CHURCH VISIT - BAPTIST

This is my fourth blog post in a series I am doing on our experience visiting churches of various denominational labels, sizes and different styles of services. It is not my intent to be critical, but rather to be real and honest in our experiences. We have established criteria we are looking for at all of the institutional churches we are visiting.  I do not intend to mention the church specifically by name.

I have blogged in the past about Christians who have left and are leaving the institutional church in large numbers. They are leaving for their own spiritual welfare. Most still love God but have become disillusioned or fed up with the institutional church today. I believe this is a timely series. May it open our eyes and our hearts to a deeper personal relationship with Jesus.


CHURCH CRITERIA

~DENOMINATIONAL LABEL - Baptist

~TYPE OF SERVICE

   *Traditional 
   *Contemporary 
   *Blended xxxxxxxxxx

~SIZE OF CHURCH - Small (30-40)

~FRIENDLINESS - This was a friendly congregation from the pastor to the congregation. Many in this congregation know is from having sang at the church previously.

~AVERAGE AGE OF CONGREGATION - 40-50

~DRESS ATTIRE - Casual

~GREETING - We were greeted upon entrance by the pastor and his wife and then by others as they came in after Sunday School

~MUSIC - They had no musicians. They utilized video DVDs to sing along with.

~BALANCE OF MUSIC VS WORD -  There was a good deal of music spread throughout the service. The message was about 40 minutes. There was fair balance of music vs Word.

~TECHNOLOGY UTILIZED - Power point projectors were used - two on each side in front and one in back for the worship leader.

ALTAR CALL/INVITATION - There was an invitation given

~ACTIVITIES/PROGRAMS OFFERED - They have a food pantry where they provide food to those in need on a monthly basis. They are starting potlucks once a month which will also celebrate birthdays for the month. They are also working on cleaning and maintenance of the building. 

~BIBLE VERSION USED- KJV

~PREACHING STYLE -  Pastor was more of a preacher as opposed to a conversational style.

~USE OF SCRIPTURE - There was good use of Scripture 

~RELEVANT MESSAGE - The topic of the message was a good and interesting topic.  However, the pastor got off topic and started "chasing rabbits". He got on to an entirely different topic.

~LENGTH OF SERVICE -  1 hour 50 minutes

~OBSERVATIONS/COMMENTS

*Service started about ten minutes late.

*Being in a blended service with both traditional and contemporary music was a bit of a challenge for us. While we knew both of the traditional hymns they sang, we only knew one of five or six choruses. For me, this was a hindrance to my worship as I was focused on watching the words on the screen and trying to catch the tune.

*The pastor and another minister worked together in the service each doing different things. They did seem to work well together as a team.

*The pastor did lose his place in his notes two or three tomes and had to shuffle pages of his notes to find his place. 

*The pastor invited us back for next Sunday but I explained we would be at a different church next Sunday morning.

CHURCH VISIT - ASSEMBLY OF GOD

This is my third blog post in a series I am doing on our experience visiting churches of various denominational labels, sizes and different styles of services. It is not my intent to be critical, but rather to be real and honest in our experiences. We have established criteria we are looking for at all of the institutional churches we are visiting.  I do not intend to mention the church specifically by name.

I have blogged in the past about Christians who have left and are leaving the institutional church in large numbers. They are leaving for their own spiritual welfare. Most still love God but have become disillusioned or fed up with the institutional church today. I believe this is a timely series. May it open our eyes and our hearts to a deeper personal relationship with Jesus.

CHURCH CRITERIA

~DENOMINATIONAL LABEL - Assembly of God

~TYPE OF SERVICE
   *Traditional "Classic"

~SIZE OF CHURCH - Large church overall with three Sunday morning services. However, the "Classic" service was sparsely attended.

~FRIENDLINESS - The greeters as well as some of the church folks were very friendly and welcoming

~AVERAGE AGE OF CONGREGATION - 60-65 for this service

~DRESS ATTIRE - Casual to dress

~GREETING - There was a short greeting time at the conclusion of one of the songs

~MUSIC - A praise team/choir comprised of 21 people led the music. A band consisting of a piano, bass guitar, drums and a small brass section.

~BALANCE OF MUSIC VS WORD -  There was a good balance of music and Word.

~TECHNOLOGY UTILIZED - Power Point projector with three screens.  Pastor utilized tablet for his message.

ALTAR CALL/INVITATION - None given.

~ACTIVITIES/PROGRAMS OFFERED - Cell groups, Missions Week coming up and church cleaning day.

~BIBLE VERSION USED- ESV. Pastor did share a couple of Scriptures from the KJV during the message, as well.

~PREACHING STYLE-  Conversational while sitting on a stool.

~USE OF SCRIPTURE - Pastor utilized a good amount of Scripture in his message.

~RELEVANT MESSAGE - I found parts of the message to be somewhat relevant given today's society and church.

~LENGTH OF SERVICE -  1 hour 5 minutes.

~OBSERVATIONS/COMMENTS
~As mentioned previously, this is a large church overall with three services on Sunday morning. The "Classic" service we attended appears to be geared more toward senior citizens with traditional hymns and older choruses. This service started at 8:15 am and was done by 9:20 am. I find it a bit unusual for a Pentecostal church to have such a short service and no altar call. There were 40-50 attendees.
~Pentecostals are also known for having the spiritual gifts in operation. There was no indication of that in this service. That is not to say these spiritual gifts are not on display there, We just did not see them today.
~I am uncertain if I found the pastor boring or if I was just tired, but I found myself dozing off during the message. That's all I'll say about that.

Be watching for my next blog post.

Until next time... enjoy the journey!

Ray