Integrating into a Church

We have now found a Church that we really like and will probably end up going to for the duration of our stay in the States. The story of how we came to this Church is an interesting one, so here it is.

We are yet to get a car so we first looked churches within walking distance of our apartment. They were no good (see my earlier post 'The Hunt Begins'). So one Sunday, after going to one of the closer churches, we decided to bite the bullet next week and take a taxi to a church that was a bit further away. During the week, however, I got in touch with a Christian group on the UMN campus called Graduate Christian Fellowship. This group meets altogether once a month, in addition to numerous smaller Bible studies and prayer meetings. I emailed the leader asking if anyone could give me a lift to the meeting on Friday. I got a lift with a guy named Chet. On the way, we were chatting about various things, including finding a church. He asked which church we were thinking of checking out. I said 'Calvary Baptist'. After which he told me that he and his family were part of that church and they could give us a lift there!

So when Sunday came Chet drove us to church and we met his family and were introduced to some other people in the church. The people at Calvary Baptist were very welcoming and we immediately felt comfortable in this church. It seems like a church where they have a strong sense of community, even though the congregation is quite large (1500 people over three services), which is a feat in itself. Afterwards Chet took us out for brunch with his family and some grad students. We feel very blessed to have met Chet.

From our experience with trying to find a church, it's become clear to me that it's really hard. It's hard to do on your own, because it's difficult to tell what a church will be like from their website alone. Knowing someone who is already in the Church also makes it easier. Unless you know someone 'on the inside' it can be quite difficult to break into a church community.