Church Search in College
- Adeline F
- Sep 1, 2019
- 5 min read
"Jesus the anchor of my soul I'm overwhelmed by all you are. Lord how I love you Jesus the anthem of my heart. Jesus the anchor of my soul I'm overwhelmed by all you are Lord how I love you"
Hi here I am at OSU!
I started college a few weeks ago and I wanted to post about how my life has been going so far, but to be honest I do not know what to say. There have been some really good moments and some moments I just wanted to leave and go home. I have had moments where I have missed my family and friends and moments I am so happy to be in such a new place. Today I wanted to talk about my search for a church.
I have been reading Acts for awhile now and reading about the local church has been very timely as I chose a local church to attend. I was reading Acts 11:19-30 tonight and it gives just a glimpse of what the church is supposed to do.
Acts 11:19-30 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Church in Antioch
19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks [a] also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers [b] living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
The already established church sent people to help these new believers establish a strong foundation. This shows the deep compassion we must have for our brothers and sisters within the church. The new group of disciples then heard of a need for their brothers and sisters and immediately sent relief to them.
The church should be loving and compassionate towards each other, pushing each other to be better disciples of the Lord. Showing His love to anyone they come in contact with and helping each other in times of need. These are some of the things that seemed important to me as I searched for a church.
I have tried some churches here in Stillwater and my biggest issue finding a church is that I can find a home in any type of church if I have to. If I go to a tiny church on the side of the highway where they use hymnals and an organ I can find a way to connect with the Lord in that place. If it is a big metal building next to a trampoline park with high energy worship and a pastor on a screen I can find the Lord there. If it is a church somewhere in between both of those that has gluten free communion crackers (true story) then I can find a way to commune with the Lord there. If it is a little tiny church on a hillside in Romania with 8 people there singing in a language I do not understand, I can find a way to meet the Lord there.
You see I have found again recently through some of these experiences that everyone connects with different avenues of communing with the Lord. One of my new friends has never been to a church bigger than 50 people so when we visited the high energy church it scared her half to death. While me and my other friend really connected with that church because it reminded us of our home churches.
The church is not the building, type of worship, or hipster vibes. The church is the body of believers coming together to worship and grow closer to the same God we all fell in love with whether in a room of 2000 or 20. We all worship the same God. We all fellowship together in our brokenness to worship a God who takes our brokenness and makes something beautiful for His Kingdom out of it.
You see I could worship in any of these churches because the people were all filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to worship the same God. The love of each church felt the same because they all were filled with love of the one who created love. Each local church has it's own flavor I like to see it as, but they all have the same base,God, who connects everyone together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
So you're probably wondering which church I chose and how. Well I went with the one that made me feel like home. So I am going to a metal building next to a trampoline park. The love of the Lord is so evident and I feel right at home there. They have a college freshman girls life group me and my friend Chloe are planning on joining as a way to get plugged in to a community of like-minded girls within the church. I also hope to get involved with the middle school or high school ministry which is very exciting as well.
No matter where I would have chosen my priority was that I would immediately get plugged in. Any church can seem lonely if you are not connected to those around you. The church is not meant to be an in and out deal on Sundays, but a community who can celebrate and mourn with you and go through the day to day with.
I think my next post will be about college friends or something of the sorts. I am not going to say when I will post because I have no idea haha, but make sure you follow me on insta and twitter and subscribe to my email list to get updates on posts!
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