Well, it has taken several months, but I can finally say we have landed at a church and now consider it our home.
Our journey began the end of April. We spent the first three weeks looking for a new church in Disneyland. Alas, one was not to be found (unless you count the House of Blues Gospel Choir, which I was perfectly willing to do. Tithes would go toward the price of admission.)
Next we toured all the major places you would expect to tour if you live in this area. Some were GINORMOUS (Cottonwood) and some were tiny (the Vine). Denomination wasn't our real concern, but rather we were looking for good worship, a Biblical foundation, and a good place for our middle school-aged daughters.
We were surprised at how hard this was to find. It seems that every church ought to encompass all three. I guess it wasn't necessarily that we couldn't find one with all three, it was simply that we didn't feel like we fit in any particular place. Week after week began to stretch into months and we despaired of ever finding anything that would be just right for us. (You know, like Goldilocks)
Finally we ended up at the last place we ever thought we would try, Parkcrest. After all, we had tried it before we went to Revolution and it wasn't a fit. But with a new pastor and exciting smaller venues, it appeared to be the best place for us. They have a rockin' middle school program, great worship, love the messages, we knew some people there already, and the best part of all... about a 1/2 mile from our house.
So when my dad met the pastor of a small church called Damascus in Seal Beach and told him of our journey, my first thought was, Dad, you should have just let it lie. By the way, did I mind that he gave the guy our phone number?! Well, I got a call from the pastor, Joel. He sounded like a nice guy, but really, we were done looking. We were ready to just settle down. Saying that he and his wife were praying for us in our search for a church home, it became impossible for me to turn down his invitation to check them out. I told Tim we would go, once, just to say we went, and then nod and smile and never return.
We were completely unprepared for what followed.
When we finally were able to go, Joel was not even speaking. We entered into a small community center with linoleum floors and scuffed white walls. Certainly this was no Revolution or Cottonwood where the look and feel envelopes you as you walk in. Mind you, I find the look and feel of a church very important - not top three important, but it's definitely on the list... I think. There were under 100 people sitting in folding chairs, or rather, no one was sitting, only us. Everyone else was up and talking and eating. They did something so unusual. They sang one or two songs and then sent you off to eat breakfast with your fellow worshippers. Now they may not have had beautiful floors, but they served a meal and THAT part is in the Bible! A college kid substituted for the regular worship guy, so we didn't see the pastor or the worship leader, and they didn't even
have a middle school program.
So on our list of Message, Worship, Middle School, we couldn't check off anything. And yet, somehow, this small, in-progress church attracted our attention. Could we trust God again with something so risky as yet another start up? We've already done that route. We believed our days of taking a chance on a church that required so much of our time and resources... and heart, were behind us.
Funny the way the Lord works... it took several weeks of attending before we heard the pastor speak and the worship leader guide the congregation into a time of praise. But by then, we were hooked. People consistently rushed up to greet us, remembered our names, made us feel welcome, and not only that, we could see that they had, in fact, been praying for us. The situation was all a bit surreal. Feeling like they knew us, and yet knowing they couldn't possibly, we finally became convinced that God answered their prayers for grounded and mature Christians to help in leadership, and the answer, apparently, was us! So, while we felt overwhelmed, God had been speaking to Joel and others about us newcomers, leading to a high level of trust in us early on.
So here we are. Saying we are home feels quite odd, yet that is the case. We begin our Life Group as co-leaders this Wednesday. Our daughters start on the ground floor of brand new youth program. They already serve in the nursery every other week and love it. We have met so many people and brought so many with us that to say we know half the church is not an exaggeration.
And... just because I am superficial and God knows that, He orchestrated a makeover of the community center. The floors are now laminated oak and the walls are a nice shade of mocha.
God laid down the red carpet for us, so now, in faith, we walk in.
I didn't include a link to the church because, quite frankly, it needs help. I think I'll be working on that soon, but I do have a link here to some pictures my dad took of the beach baptismal service. That was a powerful time of sharing our faith very publicly and serving as a light to the beach-going lost!
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