My wife and I visited 52 churches in a year. Then we attended a bunch more. Here is what we learned.
The church we visited this Sunday is a nondenominational gathering that meets in a public school auditorium. In some parts of the United States it’s unheard of for a church to meet in a government building, but in our area, it is not. Though some would overreach, citing a need for “separation of church and […]
Sunday we visited our third United Methodist Church. I enjoyed all three, even though this one’s in sharp contrast to the other two. Based on our experience, it’s an anomaly for their denomination. I consider them an “outlier congregation,” a group unlike the norm, one that may be an enigma to their denominational leadership. Their […]
This Pentecostal church receives us warmly. The greeter is an amazing ambassador and will interact with us several more times throughout the morning. He introduces us to the pastor’s wife and it’s not long before her husband seeks us out. The pastor pointedly asks if we’ve ever been to a Pentecostal Church. When I say […]
The church has no website and its Facebook page is nothing more than a placeholder. Given this lack of presence on contemporary channels, our experience suggests they are a smaller, aging congregation with a traditional service. My assumption proves true. The pastor is the first person we meet. He’s perhaps in his thirties and not […]
Next on our list is another United Methodist Church. Their website has a helpful “what to expect” section. Described as “a quaint, country church,” visitors may “come as you are.” The facility reminds me of the Methodist church we visited three weeks ago, as do the age of the attendees and the service style. The […]
I didn’t know this church existed until my wife stumbled onto this charismatic church during her online research for our adventure. Their Facebook page says they’re “a charismatic, faith-filled, and Bible-believing church.” I’ve never been to a charismatic church service. However, I have attended charismatic conferences, so I think I have a general idea of […]
It’s Father’s Day and we visit our fourth Baptist church in ten weeks. Like two of the others, this one is both a small congregation and an older congregation. They’re friendly and welcoming, but an absence of younger people points to a bleak future. Despite efforts to keep the facility nice, there remains subtle reminders […]
This Sunday we visit a United Methodist church with two traditional services. We go to the second and I’m expectant for what I will learn. Two greeters hand out nametags to the regulars; they offer us welcome stickers and we write our names. The nametags are a first in our 52 churches journey, an appreciated […]
This week we visit another new church, our third one so far (the others are Church #2 and Church #7). This one is essentially a church reboot, with the intent on offering a more accessible gathering within a traditional, conservative denomination. It’s a bold experiment. The decor is by far the nicest we’ve encountered. Everything […]
Sunday we visited a newer church. Their website says “multi-generational contemporary worship service”—and it is. They’re also non-denominational “because God has called all believers to unity.” I like that. We walk in and people are informally mingling; several introduce themselves. Of all the churches we’ve visited so far, this is the most effective at pre-service […]