Church Shopping

This morning I went to Riverview Church down in Holt. I had been to a Saturday service a while back but wanted to see what Sunday morning was like. The worship was good and the sermon while long was good as well. The sermon was on how to avoid being selfish and that life is better when we look for ways to serve others. He used an illustration of how selfish people are when they are looking for a new church. They want a church that meets their needs and forget that they should be looking for a place to serve as well.

Since I am looking for a church that hit me directly. The expression of church shopping is sometimes thrown around loosely but it does really describe how one looks for a church. We all have a list of what the perfect church should be and if it doesn't meet that list we move on. I always want to know what they have for single people over 30 and most churches have nothing for people in my age and walk of life. But instead of asking that question, I need to ask what kind of opportunities does that church have for me to serve.

Finding opportunity to serve is tough just by visiting a service. You can scan the bulletin or the information desk but that's about all. What frustrates me is that I am still not entirely sure of what type of service I want to be involved in. At Faith Church I did a little of everything and still never really found my niche. After my trip to Mississippi I thought disaster relief was my calling and I have been training with the red cross here in town. Unfortunately, most churches really aren't that involved in this kind of service. It's been kind of pawned off to the non profit professionals while the church focuses on church-centric activities. This morning when I read the service opportunities at Riverview and almost all involved doing things for the church service or children's ministries. While this is important, I think I would rather serve outside the church community instead.

So now my goal is linking up with a church that has a strong community service component. I need to get involved in a church that already has that type of ministry established and where the church has real buy-in. I don't want to be the one to start a ministry but I want to partner with other people who have a similar interest. I know such a church exists but I haven't found it yet in my quest. But at least now I know to look for more than just how good the singing and preaching is.