I’m looking forward to going to a list of other churches. I want us to see what each of them do, how they work, what’s special about them, and decide where our family fits best.
Topics: Encouragement, Faith, Life and Living | 2 Comments »
May 15th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
I pray that you find a great church that fits both of you. March of 07 we started our search and we found a GREAT Church and it’s made a huge difference. We have been going since our first visit. We too meet in a school. God is awesome, and good luck to you both…
~tazdog
May 16th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Thank you! I’m glad to hear you like where you are going. I love it when a church feels like a second home! I hope we find that again too.