Big Church

Do you remember that song by Peter Gabriel called "Big Time"?  In this song, there was a line that went "...and I will pray to a big God as I kneel in the big church..." I don't know why I was thinking of this song today.  Maybe it's because after so many years of snickering and pointing fingers, my husband and I have done an about face and started attending a big church - a mega church if you will - a few years ago.

I listened to and firmly believed the claims that people only go to big churches so that they can remain anonymous; so that they can do church without the commitment.  This may be true for some people who attend big churches.  Yet, even though I believed that small churches were the way to go, I kept wondering how that big church was able to do so many things in the community if it didn't have the commitment of so many people.  I was intrigued.  We decided to check out the location of this big church, you know, just out of curiosity.  Then we checked out an Episcopal church.  This experience brought flashbacks of candles, incense, and the standing, sitting and kneeling that were spaced at just so intervals during the service.  We could safely say that we were done with liturgical churches.  So with sweaty palms, we went to the big church.

We've never looked back. Since joining the big church, I have discovered that there are numerous opportunities to get involved.  I have joined a wonderful women's Bible study; I volunteer in the special needs ministry; I volunteer at the summer day camp.  I have discovered faithfulness in preaching the gospel, a vitality in fellowship, and enthusiasm for serving where I didn't think these existed.  Do I feel that big churches are better than small churches?  No.  There are positive and negative experiences to be had in either setting, which I might discuss in another post.  My lengthy point is this: if you are looking for a church home, don't dismiss a church because of its size whether large or small; don't dismiss a church because it's not a part of your favorite denomination.  Visit each church a few times.  And most importantly, don't forget to pray about it.

Dear Lord, may all of Your congregations, large and small, faithfully represent the Body of Christ.  Amen.