Visiting a new church is exciting yet nerve wrecking. I love my home church and I have become comfortable attending every service at my church. However, now walking into a new church I began to get nervous. Every church is different and I was not sure what to expect. I attend a small English Christian church and decided to visit a bilingual Apostolic/Pentecostal Non-Denominational Church. On Sunday May 15, I visited Christ Centered Church. I was invited to attend this church by my friend Art, who is a Deacon there. Christ Centered Church is a newly planted church that is lead by a Pastor who has retired from the marines after twenty-years. The service I attended was not their normal order of service and they held a surprise Pastor’s Appreciation
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He was very friendly and welcoming. With a smile the Usher thanked me for visiting and handed me a visitors card. Then he helped guide me to a seat. The building was not a traditional church building but an older small public school facility that is no longer used by the public school. They have church service in the auditorium and use some of the classrooms for Sunday school classes. This was different for me because I am use to being in a traditional church building. However, this church finds the building perfect because they use the entire facility and run a small private school there. Since Christ Centered Church was having Pastor’s Appreciation Day the church was set up differently than the usual set up. They had several round banquet style tables that were nicely decorated. I sat comfortably at a table with very friendly people who welcomed me with a smile. In the middle of the table there was a schedule of the order of service for Pastor’s Appreciation Day. As I sat at the table, I felt as though I was at a social event instead of a church service. But the lady that I was sitting next to informed me that they normally have rows of chairs instead of tables for church service. Since it was a special service it would be different than their normal service, so she invited me to come back again next Sunday. She also invited me to a movie family night event that the church was hosting on …show more content…
Then the MC said a prayer for the offering and the Ushers passed around the offering plates. This was slightly different because at my church we use offering bags that are passed down each row. Following the offering, a few of the church leaders gave words of appreciation to their Pastor. Once again, the leaders seemed to personally know their Pastor and they also showed great respect for him. As the church service came to a close, one of the leaders asked for the congregation to circle around their Pastors and pray for them. Most of the church went to the front alter and prayed for their Pastor. I found it unique, although it made me feel a little uncomfortable because I didn’t want to go pray for him because I was not a member of the church. At the same time it also made me feel a little awkward because I was one of the few people still at the their chair. After the lengthy prayer ended, the Pastor lovingly thanked his congregation and dismissed in
He was very friendly and welcoming. With a smile the Usher thanked me for visiting and handed me a visitors card. Then he helped guide me to a seat. The building was not a traditional church building but an older small public school facility that is no longer used by the public school. They have church service in the auditorium and use some of the classrooms for Sunday school classes. This was different for me because I am use to being in a traditional church building. However, this church finds the building perfect because they use the entire facility and run a small private school there. Since Christ Centered Church was having Pastor’s Appreciation Day the church was set up differently than the usual set up. They had several round banquet style tables that were nicely decorated. I sat comfortably at a table with very friendly people who welcomed me with a smile. In the middle of the table there was a schedule of the order of service for Pastor’s Appreciation Day. As I sat at the table, I felt as though I was at a social event instead of a church service. But the lady that I was sitting next to informed me that they normally have rows of chairs instead of tables for church service. Since it was a special service it would be different than their normal service, so she invited me to come back again next Sunday. She also invited me to a movie family night event that the church was hosting on …show more content…
Then the MC said a prayer for the offering and the Ushers passed around the offering plates. This was slightly different because at my church we use offering bags that are passed down each row. Following the offering, a few of the church leaders gave words of appreciation to their Pastor. Once again, the leaders seemed to personally know their Pastor and they also showed great respect for him. As the church service came to a close, one of the leaders asked for the congregation to circle around their Pastors and pray for them. Most of the church went to the front alter and prayed for their Pastor. I found it unique, although it made me feel a little uncomfortable because I didn’t want to go pray for him because I was not a member of the church. At the same time it also made me feel a little awkward because I was one of the few people still at the their chair. After the lengthy prayer ended, the Pastor lovingly thanked his congregation and dismissed in