Church

Today, I attended a worship service at a church that we have been attending the past two or three months. When we first moved here, we attended this church regularly and I participated in two different Bible Studies for women, but for whatever reason, we did not feel that it was where we were to place our membership at that time. We are currently members of another wonderful church (Fellowship) but recently felt God nudging us along in a different direction. After prayer and visiting around again, my husband suggested we go back to The Village Church which was always his favorite and mine. We had joined Fellowship mostly because our son and daughter both liked it best when we were deciding nearly three years ago, but our son is attending church on his own now and our daughter has had a difficult time feeling plugged in at Fellowship. It was a good place for some healing to take place in my life and my husbands, but now my faith is better...so, back to The Village we go.

I have to say, it was an answer to prayer. We know more people there, even today, than we do at Fellowship after two and a half years. And the pastor is the most wonderful communicator that I have ever heard from the pulpit. He speaks the truth and does it with the perfect blend of humor and Biblical truth that I can't help but be amazed at his fantastic gift.

But today was the bomb as far as services go.

I have experienced some serious skepticism when it comes to people in the ministry and the organized church. I know that all people are sinners, even pastors and leaders in the church, but some of what I have seen is enough to make a person want to give up all together. But I haven't and I am so grateful that I have not.

Today, the message was on the Nine Pastoral Prayers for The Village Church. They were gut honest and Biblically solid. The reason that Matt (pastor) shared them was because he wanted to communicate what The Village is all about. He says things that are true...the type of things that people are thinking but might tiptoe around. He is so refreshing. One of the things he addressed today was the Seeker Sensitive church. This was an interesting topic for me having been a part of two of these type of churches. I used to believe it was necessary to pull "Christian" things out of the service to not wig out the unbelieving attender. I no longer believe that and was thrilled to hear that Matt agrees with me. (Ha! Or me with him...either way...we are on the same page) So, today when we had a live baptism, raised our hands in worship, prayed on our knees and participated in Communion, Matt shared that The Village was a church of honesty and integrity. We would not hide what we, as believers, enjoy doing in worship, to keep the unbeliever from thinking we are weird. He said, "You might feel uncomfortable. I know I did when I first witnessed these things. But it is OK. Just watch. Enjoy watching us (Christians) enjoy what we enjoy." This is a congregation that is growing by leaps and bounds...over 3000 people in the last 3 years. Most of them are young adults, under 35. It is so cool to be witness to.

Another thing that was addressed was the new facility. The Village just purchased an old Albertson's Grocery store for 4 million dollars. And they raised the money in two months. Since we have attended this church on and off for a couple of years, I am on the mailing list, so I receive emails and letters regarding the happenings at The Village. As an outsider, I witnessed this miracle...and it was a miracle! It happened quickly. The opportunity presented itself and Matt stood before the church that week...NOT just the leadership...but the entire congregation, and said, "We have the chance to place a bid. We need 4 million dollars - NOW!" The church went directly into prayer and fasting...there were no secret meetings, no confidentialities (I have seen all this junk in other congregations and always thought it was strange), and the entire church family...even those like me on the outside...knew every single step from the moment the opportunity came about. And the building belongs to the Village...outright...paid in full! Praise God for a godly leader!! And see what He will do when He is in charge and secrecy is not in place. And today, Matt spoke of this miracle. He said with total integrity that he did not ask not even one person for a donation. He made no phone calls or contacts to assist with the financial goal. He used the word "schmooze" I laughed out loud! He said he did not take one person out to coffee or dinner to schmooze people into giving. (Schmoozing is wrong, and especially so in the ministry - yuck!)

And the baptisms...the old fashioned baptism! How beautiful it is! At this church, every person who is baptized tells the story of how they came to know Christ - from the water. So Biblical and I know it must please God and all His angels as we all rejoiced! And the person doing the baptizing tells their story of why they are doing the baptizing, about their own walk with the Lord and what part they played in the new believer's story.

I cannot fully explain the joy of being part of a church that is Biblical, honest, down to earth and still outside the box. My heart sings with joy and gratitude of how He lead us back to this wonderful place and I am excited to see what He has in store for us as we figure out where we belong in this family! I am praising Him for the fact that there are churches who are doing church like HE wants, like exampled in Acts 2...and doing it in a relevant, contemporary way without watering down the truth of the gospel, without hiding the consequences of sin, the freedom of the Holy Spirit or even the disciplines of being a follower of Christ. Praise God.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. ~Acts 2: 42-26

I saw some of this today!