Stained Glass Window Shopping

I didn't get to sleep until around 3a last night. I had some funky dream that kept me up, I woke up when my uncle got home around 4:30, and then I was up at 8 with a text then a phone call. Despite all that, I managed to get myself up and at church like I promised myself I would.

I checked out several churches online and finally decided I wanted to visit Three Village Church. There was really only one reason I chose 3VC as my first option: they had an updated, decent website. Maybe it's callous or a sad commentary on my generation that that's what I looked at first, but to me, an appealing website to me is indicative of having at least some young people in the church. Also, the fact that they have a hip acronym like 3VC (which is reminiscent of LW or 'el Dub' to me) helped.

Not being entirely certain on service times (that was the one thing about their main page I didn't like), I decided to show up for the earliest one I saw. It was decidedly the early service. I saw almost no young people, despite info on their website about 'College and Career' ministries. I was a few minutes late, which is sadly typical for me these days due to my need for a cup of coffee on the way to church, but I walked into the sanctuary to hear a familiar song playing, which was really nice. Apparently the church is in the process of looking for a new senior pastor, so they had a guest speaker, but he was very engaging and was easy to follow. That means a lot coming from me, since I've found probably less than half a dozen people that I actually like listening to as much as Garris.

There's a whole coffee, fellowship, bagel shindig upstairs in their youth area between services, so I wandered in there. I have to say, I appreciate a church that has a good youth area, because it reflects on their values, and 3VC has a very nice area. It's not extravagant, but it's clear that they want to give their youth a space of their own. I'd already decided to stay for second service to see if more young people showed up, but between services I was caught by Jon, one of the pastors on staff. Talking with him was great, I met several people through him, met their youth pastor, Bart, between services. All-in-all, I felt very welcomed.

As second service started, I definitely saw more young people come in, and started to actually believe they had a college/career ministry. The church clearly isn't very big, probably about the size of Living Waters, my church in Medford, maybe even a little smaller. Their services are a little more liturgical than I'm used to, their worship a little less contemporary than I prefer, but it was all very comfortable. Clearly a group of people who come to worship. I did use my phone for reading and note taking, as is standard for me, which is fine until it falls off my leg while I'm not using it, and everyone around me probably assumes I'm texting or checking Facebook (which in all honesty, did happen a little...).

After second service, I had the chance to meet a few more people, including the young adult leaders, and Bonnie. Bonnie is, as far as I can tell, a lady who's a part of the church. We chatted for a bit, then she invited me over for bagels and coffee. Bagels and coffee. Of course I went. I only got home from her house about 30 minutes ago, so I was there for a couple hours after church. I spent the afternoon with her, her husband, her niece, and met her daughter and daughter's boyfriend. It was great! After only one day, I felt welcomed and like I've finally met people on the island!

So, I think I've found my church. I've had some heavy things go down back in Medford since I got here, so I asked God to spare me from church hopping for the next two months trying to find a good place. I found 3VC online, thought it looked nice, and simply asked that this would be the church for me. I think it is. I was initially going to write this blog with the intent of asking what people suggest I look for in a church, or how they've church shopped before, or what helped them decide. But now I'm afraid my title is misleading. After today, I don't have anymore shopping to do, I only need to spend more time there! I suppose there are still things to find out, a very small number of things that are theologically important to me. Based on the service today, however, the familiar worship, the Bible-based teaching, the welcoming atmosphere, I feel very good about this being the right place. This may be the only church I've ever gone to where I've felt comfortable and at home without already having a group of friends to welcome me.

That's been my experience. So although I don't think I need to do anymore shopping, I'd still be intrigued to hear other stories of church shopping, things that helped, maybe some funny church fail stories, or ways that you know you'd found the right place.