My wife and I visited 52 churches in a year. Then we attended a bunch more. Here is what we learned.
An Introduction to 52 Churches “Where do you go to church?” Oh, how I dread that question. It isn’t that I don’t go to church or am too embarrassed to answer. Instead, my frustration comes from the scowls I receive as I fumble through my reply. No matter what I say, I cause confusion. This […]
The Allure of Something Fresh After a year or so of attending The Nonconventional Church, we receive a series of captivating postcards about a new church that will soon launch in our community. I soon call them the Postcard Church. I’m intrigued and want to learn more. My wife doesn’t. Though they’re part of a […]
Confusing Messaging I’m excited about visiting the last church on our list—or at least the final church we intend to visit. Our plans could change, and with God, they often do. I’m not sure if this church is charismatic or evangelical. An Independent Charismatic Fellowship Unlike last week, this church’s website provides a lot of […]
Retired and Welcoming This church has an innocuous name, giving no clue about who they are. But this is precisely why I didn’t dismiss it or the people who go there. Besides judging churches by their affiliation—or more precisely applauding their lack of a denominational connection—I realize I’ve also begun judging churches by their websites. […]
Excitement Prevails I removed every church from my list that was part of a denomination. At best they would merely offer variations of what we’ve already experienced—and rejected. Left are three churches with intriguing implications. Perhaps one will click with Candy. We’ll visit them the next three Sundays. This church meets in a public school […]
Two Options in One Building The budget program I’m involved with on Wednesday mornings also has a Thursday evening option. Though I’m not a regular volunteer on Thursdays, I help from time to time. It’s bigger, with more classes, more clients, and more volunteers. The Thursday evening budget program meets at a different church, and […]
Waiting for the Service to Start I volunteer at a budget program where I teach classes and encourage people to manage their finances, unlearn bad money-handling habits, and dig out of debt. It’s a biblically based program, and it meets at a local church, which is also today’s destination. In the brief time I’ve been […]
An Innovative Approach Removing The Mystery Church from our schedule leaves us with a last-minute quandary of where to go this Sunday. Candy recalls that one of our neighbors and her husband attend a multisite church in the community east of us. My bride contacts her online, and we soon have the details we need. […]
A Marketing Failure The last four churches have been the closest to our house and all are part of our local community. There is one more church that’s nearby. It’s two miles away. But we call it a mystery church. In the brief time we’ve been in the area, the name of the church has […]
Breathing Life into Old Practices The three churches nearest to us—The Closest Church, The Traditional Denominational Church, and The Church with the Fundamental Vibe—all have traditional-sounding names, meet in traditional-looking buildings, and have traditional-style services. I want a church with a fresh spin. A Denominational Connection This church, only 1.8 miles away and just past […]