I went out to my first church-hunting service alone on October 24th to a church in Chelmsford, MA. The previous week, I had attended a new church with my boyfriend and joined some friends we knew that were attending there. So, October 24th was my first real hunt alone – kind of exciting, kind of nerve wracking at the same time. : )
I’ve discovered that I have sort of a mental checklist or observation sheet in my head as I’ve started attending the churches on my list.
What’s the building like? The location?
I know the whole “don’t judge a book by its cover” thing, but I’ve always been interested in aesthetics. Everywhere I go I look at the surroundings and the makeup of different things to get a feel for what it is. Now, I know that what a building looks like on the outside and where it’s located doesn’t say everything about it, but I think it plays an important role. For example, churches that do not have the most beautiful exterior are most focused on their community, bringing new members in through connections with current members or denominations and what goes on within its walls, which is in no way bad. Meanwhile, other churches that have gorgeous landscapes and well-kept exteriors tend to be more inviting to passersby, bringing in people who may not be connected with the church or denomination based on what their exterior has to offer. Again, this is just a generalization about the outside of churches, but I’m sure we can all be honest that when looking at churches, passing a church that is not as well kept up as most, we would probably only check it out if we were familiar with the denomination or knew people who attended there, while churches that catch our eye and are better looking tend to draw us in initially.
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