My wife and I visited 52 churches in a year. Then we attended a bunch more. Here is what we learned.
Stating generalities is risky, but it is a way of processing information. Here are two areas to discuss: 1. In our experiences, churches with older congregations and traditional services tended to be friendlier than contemporary services with younger people. Does your church match this observation or break from it? What must change? 2. I’m dismayed […]
My wife went with me to every church we visited. “What an adventure!” she said. “We had the honor of worshipping with friends, old and new.” Here are two key considerations to discuss: 1. The most important thing she learned from this trek was how to—and how not to—make someone feel welcome. How can you […]
In general, we found smaller churches offered more opportunity to make connections. We also discovered that most liturgical churches weren’t very friendly. Consider these two discussion questions about church format and size: 1. Churches have characteristics that often relate to their size. How can you tap the strengths of your church’s size and counter its […]
Too often one person made the difference between us feeling welcomed or ignored, forming our perceptions of the church. Greeting well occurs at three times: before, during, and after the service. Consider these two discussion questions: 1. The pre-service greeting forms a first impression, while a post-service greeting provides the impression people leave with. How […]
Visiting churches seems a lot like dating. It’s like dating churches. Consider these two discussion questions: 1. Church websites and social media pages are like a dating profile, with the best photos—sometimes out-of-date or misleading—and featuring positive traits while ignoring flaws. What changes should you make online and in printed materials to present an accurate […]
Our journey of visiting fifty-two churches is over, though the memories will last forever. Here are some of my church reflections from this year-long adventure. Consider these two discussion questions about our journey of visiting churches: 1. I hope the questions have spurred a lot of great ideas. But without action, great ideas amount to […]
To wrap up our adventure, we picked churches to provide the most varied experiences. For this phase my thoughts center on church size, coupled with my desire for community with other believers. We’ve completed the final phase of our adventure. Even though most of these churches in this group are medium to large in size, […]
It’s Easter and we’re returning home to our church, the people we love and miss. This marks our first Sunday here since last Easter. It’s great to be back for Holy Week. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #53: 1. There’s nothing special about the building, except that it’s 150 years old. Even with […]
Our destination is not a church to visit but a revisit, returning to the congregation we were part of a decade ago. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #52: 1. This church would be bigger, except they keep sending members away to plant new churches. How could your church do better at sending people […]
I’m both excited and apprehensive about visiting our area’s largest church, a megachurch. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #51: 1. A sign at their drive tells first-time visitors to turn on their four-way flashers—because they want to give us VIP treatment. I don’t bother and follow the flow of cars, but it’s a […]