The Search for a Church

We are looking for a new church to call home.  It's a tough thing....kind of like dating.  If you go more than once, they think you're in it for the long haul.  If you only go once, you don't really get to know them very well.  We just finished visiting our first church, and I thought it would be fun to rank our experiences, both as an aid in making a future decision on where to land, and for your enjoyment.  No churches will be named, and of course every rating is purely based on our personal preferences.  We will use a rating scale of 1-5, with 5 being the best.  If you want to know the church being rated, you can contact me personally.

So...let us begin:

CHURCH A

Service Attended:  Contemporary Service

Welcome/Friendliness Rating - 5
As we walked in the door, we were immediately greeted warmly by several people, including the pastor.  They said "hi" to the kids, and seemed genuinely happy that we were there.  We received a welcome bag which included information about the church and some homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Bonus points!  We were then introduced to several other couples our age who greeted us with enthusiasm.  One of the greeters led us to the pew where our friends who attended the church (but had not yet arrived) usually sat.

Service/Sermon Rating - 3
Kian and Kelsea sat with us throughout the worship time, which was a little stressful for me with a 3 year old on our first visit (did I mention we were 4 rows from the front?).  However, the atmosphere was very relaxed, and there were kids everywhere, so I wouldn't have worried about Kian talking except that it was our first visit.  The music was a great mix of contemporary worship songs and one hymn sung in a modern worship version.   There was clapping (yay).  Not a lot of hand raising, but folks were definitely involved in worship.  After singing, the kids were called up front for a short children's message, then dismissed for children's church. 

The Sermon: 
Based on a scripture:  Yes
Did we learn something new/see something in a different way:  No
Were we inspired to action by the sermon:  No
Did it lead to further discussion:  No

Length of Service:  75 minutes
Length of Time Before Looking at my Watch:  60 minutes

Children's Church and Sunday School Rating - 3
I had to walk in front of the entire church to escort the kids through a door at the front of the sanctuary to their classes, since they didn't know where to go.  Kelsea was taken to her classroom by her teacher, and I was on my own to find Kian's room.  Followed other parents, and entered the preschool room.  Snacks were already laid out in readiness for later (not a good idea, as Kian went straight for the food and I had to sidetrack him).  There was one older lady in charge of approximately 10 kids, and I use the term "in charge" loosely.  No one asked Kian's name, welcomed him as a newcomer, or took down any information about him (allergies/age, etc.) .  I tried twice to get the teacher's attention, to no avail.  Kian wasn't crying, so I just slipped away and hoped for the best.  I spent the rest of the service worrying about him, as no one had any way of knowing how to contact us if he was hurt, crying, or had a potty accident.  When I went to pick up Kian, no one checked to see who he was walking off with.  Don't even know if they noticed he left.  Not cool.  On the other hand, Kelsea really enjoyed both kid's church and Sunday School.

Adult Sunday School Rating - 5
Really, really enjoyed this class.  Studying the book of John.  Even though I took an entire college class on this one gospel, I still gained a lot from the discussion.  Saw some things in a new and different way.  Very comfortable atmosphere...felt like I could easily contribute to the discussion in the future.

Youth Group Rating - 4
Kylie had a friend from school who attended this church, so she was excited to go to the youth Sunday School.  The grades here are separated:  6th - 8th, and 9th - 12th.  Bonus.  And during the Sunday School time, each grade (6th, 7th, 8th) meets separately for discussions.  Super bonus.  Usually there are games, but this week they had a more serious discussion about problems at school.  Kylie loved it.  Kara thought it was "wierd", but this was her first time in a youth group setting and she didn't have the security of having a friend with her.  There was a bulletin board with volunteer opportunities for the teens to do...awesome.  There were also odd job opportunities on the board for kids to earn money for mission trips.  The youth group is big on community service.  Super duper bonus.

Building - ?
Fairly large.  Hard to find your way around, though there were directions.  Didn't get a chance to look around much, so hard to rate yet.

Personal Ratings
Kylie:  5
Kara:  3
Kelsea:  5
Roger:  4
Erin:  3 1/2