Finding a good church here in KC is something that's pretty high on our list (probably even right up there at #1). We've been really blessed to be going to E. Free in SF and will miss Randy's teaching and our fellowship with friends. I've been going there since I was 10, so searching for a church is new phenomena for me!
On Sunday we visited Christ Community in downtown KC. It's a satellite campus of a larger E. Free church in Leawood, KS (which was recommended by Pastor Randy, but is unfortunately too far for us to go to each week). We were surprised when we arrived to find that it's a VERY small church. There were about 10 families there. The pastor and his wife were about our age and we're guessing he went to Moody because they mentioned moving to KC from Chicago after he finished school. His teaching was good and the fellowship there was real - after the service Jordan and I talked about how we know this would be a place where we'd REALLY have a close church family, simply because it's very, very small. It was strange, though, coming from a big church with worship teams, Sunday school classes, etc, to just have a guitar and to be sitting closer to the pastor in the third row than even the front row is in SF! Both the pastor and his wife were very intentional about reaching out to us and making sure we felt welcomed, which we both appreciated - we know, from coming from a large church, how easy it is for new people to slip in and out and never be noticed.
We have a list of other churches we'd like to visit and are looking forward to this coming Sunday to see what God has in store. If you were searching for a new church, what's something that would be high on your list?
I had the opposite issue when I moved here, going from a smaller church (still good sized though!) to a baby mega church (not anywhere near a HUGE church, but still VERY big). I think the most important thing I've looked for in church "shopping" the past few years is just authenticity and connection. You can usually tell whether the people have a sense of community or not, and whether they're willing to include you in it! Hope you find the perfect new church home!
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