Choosing a Church
In November of last year, my pastor announced that my church would be closing. It closed on December 31, right after the holiday, so that parishioners could start the new year with a focus on where to serve next.
I was devastated at the announcement. I had spent seven years looking for a church community, after a move, one where I would be accepted as I am, while allowing me to serve using the gifts God has given me. I then spent six years at this church I had learned to call “home”. And it was over, even after our pastor’s sabbatical showed our strong, but tightly-knit congregation was able to keep it all going with guest speakers and rotating musical leaders. That sweet time felt so right and echoed scripture that says, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:4-5 NIV). We leaned into our gifts and served God, and one another, with them – maybe even more than we did when the pastor was present, bearing the weight of the service.
How could it end after that renewing of our commitment to one another? And after we had discovered so many gifts and abilities of our members? To add to the angst is my own personal experience with loss. I have a very small family unit: a husband, a sister, a brother-in-law and two nephews. Other relatives do not live close and it’s challenging to build and sustain those relationships in what often feels like one-sided attempts. Many of my closest family members have passed away and my church family was a comforting balm to my hurt heart. And this announcement made me feel like I was experiencing another loss, yet another one out of my control.
I did not go into the new year in a good heart or head place. I was bitter and angry – frequently judging the churches I’d visit – using one visit to decide they didn’t measure up to what I had lost. So what to do??
Well, God’s word says, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). I had forgotten one of the most important reasons to go to church and to seek a community of believers. It is to experience the strength of the Lord in a strong way, by fighting sin together with other believers. That convicted me and I opened my mind and heart differently and I continued my search.
There are many other verses that explain the importance of attending church as a believer. Another is Hebrews 10:24-25. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (NIV). The directive there, to not give up on meeting together with other believers, is very clear.
So I kept looking, and I landed at a new place. While I am slowly getting more involved as well as making friends, I cautiously wait to call it “home”. However, I can see how God’s hand led me and how He was ever present – well before my church’s decision to close to where I am now.
The upset and angst that had my focus at first has changed to renewed hope and peace as I see how God orchestrates my life and will continue to do so as I seek His will and read His word. Be encouraged if you are searching for a church community, and be reminded of the value of your congregation if you have one. It’s another of God’s great blessings to us.
