Church Search 2010

Posted by beth on February 8, 2010

So I’ve been in Asheville for four Sundays now, and I’ve visited three churches. This church shopping is pretty new for me. When I moved to Raleigh, I got involved with Vintage21 right away. I might have visited a couple of other churches, but I felt at home at Vintage immediately. I knew some people, I started hanging out with a home group, and I started writing for the dirtydish, so I stuck around. When I moved to New York, I really don’t remember what I did or how I found the Journey. I just know I got involved with a home group (I think they called them Growth Groups), met some people, and that was that. Then I met my friend Emily, and we knew immediately that we were each other’s people. That’s what it’s always been about, come to think of it – people.

The churches I didn’t stick around tended to be too big and impersonal. There was one particular church in college that I stopped going to after visiting a singles group and basically being chastised for being there because I was too young. Thanks, guys. But then I found The Memorial Baptist Church, where I became one third of the best singles group I think I’ve ever been a part of. We had perfect attendance at all of our meetings, and we talked like whales.

So I guess now that I’m here, I’m looking for my people. And I’d like to share the search with you.

The first was a Presbyterian church – the one where the lady who sold me the TV and told me she loved me goes. The people, as you might have guessed, were extremely friendly, and in a moment when my view of the minister was blocked by the tall man in front of me, I realized that he sounded exactly like Casey Kasem.

The second was a Baptist church that, quite frankly, was a little out of control for me. It was enormous, and there were lots of crazy lights. Everywhere. And the pastor reminded me very much of Ty Pennington. I’m told that the morning service is less flashy. I might check it out. I met some people there, however, with whom I’ve hung out several times since. They’ve been very welcoming and inclusive, and they invited me to the third church.

The third church was a small, non-denominational church plant. It’s only about four months old, and there were maybe thirty people there, which was nice. I think I met half of them, and we all went out to lunch afterward. The pastor didn’t resemble any celebrities in any way whatsoever.

So that’s the update for now. I apologize for my hurried conclusion, but I just realized how late it is and how many things I have to do in the next two and a half hours. Oh, and there are at least three more churches I need to visit, so Church Search 2010 continues!