Searching for Fellowship 2

This past Sunday we checked out Restore Community Church - it was really close to home (it's still weird saying that) and we liked it better than the church we went to last week. We still aren't sure if it's a good fit for us though. It was a bigger church (held in a school auditorium) and congregation, which we liked - but it also meant nobody noticed we were new. Coming from a big church, we know things like that can happen really easily.

Their (possibly summer) theme is "ICNU" and is "an Old Testament character-focused series about how God sees things in us that we don't see in ourselves." (thanks, Restore website) This week was about Moses and how God had plans for him to be a leader and lead the Hebrews out of bondage long before he was born. The real-life application was that God sees in us a person who is supposed to be a leader in blessing the world - they also made an appeal at the end, or offered opportunities, for the congregation to become a leader right in their own church and community. They were really arts-focused and incorporated the song Beautiful Things by Gungor (give it a listen, it's worth it) in a meaningful part of the service. As we walked in, we were given a small baggie of dirt and during this part we went to the front and added our dirt to a large pot with everyone else's and they planted a large plant to symbolized how God uses each one of us together - as leaders or not as leaders - to create beautiful things in this world.

We really appreciated the service - although communion flustered me: you drink the cup and eat the bread as the plates come to you...I just felt really rushed and like it wasn't as meaningful.... - and we're not writing off this church yet, one main thing that we talked about was how the service wasn't very deep, but we recognize that the message was perfect for the audience that they are trying to reach.

A friend of ours from college suggested a church that his aunt and uncle go to, so we're thinking about checking that one out this coming week. Our church search continues, but it's very enlightening and interesting to see the different ways that people worship and the different ways that God listens to all of us.